Rum Baba with fruit salsa and ginger ice cream

Michquiel, 33, is from the Philipines and is a Destination Australia Scholarship student studying a Certificate IV in Commercial Cookery (SIT40516) at the TAFE Queensland Whitsundays campus.

Prep time: 45 minutes approx
Cook time: 15 minutes approx
Servings: 4-6

Ginger ice cream

Makes approximately 1 litre

Ingredients 

• 750g thickened cream 
• 200g caster sugar 
• 3g vanilla extract 
• 60g ginger, peeled and thinly sliced 
• 6 egg yolks

Method

1. In a saucepan, combine the cream, 1/2 of the sugar, vanilla extract and ginger. Bring to the boil, turn off the heat and let the mixture sit for 1 hour to infuse.
2. In a small bowl, combine the egg yolks and the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and beat until straw in colour.
3. Bring the mixture in the saucepan back to a simmer, turn the heat off and immediately strain into a jug.
4. Whisk a third of the jug mixture into the egg and sugar mixture and then add what is left in the jug.
5. Chill the mixture over an ice water bath until it is room temperature.
6. Churn the chilled mixture in an ice cream machine until firm and transfer to a container and freeze until set. ( If you don’t have an ice cream machine, transfer your mixture into a cold pan and place it in the freezer for about 20-30 minutes. Once the edges start to freeze, take out the mixture and beat it using a hand mixer. By breaking up the ice cream, you'll help make it smooth and creamy. Repeat this 2 or 3 times.)

Mixed fresh fruit salad

Ingredients

• 400g mixed fresh fruit, at least 4 types 
• 50ml lime juice
• 10 mint leaves

Method

1. Prepare and dice the fruit into small pieces.
2. Gently fold the fruit through the lime juice and thinly sliced mint leaves. 
3. Refrigerate until needed.

Savarin dough

Ingredients 

• 20g currents 
• 20ml dark rum 
• 80g milk 
• 15g caster sugar 
• Pinch of salt 
• 2ml vanilla essence
• 130g baker's flour 
• 7g fresh yeast 
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 70g butter 

Method - dough

1. Combine the currents and rum in a small bowl and cover with glad wrap. Allow to macerate (soften) at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, ideally overnight.
2. In a pot, warm the milk to 37 degrees celsius and remove from the heat.
3. Add the vanilla, salt and sugar to the pot and stir to dissolve.
4. Sift the flour into a large bowl, make a well in the centre, crumble the yeast, pour the warm milk mixture over the yeast and stir to dissolve.
5. Break the egg into the well and gradually draw the flour into the wet mixture until a soft dough forms.
6. Work the dough for 3 minutes by slapping it against the bowl or on a clean bench. The dough should be quite soft and sticky.
7. Using a pastry scraper, mix in the room temperature butter and macerated currants until you have a loose ball of dough.
8. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and allow the dough to prove in a warm place until it doubles in size (around 30 minutes).

Method - babas

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius.
2. Grease rum baba or dariole moulds with butter, followed by a light coat of flour or sugar.
3. Transfer the dough into a piping bag and pipe into the moulds until they are 1/2 full.
4. Put the moulds onto a baking sheet and prove until the dough reaches the edge of the moulds (doubled in size).
5. Once the babas have proved sufficiently, bake them until the dough is golden brown (approximately 12 - 15 minutes) and remove from them from the oven.
6. Prick the babas all over with a toothpick and then turn them onto a wire rack to cool.

Rum syrup

Ingredients 

• 300ml water
• 300g sugar
• 1 lemon zested and juiced
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 bay leaf
• 50ml dark rum

Method

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a pot and bring the mixture to a boil, before allowing it to simmer 10 minutes. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve and chill.
2. Once the babas have cooled, placed them onto a tray and pour the rum syrup over them. Leave the rum babas to soak and remove when they do not appear to soak up any more syrup.

Glaze

Ingredients 

• 100g apricot jam 
• 20-40g water

Method

1. Warm the jam with enough water to thin it until it has a brushable consistency.
2. Brush each rum baba with a little of the apricot glaze.

To serve

On a plate, arrange 1 rum baba, along with 80g of fresh fruit salsa and a scoop of ice cream. Enjoy!

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