Forget Panettone, this Rum Baba Bundt Cake is Everything You Need and More
There is nothing better than injecting a touch of Italian glamour into your festive season activities, and the easiest way this can be achieved is by baking a stunning and deliciously boozy Rum Baba Cake with Pistachio Cream. This light, airy, sponge-like cake is decadently soaked in a rum sugar syrup and served with lashings of crema di pistachio, a famous Italian filling made with pistachios and milk, used in pastries, doughnuts, or spread onto bread.
How to Make a Rum Baba Cake with Pistachio Cream
Unlike other cake recipes, a baba cake batter includes yeast. Half cake batter, half bread dough, the cake is left to rise in the same way bread is made, creating a light, airy and slightly dry sponge, perfect for soaking in a lot of rum–sugar syrup. For that reason, the actual cake contains nearly no sugar and is instead complemented by the soaking syrup and a side serving of sweet pistachio cream.
Rum Baba in a Bundt Cake Tin
Bundt cake tins have a distinctive round, patterned shape and are used throughout Europe to make a brioche-like cake known as a Gugelhupf — minus the rum syrup and simply dusted with icing sugar. Rum Baba cakes are something a little different — famously available in French patisseries, their distinctive savarin moulds are smaller, designed for individual portions, with smoother, rounder surfaces, and are served with whipped cream. In Naples, Italy, the Italians have their own version, with the individual tins resembling an oversized champagne cork, served with a rich, decadent pistachio cream. This recipe combines all three versions into one big, impressive cake.
Making a Large Rum Baba Cake
The first thing you need is time. Rising time and a warm environment are necessary, so allow at least 5 hours from beginning to end to make this cake. Combine all the ingredients as instructed in the recipe (keep scrolling for the recipe), and then simply leave it to rise as you would with bread.
Letting the Batter Rise
The cake batter/dough has a silkier and wetter consistency than bread dough, and generally, if you have the right temperature conditions, it will be ready in about 2 hours.
Transferring to the Bundt Tin
Once you see bubbles on the surface and it has doubled in size, pour the batter into your greased cake tin, then cover it with cling film or a towel and allow it to rise again for a further hour.
Ready to bake
After the second rise, it’s as simple as transferring the cake to a preheated oven and baking it for approximately 40 minutes.
Allow the Cake to Cool Before Removing From the Tin
Due to the shape of the cake tin and the texture of the cake, it’s best to allow the baba to rest inside the tin for up to 10 minutes before flipping it upside down onto a cake rack. This will prevent the cake from sticking to the pan and ruining its beautiful shape.
Cool Before Soaking in Rum
So the cake achieves its slightly dry, sponge-like texture needed for soaking in the delicious rum sugar syrup, it needs to be completely cold. Let it rest for as long as you need — including overnight if you want to prepare for next-day celebrations and servings.
The Fun Part – Soaking The Cake in Rum
Place the cake on its rack over a large tray. You will need this base to catch the excess rum syrup that spills out of the cake. After the initial pouring, gather the excess rum in the tray and pour it again over the cake.
Keep the Rest as Serving Sauce
After repeating this process a few times, keep any leftover syrup for serving as a sauce along with the cake and pistachio cream
Making the Baba Festive
Being a fun festive cake, nothing finishes the decorative touch better than a dose of melted white chocolate drizzled over the top — which, if you can imagine, looks like snow on the Alps!
Italian Pistachio Cream Recipe
You can make the pistachio cream while the rum baba is baking, or you can make it the day before. To make this delicious cream, you will need to purchase a jar of Italian crema di pistachio online or in-store.
Just a Few Simple Ingredients
The pistachio cream is mixed with a little cornflour to thicken it and give it a creamy texture. This mixture is then whisked into warm milk and cooked for a few minutes until the desired texture is achieved.
Lucious Italian Pistachio Cream for Many Uses
Once you have a batch of this cream in your fridge, you’re guaranteed to be unable to stop eating it! Its thick, silky texture is not too sweet, but sweet enough to satisfy, and its rich, creamy flavour is completely addictive.
How to Serve Rum Baba Cake with Pistachio Cream
Place a slice of Rum Baba cake on a plate and pour with extra rum syrup. The more the merrier!
Now It’s Time for the Decadent Cream
Now it’s time for the show-stopping pistachio cream. Place a bowl of the cream on the table next to the cake and allow your guests to dive in.
Recipe: Rum Baba Cake with Pistachio Cream
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Rum Baba Cake with Pistachio Cream
Ingredients
Rum Baba Cake
- 250g flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 125ml warm water
- 7g packet active dry yeast
- 4 eggs at room temperature
- 150g room temperature butter soft + extra for greasing the cake tin
- 2 tbsp raw sugar
Rum Suagr Syrup
- 180ml rum
- 250g sugar
- 350ml water
Pistachio Cream
- 400ml milk
- 250g jarred pistachio crème Crema Di Pistachio
- 2.5 tbsp cornstarch
Instructions
- Make the cake: Pour warm water into a bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer. Stir in sugar and sprinkle in yeast. Let stand until foamy, 5 to 10 minutes.
- Using a hand mixer or electric stand cake mixer, add eggs one at a time to the water-yeast mixture. Next, beat in flour and salt. Add butter slowly by dropping in a few cubes at a time, and continue to beat until smooth, approx. 2 minutes.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and cover loosely with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel. Let stand in a warm place until doubled in volume, 1 – 2 hours depending on room temperature.
- Whilst the cake rises, make the pistachio cream. Mix the cornstarch with a little water to make a thick paste. Add pistachio cream and cornstarch paste to a small saucepan and whisk to combine well. Heat the milk over medium heat, but don't allow it to boil. Slowly pour the warm milk into the pistachio cream, continually whisking to achieve a thick smooth creamy texture. Remove from heat, transfer to a container, and allow to cool completely before transferring to the fridge.
- Grease the bundt cake tin with softened butter. Pour the cake batter into to tin, then, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
- Heat the oven to 190°C. Remove plastic wrap and transfer bundt tin to the oven. Bake until deep golden and firm to the touch, 30 to 40 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire cake rack while it is still warm to cool completely.
- Place the wire rack and cake over a tray. Pour the remaining 2/3 rum syrup slowly over the surface of the cake, allowing the excess to drip into the tray below. Pour the captured syrup from the underneath tray back into the jug or bowl and then pour it over the cake again. Repeat several times until most of the syrup has soaked into the cake.
- Melt the white chocolate and then pour it over the cake to achieve a nice dripping effect.
- Serve rum baba cake with extra rum syrup on the side and a generous helping of pistachio cream.
