Carmela Soprano's Baba au Rhum - Rum Cake

Years ago, when Eaton's was still in business, I bought a tin of Baba au Rhum.

We quite enjoyed them.

It was a nice surprise to find the recipe in Bobby Bacala's chapter

If I Couldn't Eat, I'd F**king Die in Artie Bucco's The Sopranos Family Cookbook.

Baba au Rhum sounds rather exotic and difficult.

If you've made monkey bread, you've made a G-rated Baba au Rhum.

Now it's time to make the adult version.

                        Baba au Rhum

Serves 8 to 10

Generously butter a 10-inch bundt pan

The Cake

In a small bowl combine

1/4 Cup warm water

1 Tablespoon yeast

Let sit 1 minute, then stir until the yeast dissolves.

In a large mixing bowl beat together

6 large eggs, at room temperature

1 Tablespoon grated lemon zest

Beat in

2 2/3 Cups flour

3 Tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

Add

the yeast mixture

12 Tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

Beat until well blended.

Scrape the dough into the prepared pan.

Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest in a warm place 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 400º

Bake the cake 30 minutes,

or until a cake tester inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Invert the cake on a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes.

Remove the pan but keep it handy.

The Syrup

While the cake is baking, combine in a medium saucepan

2 Cups sugar

2 Cups water

Bring to a boil and stir until the sugar is dissolved.

Stir in

1/2 Cup dark rum

Remove from the heat and set aside 1/4 Cup of the syrup.

Return the hot cake to the cake pan.

With a skewer, poke holes all over the surface.

Slowly spoon the hot syrup over the cake.

Just before serving, invert the cake onto a serving platter.

Drizzle with the reserved 1/4 Cup of the syrup.

Serve with

Whipped cream

Would I make Baba au Rhum again?

Absolutely.

One of the perks of being over 60 is not everything has to be G-rated.

We seniors lose a few, but we gain a few, too.

One recipe down.  Twenty-two more to go.