Babà Napoletano al Rum Bundtlettes #BundtBakers

These babà Napoletano al rum bundtlettes are a traditional Italian dessert baked in an unconventional pan that does them proud. The hole in the middle gives extra surface area for absorbing the rum syrup and that is a very good thing!

This month my Bundt Bakers group is recreating Italian sweets as Bundts. I could only think of two off the top of my head, panna cotta and tiramisu so clearly some research into Italian dessert recipes was going to be necessary. In my typical fashion, I used Google Translate to figure out what “dessert” and “recipe” are in Italian, then I use those terms to search.

Sure, I could probably find some authentic recipes in English but what fun is that? I know I’m weird but I find it amusing to search in other languages, even ones I don’t speak. It adds another layer of challenge.

Babà Napoletano al Rum Bundtlettes

This recipe is adapted from one on Misya.info, a food diary written by a Neapolitan who learned to cook from her mother and grandmother. She assures her readers that babà is a typical sweet of the Neapolitan tradition, perhaps it is even the typical Neapolitan dessert par excellence. I was charmed by her write-up, published on the very day she was getting married.

Ingredients
For the dough:
1 teaspoon dry active yeast
2 tablespoons warm milk
2 tablespoons sugar plus extra for pan
4 large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 1/4 cups or 406g flour
1/2 cup or 113g butter, at room temperature, plus extra for pan

For the rum syrup:
1 1/4 cup or 250g sugar
1/2 cup or 120ml water
1/2 cup or 120ml dark rum, divided
Zest 1 small orange (peel off just the orange part, not the white pith)

Method
In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the yeast with the sugar and warm milk. Leave to prove for a few minutes. The yeast should start bubbling.

If the yeast is active, add in the eggs, butter and salt and half of the flour.

Beat for about 10 minutes on medium speed, scraping the bowl down with a spatula occasionally.

Now add in the rest of the flour and beat until the dough is stretchy and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and leave the dough to rise in a warm place for about an hour.

Turn the dough out onto a clean buttered surface and knead the dough again. Divide it into 12 pieces. Tuck them into neat balls.

Butter and sugar your bundtlette pan.

Arrange the dough evenly inside the prepared pan, by making a hole in each ball and lowering it into the bundlette holes.

Cover lightly with greased cling film and leave it a warm place to rise for 30 minutes.

When rising time is almost up, preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.

Bake your babàs for 20-25 minutes or until they are golden and well risen.

Meanwhile, put the sugar, water and orange peel in a small pot with half of the rum and bring the mixture to a rolling boil for a few minutes. Remove from the heat then add in the rest of the rum and stir.

Discard the orange peel.

When the babàs are baked, remove the pan from the oven. Remove each babà from the pan and spoon in about three teaspoons of syrup into each hole. Carefully place the babà back in the hole so it can absorb the syrup.

Prick the tops of the warm babàs and brush the syrup on slowly so it has time to soak in.

Keep brushing the syrup on the top and occasionally adding a bit more to the pan holes until all the syrup has been absorbed.

Turn the babàs out onto a serving platter. (I must confess that I had to trim just the tiniest bit off the bottom so they'd stand up straight.) The Italian recipe doesn’t mention this but you can serve the babàs with extra rum or even vanilla ice cream and rum. They make a wonderful dessert!

Enjoy!

Check out the rest of the wonderful Italian sweets recreated as Bundts below. Many thanks to our host Patricia of Patyco Candybar for this fun theme.

• Babà Napoletano al Rum Bundtlettes from Food Lust People Love
• Frosted Tiramisu Bundt Cake from Making Miracles
• Tiramisu Cake from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Torta al Limoncello With Homemade Limoncello from Sneha's Recipe
• Torta Caprese al Limoncino from Patyco Candybar
• Spumoni Bundt Cake from Palatable Pastime

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all of our lovely Bundts by following our Pinterest board. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about BundtBakers can be found on our home page.

