Step 1
First, make the babas. Dissolve the yeast in 3 teaspoons of warm water in the bowl of an electric mixer and let stand for 5 minutes, until it becomes frothy. Add the eggs, whisking them by hand into the dissolved yeast. Fix the bowl in place and fit the dough hook. Add the flour, sugar and salt and mix on low speed until it comes together, about 5 minutes. With the machine still running, add the butter 1 teaspoon at a time, incorporating each one before adding the next.
Step 2
Cover the bowl with cling film and set the dough aside in a warm spot to prove for about 45 minutes or until doubled in size (while the babas are rising, prepare the creme diplomat, see method below).
Step 3
Brush 10 baba moulds with soft butter (it must be soft, not melted) and flour them, tipping out any excess. Distribute the dough evenly between the moulds, then leave to prove again for about 25 minutes or until doubled in size. Preheat the oven to 210C fan-forced (230C conventional).
Step 4
When the babas have risen, bake them for 5 minutes, then turn the oven temperature down to 200C fan-forced (220C conventional) and bake for another 8-10 minutes. Remove the babas from the oven but leave them in their moulds for a few minutes before turning out. While they cool in the tin, make the sugar syrup (see method below).
Step 5
Turn the warm babas out of the tin and place them in the warm sugar syrup in batches. Soak for 5 minutes, turning them from time to time. Remove and drain on a wire rack. Repeat with the remaining babas.
Step 6
To serve, whisk the pouring cream into the creme diplomat, then place a generous spoonful on a plate. Put a baba on top and serve with a bottle of aged rum for dousing the babas.
