Rum baba gelato

Crema gelato

By: Nick Palumbo
From: Gelato Messina
Makes: 1 kg
Photographer: Billy Law

This is my take on one of my favourite desserts from Naples: the famous rum baba. The baba cake is made from an egg-enriched yeast dough, then soaked in a rum syrup for a few days; it’s taken out of the syrup when served, and sometimes topped with warm custard.

I love this dessert so much that I had to turn it into a gelato! The base is a custard gelato (called ‘crema’ gelato in Italy), infused with lemon and orange peel, and mixed with a rumsoaked baba, which we make ourselves.

If you want to make the baba, I have provided the recipe, but to save time you could buy some babas from your local Italian patisserie (without the fresh custard). It’s best, however, to make your own rum soaking liquid, as the store-bought one can be a bit watery. We use Luxardo Mambo rum, but it’s quite hard to find, so any brown cooking rum will be fine.

Domestic

Ingredients

Quantity	Ingredient
635g	milk
1	lemon, strips of peeled
1	orange, strips of peeled
150g	egg yolks
145g	sugar
30g	skim milk powder
35g	dextrose
5g	stabiliser
	Rum baba

Method

Mixing

Put the milk and lemon and orange peel in a double boiler over a medium heat.
To make a cold sabayon, use an electric beater (or hand whisk) to whisk the egg yolks for 2 minutes, or until pale in colour. Slowly add the sugar and continue whisking until the mixture is very thick, has increased in volume and holds a trail when the beaters are lifted. Set the sabayon aside.
Put the remaining powders in a bowl and mix until combined. When the milk hits 40°C, whisk in the powders and bring the mixture up to 75°C.
Slowly pour the milk mixture into the cold sabayon, whisking constantly. When fully combined, pour the entire mixture back into the double boiler and heat to 75°C. Keep the mixture at 75°C for 15 minutes, whisking every 5 minutes.
Transfer the mixture to a stainless steel bowl and place in an ice bath; chill to 40°C. Cover tightly with foil and put in the freezer, stirring every 10 minutes or so until the mixture drops to 4°C, then place in the fridge and let it age for 4 hours.
Churning

Turn on your gelato maker so it begins the freezing process.
Remove the strips of lemon and orange peel and discard them. Using a stick blender, blend the mixture for 1 minute, then pour into the gelato maker. Tear the rum-soaked baba into 1–2 cm cubes.
Once the mixture reaches –4°C, scoop out the gelato and transfer to a pre-cooled stainless steel bowl; as you do this, scatter the baba cubes into the gelato. Cover tightly and immediately place in the freezer.
Serving

The gelato should be served within 2 to 3 hours after placing it in the freezer, or when it reaches –12°C. If it goes below –15°C or is left in the freezer overnight, the texture will be compromised.

Professional

Ingredients

Quantity	Ingredient
635g	milk
150g	egg yolks
1	lemon, strips of peeled
1	orange, strips of peeled
145g	sugar
30g	skim milk powder
35g	dextrose
5g	stabiliser
	Rum baba

Method

Mixing

Put the milk and egg yolks in a pasteuriser and select medium pasteurisation.
Make a bouquet garni by tying the strips of lemon and orange peel in a piece of muslin (cheesecloth). Tie it to the top of the beater arm so that it is suspended in the pasteuriser.
Put all the powders in a bowl and dry mix. When the milk and egg yolks hit 40°C, whisk in the powders; the pasteuriser will take the entire mix to 75°C and hold for 15 minutes, then will switch to cooling phase.
Once the pasteuriser runs its cycle and gets down to 4°C, let the mixture age for 4 hours at 4°C.
Churning

Measure an appropriate amount of mixture into a measuring jug and put in a batch freezer. Within 10 to 12 minutes, your mix should be ready for extraction.
Tear the rum-soaked baba into 1–2 cm cubes. As the gelato comes out of the churner, scatter the baba cubes into the gelato.
For long-term storage, up to 2 weeks: Put the gelato in a blast freezer for 30 minutes, then store at –18°C. For short-term storage, 2 to 3 days: Put the gelato in a storage freezer at –18°C.
Serving

The serving temperature of the gelato should be around –11°C to –13°C.