Rum Baba with Fromager d’Affinois, Orange & Vanilla

Ingredients

45 minutes hands on cooking with 4-5 hours of resting and cooling

5-7

Cakes

• 80ml full cream milk
• 2 tsp raw castor sugar or castor sugar 7g (roughly 2 tsp) dried yeast
• 250g plain flour
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 eggs, lightly whisked
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Zest of 1 orange
• 80g butter, roughly chopped & softened

Vanilla Rum Syrup

• 1½ cups raw castor sugar or castor sugar 2½ cups water
• 1 vanilla bean split lengthwise
• Strip of orange rind (optional)
• 200ml dark rum (I’ve used a vanilla spiced rum)

Fromager d'Affinois Cream

• 60g Petit d’Affinois cheese, at room temperature. We’ll be using the creamy centre only for the cream - thickly cut the edges off the cheese and keep the edges for serving with the rum babas or save for another day.
• 150ml pure thick cream
• You could also simply serve the rum babas with thick slices of the Petit d’Affinois instead of making the cream.

Method

Cakes

1. Grease 5 x 150ml dariole moulds with butter and set aside. You could also use a muffin pan if you don't have moulds and divide the mixture between 7 of the muffin holes.
2. In a small saucepan combine the milk and 2 tsp sugar and gently warm over low heat.
3. Remove from the heat and add the yeast to the warm milk and sugar and set aside to activate for 5-10 minutes.
4. Add the flour and sea salt to a stand mixer with the dough hook attached (you could also knead by hand). Add the activated yeast and milk mixture and lightly mix to combine.
5. Add the whisked eggs, vanilla, and orange zest and mix well to combine.
6. Mix on medium speed (or knead by hand) for 5 minutes.
7. Slowly add the butter to the dough piece by piece, mixing well between each addition.
8. Once the butter is incorporated mix (or knead by hand) for a further 5 minutes and until the dough is smooth. Divide the dough into the moulds and place onto a baking tray.
9. Cover with a clean tea towel and allow to rest for 90 minutes.
10. While the dough is resting preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F.
11. Once rested the dough should have risen to the top of the moulds. Bake them in the oven for 20 minutes and until golden.
12. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for 5-10 minutes.
13. Remove the cakes from the moulds and set aside on a wire rack to cool completely.
14. Once completely cooled, add the cakes to a medium-sized dish or bowl and cover with the cooled syrup. Allow to ‘marinate’ for 2-3 hours, turning the cakes every so often so they soak up the syrup evenly. Remove the cakes from the syrup and place onto a serving plate or dish.
15. Place in fridge until ready to serve. Reserve the remaining syrup to serve with the cakes.
16. Serve the rum babas with a dollop of the d’Affinois cream, a drizzle of the reserved syrup and a slice of d’Affinois.

Vanilla Rum Syrup

1. In a small saucepan add the water, sugar, vanilla bean and seeds, and orange rind, and stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves. NOTE: If you would like the alcohol cooked out add the rum at this stage.
2. Once the sugar has dissolved, simmer for 5-7 minutes and until the mixture is syrupy.
3. Add the rum and set aside to completely cool.

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Fromager d'Affinois Cream

1. In a small mixing bowl add the centre of the d'Affinois cheese and smooth it out with a spatula until the cheese is super smooth.
2. Gradually add the cream little by little, gently mixing with the spatula each time, using a ‘flattening and folding’ motion to combine until a super smooth ‘cream’ forms. NOTE: Be sure to use a spatula to gently mix the cheese and cream together to obtain a super smooth consistency. Using a whisk or mixer will create a lumpy uneven texture in the Fromager d’Affinois cream.