Rum Baba, Peaches, Mascarpone

Guy Owen

Guy Owen

17th August 2018
Guy Owen

Rum Baba, Peaches, Mascarpone

This is a dish that my sous chef, Tim Kendall and I developed together. It’s incredibly simple in its appearance and taste. A refreshing dish for the summer time that brings out the best of what peaches can offer. Few things are more delicious than a poached peach!

Ingredients

  • Mascarpone Sorbet:
  • 80g of sugar
  • 20g tremoline
  • 150g of water
  • 250g of Milk
  • 250g mascarpone
  • 65g pro sorbet
  • Rum Baba (makes around 15):
  • 240g milk
  • 500g plain flour
  • 315g soft butter
  • 90g sugar
  • 12 eggs
  • 60g fresh yeast
  • Peach gel:
  • 250ml Peach puree
  • 250ml water
  • 53g vegi gel (sosa)
  • 60g sugar
  • Peach consomme:
  • 500ml Peach puree
  • 250ml water
  • 1 Shot (5ml) Vanilla extract
  • 3 Sprigs Lemon Thyme
  • 2 Star anise
  • 2 Cardamom pods
  • 1 lemon zest and Juice
  • 15g vegi gel
  • 45g sugar
  • Poached peaches:
  • 8 peaches
  • 500ml water
  • 300g sugar
  • 4 star anise
  • 1 vanilla pod
  • 5 cardamom pods
  • Rum Baba syrup:
  • 200g Sugar
  • 200g Water
  • 1 Lemon Peeled and Juiced
  • 1 Orange Peeled and juiced
  • 3 Star anise
  • 1 Shot of vanilla
  • 150ml Rum

Method

To begin, make the mascarpone sorbet; this should be made 24 hours in advance ideally to allow suitable time for it to freeze and set. It should be noted that this is a recipe to use with a pacojet.
Make a sugar syrup by boiling together the water and sugar in a pan, until the liquid has the consistency of a syrup. Add the milk and mascarpone.
Mix in with the rest of the ingredients blend with a hand blender, pass it through a fine chinois, remove and foaming on the top, place in a pacojet beaker, and freeze until ready to use
The Rum Baba is such a classic dessert that it is vital that you give it all the attention it needs whilst making it. If it is rushed, or left for to long, you will end up with a poor product that simply shouldn’t be use. A Baba is a sweet bread, so needs to be treated delicately.
Add the yeast, butter and sugar to kitchen aid and beat until well combined. Gradually add the flour and beat until fully incorporated, then add the milk, followed by the eggs one at a time until fully incorporated.
Take 15 Dariole moulds, and spray the inside lightly with a grease spray. Then take your Baba mix and gently mould into round balls - making sure any folds are at the bottom of the ball - and place them into the moulds.
Spray the tops with a little grease spray and cover, very lightly, with Clingfilm. Place in a warm place and leave to prove for around an hour or so (but check them every 15 minutes or so).
When they have risen to double in size, bake them in a preheated oven at 165 degrees Celsius for around 14-18 minutes (or until they are golden brown).
Leave to cool for a couple of minutes before removing them from the moulds. Once removed lay them out on a cooling rack to cool down naturally.
The peach gel should be made a couple of hours in advance as it’s a two process job. Firstly the mixing of the ingredients, then the cooling so it sets and blending once the mixture is cool.
Put all ingredients into a pan except the vegi gel and bring to the boil. Once it has come to the boil, add the vegi gel and continuously whisk until the Vegi gel has cooked out (1-2 mins).
Pour mix into a tray and set in the blast chiller or fridge. Once set, put the mix into the blender and blend until smooth, pas through a chinois, store in a container or bottle until needed.
The consommé is an integral part of this dish as it really brings everything together well. This should again be made a few hours in advance as it needs to be left to hang in the fridge in cheese cloth.
Bring the peach, water and sugar to the boil, take off heat and add the rest of the ingredients except
the vegi gel. Infuse for 20 mins until the flavour has increased.
Once the infusion has been made and completed, measure out 500g of liquid and bring to the boil. When it has come to the boil, add the 30g vegi gel and boil for 1-2 mins like making the peach gel earlier. Remove from the heat and add the remaining 1 litre of liquid. Place in a bowl over ice and using a spatula keep stirring until it forms curds.
Place the curds in to a cheese cloth and hang in the fridge over a bowl to catch the liquid. Leave it for a few hours to ensure all the liquid is remove and caught.
Poaching peaches sounds easy enough, but it can be quite a challenge. It is completely down to the quality and how ripe your peaches are. One rule though, is never boil the liquid the peaches are boiling in as this can lead to a very poor final product due to uneven cooking. Cooking in liquid at around 90 degrees will provide the best results.
Place all the ingredients in a pan together, and bring up to 90 degrees, making sure the peaches are submerged in liquid the whole time.
Once the temperature is reached keep checking every 5 minutes on the peaches, and when they are lovely and soft to the touch, remove them from the liquid and allow to cool in the fridge.
Peel the peaches once cooled, and slice them into wedges, ready for the dish to be plated. It is important that you handle these with care as they are quite fragile.
The bit we all enjoy…..the booze. Its important with all areas of the pastry department to follow things to the exact measurement to ensure balance, the rum liquor is no exception.
Heat all of the ingredients up, except the rum, to a boil. Remove from the heat and allow to cool naturally to room temperature.
Strain off the liquid and reserve to one side, discarding the peels and anise. Then add the rum and store in the fridge until ready to use.
To assemble the dish, take the peach gel and place a large dot in the middle of a bowl. Next, place half other the rum Baba in the oven for 1 minute at 180 degrees to warm through gently.
Whilst the Baba is warming up, place 3 wedges in the bottom of the bowl in the shape of a triangle (the perfect place to rest a Baba). Place the Baba on top of the peach gel and peaches in the bowl.
Next gently drizzle some of the rum liquor over the baba so it soaks it up gently. Then place a Roche of the mascarpone sorbet on the top of the baba, garnish with a little Atsina cress. Quickly pour some of the chilled consommé into a pouring jug so it can be poured at the table when taken to the guest.

In these challenging times…

The Staff Canteen team are taking a different approach to keeping our website independent and delivering content free from commercial influence. Our Editorial team have a critical role to play in informing and supporting our audience in a balanced way. We would never put up a paywall  – The Staff Canteen is open to all and we want to keep bringing you the content you want; more from younger chefs, more on mental health, more tips and industry knowledge, more recipes and more videos. We need your support right now, more than ever, to keep The Staff Canteen active. Without your financial contributions this would not be possible.

Over the last 16 years, The Staff Canteen has built what has become the go-to platform for chefs and hospitality professionals. As members and visitors, your daily support has made The Staff Canteen what it is today. Our features and videos from the world’s biggest name chefs are something we are proud of. We have over 560,000 followers across Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and other social channels, each connecting with chefs across the world. Our editorial and social media team are creating and delivering engaging content every day, to support you and the whole sector - we want to do more for you.

A single coffee is more than £2, a beer is £4.50 and a large glass of wine can be £6 or more.

Support The Staff Canteen from as little as £1 today. Thank you.