Babà Napoletano – Neapolitan rum babà

Babà al rum are delicious sponge cakes soaked in a sticky, citrus-scented boozy syrup. Although Italians often link babà with the city of Naples, this much-loved dessert actually originated in the eighteenth century in Central Europe, namely in the Duchy of Lorraine. There, former King of Poland Stanislas Leszczynski, who had married the daughter of Louis XV, King of France, had the genius idea of soaking a dried out kugelhopf (a traditional cake from the area) in liqueur. The soaked cake was so well-received that, a few years later, in Paris, the court’s pastry chef Nicholas Stohrer modified it to produced what is now known as the modern babà au rum.

Babà was brought to Southern Italy in the nineteenth century by the monsù – chefs who had trained in France and worked in the kitchens of the well-off families of Naples. Soon enough, these deliciously sticky brioche buns became a local speciality. Despite their rather aristocratic origins, babà are now a very “democratic” sweet, present on Neapolitan tables at every special occasion and at all times of the year.

Usually baked in individual moulds, babà can also be done in a bundt pan and served in slices. Either way, they are finished with a generous dose of citrusy, rum-spiked simple syrup and a brushing of apricot jam for shine and extra stickiness. Want to make it even more Neapolitan? Swap the rum for limoncello.