Individual Rum Babas Soaked in Vanilla-Orange Syrup with Apricot Glaze

What you need

• 40 ml (3 tbsp) whole milk, warm, about 37 °C (100 °F)
• 7 g (2 tsp) active dry yeast
• 25 g (2 tbsp) sugar, for the dough
• 250 g (2 cups) bread flour
• 5 g (1 tsp) salt
• 4 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
• 90 g (6 tbsp) unsalted butter, very soft, plus extra for the molds
• 600 ml (2.5 cups) water, for the syrup
• 300 g (1.5 cups) granulated sugar, for the soaking syrup
• 1 piece orange zest, removed with a peeler
• 1 vanilla pod, split lengthwise
• 150 ml (2/3 cup) dark rum
• 100 g (1/3 cup) apricot jam
• 250 ml (1 cup) heavy cream, cold
• 1 tbsp powdered sugar, for the cream

Method

Restated from the original video

1. 1

   Stir the yeast and 1 tsp of the dough sugar into the warm milk. Leave for 10 min, until foamy.

2. 2

   Put the flour and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook. Add the yeast mixture, the remaining dough sugar and the eggs.

3. 3

   Mix on low until combined, then on medium for 8-10 min, until the dough is smooth, sticky and pulls cleanly from the sides of the bowl.

4. 4

   Add the butter in three portions, beating until each is absorbed. Beat for 5 min more, until the dough is glossy and very soft, more like a thick batter.

5. 5

   Cover the bowl and let the dough rise at room temperature until doubled, about 1 hr.

6. 6

   Brush ten 7 cm (3 in) baba molds or small ramekins generously with butter. Stir the dough down and divide it among the molds, filling each one-third full.

7. 7

   Cover and let rise for 40-50 min, until the dough almost reaches the rim.

8. 8

   Heat the oven to 180 °C (350 °F). Bake the babas until deep golden and a skewer comes out clean, 20-25 min.

9. 9

   Cool in the molds for 5 min, then turn out onto a rack. Leave them to dry for at least 2 hr, or overnight, so they soak up the syrup rather than collapse.

10. 10

    Simmer the water, 300 g sugar, zest and vanilla for 5 min to make the syrup. Let it cool to hot-to-the-touch, about 60 °C (140 °F), then stir in the rum.

11. 11

    Soak the babas in the syrup in a wide pot, turning them and spooning syrup over, until they feel heavy and give when pressed gently, 3-5 min.

12. 12

    Lift them out carefully with a slotted spoon and drain on a rack for 15 min.

13. 13

    Warm the jam with 2 tbsp of water, strain it, and brush it over the babas.

14. 14

    Whip the cream with the powdered sugar to soft peaks. Serve each baba with a spoonful of cream.

Imported from finecooking.ru. Recipe Grab pulled out what you need to cook it; the video stays where its author put it.