Baba (Yeast Cake Doused with Limoncello)

Limoncello is the digestif of choice in southern Italy. It's a simple concoction of lemon peels steeped in vodka to which sugar syrup has been added. When served in a chilled glass, at the proper temperature - almost freezing - limoncello is a refreshing, almost slushy drink.

I had my first taste of limoncello in Venice, while watching the World Cup at the hotel lobby. I thought I was just drinking lemon juice, not knowing that my drink was laced with vodka. Since I almost gulped down the drink, I thought I couldn't walk straight afterward!

Here's a recipe from Mario Batali's Holiday Food cookbook. I should make the recipe in half next time as this is too much for us.

In Amalfi these cakes are made small enough to fit into a soup spoon. In place of the more expected rum-flavored syrup, they are soaked in limoncello, the sweet lemon liqueur from the giant lemons of the Amalfi coast. A shop at the top of the Via Dei Mulini, near the town of Amalfi's lemon groves, sells baba from jars, all ready to eat.

Cake
1 envelope active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
2 tablespoons cake flour flour 4-1/2 cups
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
5 eggs plus 2 yolks

Bathing liquid
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup limoncello or other lemon or orange liqueur

2 cups heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 375F. Butter then flour a 12-cup Bundt pan and set aside.

In a small mixing bowl, stir together the yeast and warm water until dissolved. Add 2 tablespoons of flour, stirring until a paste is formed. Set aside for 10 minutes.

In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until a ribbon forms when the beaters are lifted, 5 to 6 minutes. Place the dough hook attachment on the mixer. Add the yeast mixture, the remaining flour, the salt, and eggs and yolks to the butter mixture, and mix well, 10 to 15 minutes, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

With floured hands, remove the dough from the mixing bowl in one piece. Place in the prepared pan, smoothing it into the ring shape. Cover with a towel and set in a warm spot to rise for 1 hour, until doubled.

Bake the cake for 30 minutes until cooked through, or when a skewer inserted halfway in exits clean. Remove and allow to cool on a cake rack for 20 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and place in a large bowl.

In a small saucepan, heat the water and sugar to boiling and stir to dissolve the sugar. Lower heat to a very high simmer and cook for 15 minutes to form a simple syrup. Remove from heat, stir in the limoncello, and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Poke the top of the cake all over with a thin knife to form 20 to 25 slender holes. Spoon the lemon syrup over the cake top and into holes. Pour off the syrup that drains out the bottom of the cake and repeat twice. Cool.

Whip the cream to soft peaks. Serve the baba with whipped cream piled high in the center hole.

Serves 8-10.