Babas are best baked a few days in advance, as when slightly stale they soak up more of the delicious syrup.
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Yields:
6 serving(s)
Prep Time:
30 mins
Cook Time:
50 mins
Total Time:
1 hr 20 mins
Cal/Serv:
487
Ingredients
FOR THE BABAS
2 x 435g tins pineapple chunks in juice
200g
strong white flour
7g
sachet fast action dried yeast
25g
caster sugar, plus 2tbsp to sprinkle
50g
unsalted butter, softened
100ml
milk
2
medium egg yolks
Oil, to grease
FOR THE COMPOTE
Finely grated zest 2 limes
1tsp.
black peppercorns, roughly crushed
100g
caster sugar
FOR THE SYRUP
150g
caster sugar
1/4tsp.
black peppercorns, finely ground
Juice 2 limes
3Tbsp.
dark rum
Directions
Step 1To make the babas, drain the pineapple, reserving the juice. Finely chop 50g of the pineapple chunks. Set chopped pineapple, pineapple chunks and juice aside (separately) until needed.
Step 2In a large bowl, using a wooden spoon, mix flour, yeast, 25g sugar and 1⁄2tsp salt until combined. Mix in butter, then milk and egg yolks; beat to combine. Scrape dough on to a greased surface; knead for 5min, with a wet hand (it will be quite sticky), until dough comes together and is smooth. Add finely chopped pineapple; knead into dough until evenly distributed. Return to bowl, cover and set aside to rise in a warm place for 1hr, or until doubled in size.
Step 3Meanwhile, make the compote. Roughly chop remaining pineapple chunks and combine in a pan with lime zest, crushed peppercorns, sugar and 100ml of the reserved pineapple juice (discard or drink the rest). Cook over low heat, stirring, until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium; bubble gently for 20min, stirring occasionally, until pineapple has broken down. Remove from heat and leave to cool completely.
Step 4Thoroughly grease a 6-hole mini bundt tin/mould (see GH Tip) and sprinkle evenly with 2tbsp sugar to coat. Tap out excess. With a wet hand, punch down dough in a bowl. Divide dough between the moulds (weigh for best results), filling them 2⁄3 full, and press the dough down into all the grooves. Cover loosely with greased clingfilm (oil-side down) and leave to rise in a warm place for 45min, until puffed.
Step 5Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan) mark 4. Remove clingfilm and bake the risen babas for 20min until golden. Leave to cool in the tin for 5min, before turning out on to a wire rack to cool completely.
Step 6When the babas are cool, make the syrup. Heat sugar, ground pepper, lime juice and 75ml water in a pan over low heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Increase heat and bubble for 2min, until slightly thickened. Stir in the rum and leave to cool for 5min.
Step 7Pour 1⁄2 the syrup into a Tupperware container or roasting tin just big enough to hold the babas in a single layer. Arrange the cooled babas in the Tupperware and pour over the remaining syrup. Leave to soak for 1-2hr. Serve the soaked babas with the compote and a drizzle of syrup, with cream or ice cream on the side, if you like.
GET AHEAD Make babas to end of step 5 up to 3 days ahead. Once cool, transfer to an airtight container and store at room temperature. Make the compote up to 3 days ahead; cover and chill. Bring to room temperature and complete recipe to serve. GH TIP Mini cake tins vary in capacity. We used a 4-cup Nordic Ware heritage bundtlette tin, but if yours is bigger or smaller just make sure to fill the moulds 2/3 full. If you don’t have a mini bundt tin, use a deep muffin tin instead, it will make about 9 babas.
Per serving:
Calories: 487
Protein: 6g
Fat: 10g
Saturates: 5g
Carbs: 89g
Sugars: 64g
Fibre: 2g
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An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
