This legendary dessert is given a new lease of life with the addition of Cognac instead of the more traditional rum thanks to The Social Food authors Shirley Garrier and Mathieu Zouhairi.
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About the authors
Shirley Garrier and Mathieu Zouhairi are the founders of The Social Food, a creative studio specialising in food design, styling, and photography.
Known for their immensely popular Instagram account, where they share recipes and explore the world of cooking, they work in collaboration with the most acclaimed chefs and restaurants in Paris.
In his foreword to The Social Food: Home Cooking Inspired By The Flavors Of The World, Julien Dô Lê Pham, the founder of Phamily First and a culinary consultant who has collaborated with the notable chefs, writes: “Discovery is on the menu. And Brie is just the beginning. Indian, Catalan, and Thai mix and mingle. Here comes the book, so buckle your seatbelt. Those in the know know, so here we go. Breathe in the scent of this true melting pot.”
Recipe Card
Baba au cognac
Ingredients
Dough
- 3 ½ tsp 10 g active dry yeast
- 1 ½ tsp milk
- 4 ¼ tbsp 64 g butter
- 1 ⅔ cups 133 g pastry flour
- 1 tbsp + 2 tsp 21 g sugar
- ¾ tsp salt
- 2 extra-large eggs
Whipped Cream
- 1 vanilla pod
- 1 ¼ cups 300 g heavy (double) cream
- 1 tbsp 8 g powdered sugar
- 1 cup 200 g sugar
- ½ cup 125 ml Cognac
- Zest of 1 lemon optional
Instructions
Make the dough
- Dissolve the yeast in warmed milk.
- Remove the butter from the fridge so that it is at room temperature.
- Knead the flour, sugar, salt and yeast together in a mixer. Incorporate the eggs, and knead until the dough comes away from the sides of the mixer. Next, incorporate the softened butter one third at a time, kneading until the dough becomes elastic.
- Cover the dough with a dish towel and allow to proof for 45 minutes at room temperature.
- Butter the mould or moulds and transfer the dough into them, filling about two-third of the way. Set aside to proof once more for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC, Gas Mark 4) for 10 minutes.
- Bake 20 minutes for individual moulds or 30 minutes for a large one.
Make the whipped cream
- Split the vanilla bean pod lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with the edge of a knife. Whip the cream with the vanilla and sugar until light and fluffy.
Make the cognac syrup
- In a saucepan, heat 2¼ cups (475 ml) water and sugar over low heat.
- Remove from the heat and add Cognac and the lemon zest, if using. Set aside to cool.
- Remove the baba (or babas) from the mould(s), place on a rack, and soak in the syrup until spongy. Place them on a dish and cover with whipped cream.
Taken from Taste of France Magazine. Extracted from The Social Food: Home Cooking Inspired By The Flavors Of The World by Shirley Garrier and Mathieu Zouhairi (Rizzoli New York, 2022)
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