Pin these Babà Napoletano al Rum Bundtlettes!

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Hot Buttered Rum Bundt #BundtBakers

Lots of butter and rum in a small Bundt cake, topped with hot buttered rum glaze – it’s perfect for a cozy dinner party this holiday season.

This month’s Bundt Bakers theme is Naughty or Nice! Although I am sure you will agree after taking a look at our link list of recipe titles, even the naughty ones look pretty nice.

The challenge set by our lovely host, Olivia from Liv for Cake, was as follows

Sometimes it’s nice to be naughty! Choose one of these directions for your Bundt this month. For "Naughty” think boozy or things like Devil’s Food Cake. "Nice” Bundts can be of the more traditional, innocent kind — Gingerbread, Peppermint, etc. Naughty or Nice, all Bundts should share the flavors of a WINTER HOLIDAY.

I guess we all know which way I went on the Naughty to Nice scale. Don't you love that sign hanging from my rum bottle? I bought it from a crafty friend at the American Association of Malaysia Christmas Bazaar last month.

Ingredients for a six-inch Bundt cake (I used the Nordic Ware Anniversary pan. <affiliate link)
For the cake batter:
1 1/2 cups or 190g flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup or 150g sugar
1/2 cup or 113g butter, at room temperature
2 eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup or 60ml gold rum, topped up with milk to equal 1/3 cup or 78ml
3/4 cup or 105g chopped pecans

For the Hot Buttered Rum glaze:
1/4 cup, packed, or 50g brown sugar
1/4 cup or 60g butter
1/3 cup or 80ml whipping (heavy) cream
1/4 cup or 60ml gold rum
Good pinch of sea salt

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.  Grease and flour your 6-in Bundt pan or spray it with non-stick baking spray with flour. I often use the baking spray but since more butter in a butter cake is always better, I did it the old fashion way this time.

Sift your flour, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl. Add in the rest of the ingredients – except the nuts - and beat for a minute until combined. Scrape down the bowl and beat at high speed for 4 minutes.

Do NOT taste the batter or there won't be any left to bake. You have been warned! 

Fold in the pecans.

Spoon into your prepared Bundt pan.

Bake 30-40 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.

Cool in pan 15 minutes on a wire rack, then turn the Bundt out to finish cooling on the rack.

For the hot buttered rum glaze:
Mix all ingredients in 1 1/2-quart saucepan. Heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly.

Boil 3 to 4 minutes, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened. Allow to cool until it thickens even more, whisking occasionally to check consistency. You don’t want it to drip completely off the cake.

Spoon over cooled cake.

Enjoy!

Have you been naughty or nice this year? Never mind - My Bundt Bakers still have cake for you!

• Amaretto Almond Bundt Cake by I Bake He Shoots
• Angel Food Bundt Cake with Cranberry Filling and Lemon Glaze by Taking On Magazines
• Anise Bundt Cake by I Love Bundt Cakes
• Bundtcake Especiado by La mejor manera de hacer...
• Candy Cane Bundt by Cali's Cuisine
• Cherry Chocolate Bundt Cake by Basic N Delicious
• Chocolate Gingerbread Bundt Cake by How to Philosophize with Cake
• Christmas Fruitcake by Tea and Scones
• Christmas Rose Bundt Cake by Living the Gourmet
• Cranberry Spice Bundt Cake by Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Eggnog Pound Cake by Palatable Pastime
• Chocolate Gingerbread Bundts with Cream Cheese Frosting by I Camp In My Kitchen
• Hot Buttered Rum Bundt by Food Lust People Love
• Maple Pecan Cake by Jane's Adventures in Dinner
• Naughty and Nice Kahlua Gingerbread Bundt Cake by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Old Fashioned Marble Cake Bundt by Brooklyn Homemaker
• Peppermint Candy Cane Bundt Cake by The Freshman Cook
• Rum & Eggnog Bundt Cake by Liv for Cake
• Spiced Fruitcake by Magnolia Days
• Spiced Ginger Bundt Cake with Caramel Brandy Sauce by All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Spiced Rum Eggnog Bundt Cake by Making Miracles
• Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice Cake by Eat, Drink, Be Mighty
• Super Naughty Chocolate Whiskey Bacon Jam Bundt Cake by Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite A Whiskered Accomplice

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving Bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all of our lovely Bundts by following our Pinterest Board. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme or ingredient.

