Definition: baba

A cake made with yeast dough mixed with raisins and soaked in rum or kirsch syrup after baking. It is believed that Stanislas Leczinski, King of Poland, invented this cake. He actually came up with a new way of eating a cake that had been around since 1609, the kugelhopf, by sprinkling it with rum and flambéing it like a plum pudding. The king was an avid reader of "One Thousand and One Nights" and named his dessert after a hero from his favourite book, Ali Baba. This cake was introduced to Paris in the early 19th century by the pastry chef Sthorer, who had seen it made in Lunéville, where the Polish court was based. It was a huge success and was subsequently known simply as "baba".