King Stanislas of Poland, who ruled Lorraine from 1737 to 1766, is the godfather of this delectable dessert. During his exile in Alsace, he discovered Kougelhopf. As he grew older, he found the pastry a little “Christian choking”. The royal gourmand then commissioned Gillers, his pastry chef, to add his own twist to the delicious Alsatian pastry. The man of art sprinkled the cake with Tokay wine that Stanislas had sent from Hungary. When this nectar ran out, Gillers replaced it with a rum-based syrup, and it became known as “baba”.
Tasting advice
Drain your babas. Bring the syrup and double the volume of water to the boil. Plunge the babas into the syrup, removing them as soon as they thicken (about 5 minutes). Drain and serve chilled with fresh fruit, whipped cream or ice cream.
Ingredients
Water, sugar, wheat-based glucose syrup (gluten), Lorraine mirabelle plum brandy 12%, wheat flour (gluten), whole fresh eggs, pastry butter (milk), yeast, salt.
May contain traces of nuts, peanuts and soy.
Allergens
Gluten, milk, eggs.