Updated links for all of our past events and more information about BundtBakers can be found on our homepage.

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Coconut Rum Celebration Cookies #CreativeCookieExchange

These buttery shortbread cookies are flavored with fresh grated coconut and golden rum, then drizzled with rum glaze and more coconut. When the wind is whipping around you and it’s cold as cold can be outside, pour yourself a cup of steaming hot tea and bite into this luxuriously rich cookie.

This month’s Creative Cookie Exchange theme is Comfort Cookies and we were supposed to create a favorite cookie for someone in our lives. But this week I am feeling especially generous since my mom and mother-in-law arrive on Thursday to help me celebrate my own birthday on Friday. So this cookie is for ALL of you in the North Hemisphere who might be experiencing freezing temperatures and unpleasantly moist conditions. As the rich shortbread crumbles between your chattering teeth, the rum and coconut should evoke a beach vacation where you can imagine cabana boys serving fruity drinks under palm trees swaying gently in the tropical breeze, with the warm sunshine working its way to your chilled bones. If you want to add a tot of rum to your hot lemon tea to go along with, no one will judge you.

This recipe is adapted from one on The Café Sucré Farine.

Ingredients 

You could use desiccated coconut but don't use
the sweetened stuff. 

For the cookie dough:
1 cup or 225g butter, room temperature
3/4 cup or 95g powdered or icing sugar
1 1/3 cups or 165g flour
1/2 cup or 40g freshly grated coconut plus a little extra for decorating, if desired
1/2 cup or 75g cornstarch
2 teaspoons golden or dark rum
1/2 teaspoon salt

For the glaze:
1 cup powdered or icing sugar
1 tablespoon golden or dark rum
1-2 teaspoons milk
Pinch salt

For decoration: freshly grated coconut, pearl nonpareils http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonpareils  or shiny sprinkles

Method
Preheat your oven to 325°F or °C and prepare your 8x8in or 20x20cm baking pan by lining it with parchment paper.

In the bowl of your stand mixer or with handheld beaters, beat the butter briefly until it is smooth, then add the powdered sugar and beat again for about one minute.

Add in the flour, cornstarch, coconut, rum and salt and beat until just mixed.

Yay! I remembered the flour this time! 

Tip the dough into your prepared pan and cover it with cling film. Use your hands to spread out the dough evenly in the pan, making sure to get all the way into the corners.

Remove the cling film and draw lines on the dough with a sharp knife where you plan to cut the cookies apart.

Bake in your preheated oven about 18-22 minutes or until lightly golden on the sides but still pale on top.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.

Transfer the parchment with cookies to a cutting board and carefully cut them apart while still warm, using a very large knife that will let you cut the whole way, or almost the whole way across, with one downward motion. These cookies, like all shortbread, are crumbly so you don’t want to break them while sawing at them.

Make the glaze by mixing the powdered sugar and rum with the pinch of salt. Add the milk a little at a time, stirring well between, until you get a good dripping consistency, then stop. You may not need all the milk.

Once the cookies are cool, separate them slightly on the parchment paper and drizzle the glaze back and forth over them till it’s all used.

Sprinkle them immediately with a little extra grated coconut and a couple of teaspoons of shiny decorations, if desired.

Allow the glaze to set before trying to move them or stack them.

Enjoy!

Do you need some comfort cookies? We've got something for everyone and even one for Man's Best Friend! Who would you bake a comfort cookie for?

