Unlock the secret to making Cumulus Inc.’s iconic, boozy rum baba at home

Ingredients

BABAS

• 2 tsp dried yeast

• 4 eggs, at room temperature

• 250g plain flour, sifted, plus extra for dusting

• 25g caster sugar

• generous pinch of salt

• 10g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for brushing

CREME DIPLOMAT

• 275ml milk

• 1 vanilla bean

• 75g caster sugar

• 3 egg yolks

• 3 tsp cornflour

• 1 tsp plain flour

SUGAR SYRUP

• 300g caster sugar

• 300ml water

• ½ vanilla bean

• 2 small strips of orange zest

• 1 small strip of lemon zest

TO SERVE

• 100ml pouring cream

• 1 bottle of aged rum

Method

TO MAKE THE Babas

1. Step 1

   First, make the babas. Dissolve the yeast in 3 teaspoons of warm water in the bowl of an electric mixer and let stand for 5 minutes, until it becomes frothy. Add the eggs, whisking them by hand into the dissolved yeast. Fix the bowl in place and fit the dough hook. Add the flour, sugar and salt and mix on low speed until it comes together, about 5 minutes. With the machine still running, add the butter 1 teaspoon at a time, incorporating each one before adding the next.

2. Step 2

   Cover the bowl with cling film and set the dough aside in a warm spot to prove for about 45 minutes or until doubled in size (while the babas are rising, prepare the creme diplomat, see method below).

3. Step 3

   Brush 10 baba moulds with soft butter (it must be soft, not melted) and flour them, tipping out any excess. Distribute the dough evenly between the moulds, then leave to prove again for about 25 minutes or until doubled in size. Preheat the oven to 210C fan-forced (230C conventional).

4. Step 4

   When the babas have risen, bake them for 5 minutes, then turn the oven temperature down to 200C fan-forced (220C conventional) and bake for another 8-10 minutes. Remove the babas from the oven but leave them in their moulds for a few minutes before turning out. While they cool in the tin, make the sugar syrup (see method below).

5. Step 5

   Turn the warm babas out of the tin and place them in the warm sugar syrup in batches. Soak for 5 minutes, turning them from time to time. Remove and drain on a wire rack. Repeat with the remaining babas.

6. Step 6

   To serve, whisk the pouring cream into the creme diplomat, then place a generous spoonful on a plate. Put a baba on top and serve with a bottle of aged rum for dousing the babas.

TO MAKE THE SUGAR SYRUP

1. For the sugar syrup, place all the ingredients in a large stainless-steel saucepan and simmer for about 5 minutes, until all the sugar has dissolved.

To make the creme diplomat

1. Prepare the creme diplomat ahead while the babas are rising by placing the milk, vanilla bean, and half of the sugar in a small saucepan and bringing it to a simmer. Remove from the heat. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar and both flours. Gradually whisk in the warm milk, then pour into a clean saucepan. Cook over low heat, whisking constantly, until it thickens. Pour into a bowl and cover with cling film, pressing it down onto the surface to prevent a skin from forming, and place in the fridge to chill.