Baba au Vieux Rhum

The "baba au rhum" is a well known and very well old french dessert.

It is composed of an enriched brioche-like dough which has been 

dunked in a pot of hot syrup and rum, and usually garnished with

chantilly cream, or in this case "crème légère" which is pastry cream

lightened with a good dose of whipped cream.

This dessert marked the beginning of our journey through superior pastry!

The generous imbibing of the "baba" gives it a texture of.. well..

soggy bread. But in a good way!

This dessert was first invented by one Nicolas Stohrer, a clever

patissier to the exiled king of Poland Stanislas, who resided in 

Alsace, France in the 18th century. There are a few myths and 

legends floating about, of how this dessert was first conceived. 

But my favourite one is the one where Stohrer decided to dip

the brioche dough into syrup so that the aging ex-king 

with no teeth could still enjoy his favourite pastry

even with his lack of chewing ability.

Awesome story, huh.

You definitely need a bit of quirk to be a pastry chef ;)

Bon appétit!

x Tal