Ingredients
- 250 g flour
- 10 g fresh yeast
- 3 eggs
- 30 ml Quebec maple syrup (dough)
- 5 g salt
- 100 g soft butter
- 500 ml water
- 250 ml Quebec maple syrup (syrup)
- 1 orange zest
- 1 vanilla bean
- 100 ml dark rum
- 200 ml whipped cream
Method
- Mix flour, yeast, eggs, 30 ml syrup, salt; knead 8 min, incorporate butter.
- Proof 1 h, pipe into baba molds, proof 30 min.
- Bake 20 min at 180 °C; dry babas 10 min.
- Simmer water, 250 ml syrup, zest, vanilla; off heat add rum.
- Soak warm babas 20 min, drain, serve with cream.
Conversion and rationale
Original sweetener (classic version): 25 g sugar in dough + 350 g sugar in syrup
Conversion used: Dough sugar → 30 ml maple syrup; soaking syrup uses 250 ml maple + 500 ml water instead of 350 g sugar + 700 ml water; oven 180 °C not 200 °C.
Why Quebec maple syrup: Maple soak brings vanilla-oak notes that marry rum beautifully, adds trace minerals, and localizes the sweetener to Quebec.
General rule: 1 cup (250 ml) sugar ≈ 3/4 cup (180 ml) maple syrup; reduce liquids by 45–60 ml per cup of syrup and lower oven by 15 °C. Substitution calculator →