Babà Napoletano

Making Babà Napoletano Ahead

Refrigerated in their syrup for 4 days. Do not freeze once soaked.

Babà Napoletano: The Method

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1. Beat the flour, yeast, eggs, sugar, salt and warm milk together with a wooden spoon or a dough hook for 10 minutes, until the dough is elastic and pulls away in strands.

   Mark done Start 10 min timer

2. Beat in the softened butter a piece at a time until fully absorbed. The dough will be very soft.

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3. Cover and prove 90 minutes, until doubled.

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4. Knock the dough back and divide it between 10 buttered dariole moulds, filling each a third full.

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5. Prove 45 minutes more, until the dough reaches the rim.

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6. Bake at 180°C / 355°F fan / 200°C / 390°F / gas 6 for 20 minutes, until deep brown and hollow-sounding. Turn out onto a rack.

   Mark done Start 20 min timer

7. For the syrup, boil the water, sugar and citrus peel 5 minutes, then take it off the heat, remove the peel and stir in the rum. Let it cool to warm.

   Mark done

8. Lower the babà into the warm syrup and leave them 30 minutes, turning once, until saturated and heavy.

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9. Lift them out, drain briefly, and brush with the warmed apricot jam to glaze.

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Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.

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A Few Pointers

• Beat the dough, do not knead it. Ten minutes, until it strands.
• Warm syrup. Hot collapses the crumb, cold will not soak in.
• Fill the moulds a third full, no more.

Serving Ideas

Whipped cream · Amarena cherries · A small glass of the rum

Babà Napoletano FAQ

Nutrition per Serving

No nutrition figures are given for this recipe: they cannot be worked out reliably from its ingredient list (some ingredient lines cannot be read). Why some recipes have none.