• Almond Butter Cookies from Ninja Baker
• Alphabet Letter Cookies from A Baker's House
• Apple Peanut Butter Doggie Cookies from Cookie Dough & Oven Mitt
• Cherry Pie Cookies from It's Yummi
• Chocolate Chunk Shortbread from Baking in Pyjamas
• Chocolatey Chocolate Chip Cookies from Indian Curries/Stew
• Classic Shortbread with Fleur de Sel from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Coconut Rum Celebration Cookies from Food Lust People Love
• Cookie Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies from Noshing With The Nolands
• Double Chocolate Chip Cookies from Spice Roots
• Dulce de Leche Madeleines from The Spiced Life
• Four Ingredient Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies from Rhubarb and Honey
• Frosted Lemon Cookies from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Jam Filled Butter Cookies from Magnolia Days
• Lemon Thyme Shortbread Cookies from Sweet Cinnamon & Honey
• Soft Sugar Cookies from Dessert Stalking Blog

Creative Cookie Exchange is a great group of bloggers who love to bake cookies. We get together once a month (the first Tuesday after the 15th of each month) to post cookie recipes with a common theme or ingredient.

If you are a blogger and want to join in the fun, contact Laura at thespicedlife AT gmail DOT com and she will get you added to our Facebook group, where we discuss our cookies and share links.

You can also just use us as a great resource for cookie recipes--be sure to check out our Pinterest Board and our monthly posts (you can find all of them here at The Spiced Life).

Rum Raisin Butter Bundt with Rum Honey Glaze for #BundtaMonth

This rum raisin Bundt cake is loaded with rich butter and topped with a rum honey glaze.

It’s time for another Bundt cake!  And for this month’s BundtaMonth the theme is Boozy December so my mind instantly turned to rum and raisin.  It’s a classic combination, at least in the Caribbean.  Ask any Trinidadian.  Rum is an essential part of many of their recipes from black cake to rum punch to ice cream.  Indeed, rum raisin is one of their most traditional ice cream flavors. 

Also, my current liquor cabinet, which is an 8-inch space of cabinet in my kitchen, is extremely limited to what was purchased upon entry in Duty Free. Here in Dubai, you cannot buy alcohol until you have a liquor license.  And you cannot get a liquor license until you have a resident’s permit. And you cannot get a resident’s permit until you can stay in the country for three weeks at a stretch because you have to surrender your passport to the relevant authorities. And my dear husband was only here a couple of days before he was off again to Paris.

So, without further ado, I give you this rum raisin Bundt cake with loads of rich butter, topped with a rum honey glaze.  I made this for the lovely real estate agent who helped us get settled in our house.  She went beyond the normal call of duty, even taking me to buy snacks at the grocery store on the day that I was waiting around in an empty house without transport or telephone for the airfreight and rental furniture. She deserved a cake filled with booze and gratitude!

When I sent this home with her whole, my only request was that she send me some photos when she cut it, so the last photo is hers.  If you need a recommendation for a real estate agent here in Dubai, just let me know.  She is wonderful!

Ingredients
For the cake:
100g golden raisins
1 cup or 240ml golden rum, divided into half
3 cups or 375g flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups or 340g butter, softened
1 1/2 cups or 240g sugar
3 eggs
1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 cup milk
1 cup or 240ml heavy cream

For the glaze:
1/2 cup or 115g butter
1/2 cup or 120ml honey
1/2 cup or 120ml rum

Method
Put the raisins in a small bowl and pour half of the rum for the cake over them.  Allow to soak until all the rum is absorbed by the raisins.  (This can be done a day ahead to save time on baking day.)  Hide the bowl in the refrigerator or passersby will keep pinching raisins out of your rum bowl.  Or was that just me?  Anyway, better to put them out of sight.

When you are ready to proceed, preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.  Thoroughly butter or spray your Bundt pan with non-stick spray and then coat it with a little flour.

In a medium size bowl, mix together your flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, use electric beaters or your stand mixer to cream together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy.

Add in the eggs and egg yolk and vanilla and beat again until blended.  Don't forget to scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Add in the rum and beat again.  Don’t be alarmed when the batter looks curdled.  As we add in the flour mixture that curdled look will go away.

Add about a third of the flour mixture to the batter, along with a third of the cream.

Beat until just incorporated and then add another third of each.

Continue the process with the last third of flour mixture and cream.

Fold in the rum soaked raisins.  There might be a little rummy raisin juice in the bowl.  Hum that in too.

Spoon your batter into your prepared Bundt pan, then smooth out the top with your spatula.

Bake in the preheated over for 55 to 60 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean.  Mine actually took closer to 70 minutes.

Cool in pan for 10 minutes.  Remove from pan and cool completely on a cake plate.

When the cake is completely cool, put the honey, rum and butter for the glaze into a saucepan.  Turn on the fire on low and mix together as the butter melts.  It may already start to bubble.

After a minute or so the fumes from the rum should have evaporated and you can turn the heat up a little.  We don’t want a fire here, folks.  Boil the mixture for three to four minutes, stirring constantly.  If you have a candy thermometer, you are looking to reach a temperature 240-248°F or 115-120°C.  If you don’t have a candy thermometer, not to worry.

Remove from heat and stir to cool slightly.  Not too long or the glaze will begin to harden and you will have to eat it like candy and start over.  While I realize that many of you won’t have a problem with this, I just wanted to warn you.

Use a spoon to ladle the glaze over your completely cooled cake.  Do not poke it with your fingertips because you will leave print marks behind in the shiny, shiny glaze.

Give this cake to someone who deserves a special treat or share it with someone you love.   Because it’s just that wonderful.

Enjoy!

BundtaMonth is the brainchild of Anuradha of Baker Street and Lora of Cake Duchess.  And they would love for you to join us.

Have a look at all the lovely boozy Bundts we have baked this month!

Araby Spice-Limoncello Bundt Cake with Limoncello Glaze by Lora from Cake Duchess

Bailey's and Buttershots Bundt Cake by Karen from In The Kitchen With KP

Banana Pineapple Bundt Cake with Coconut Rum Glaze by Carrie from Poet In The Pantry

Chocolate Bourbon Mini Bundt by Holly from A Baker's House

Chocolate Port Bundt Cake by Paula from Vintage Kitchen

Eggnog Rum Pound Cake by Dorothy from Shockingly Delicious

Madeira Pound Bundt Cake by Renee from Magnolia Days

Mint Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake with Creme de Menthe by Laura from The Spiced Life

Shirley Temple Bundt Cake Kim Beaulieu | Cravings Of A Lunatic

Spiked Eggnog Bundt Cake with Bourbon Glaze by Kate from Food Babbles

Sweet Potato Bourbon Bundt by Jennie from The Messy Baker Blog

Long Island Iced TeaCake by Deb from Knitstamatic

Rum and Raisin Butter Bundt with Rum Honey Glaze by Stacy from Food Lust People Love

Tiramisu Bundt Cake with Kahlúa Mascarpone Glaze by Anuradha from Baker Street

Vanilla and Bourbon Cake by Kate from Diet Hood

Vanilla Mini Bundt Cakes with Kahlúa by Alice from Hip Foodie Mom

Here's how you can be a part of Bundt-a-Month:

- Get inspired by your favorite cocktail, mocktail or just use your favorite liqueur and bake us a Bundt for Boozy December.

- Post it before December 31, 2012.

- Use the #BundtAMonth hashtag in your title. (For ex: title should read #BundtAMonth: Chocolate Cinnamon Bundt)

- Add your entry to the Linky tool below

- Link back to both Lora and Anuradha’s announcement posts.

 

Follow Bundt-a-Month on Facebook where we feature all our gorgeous Bundt cakes. Or head over to our Pinterest board for inspiration and choose from over 350 Bundt cake recipes.