26 March 2025

Classic Baba Dough—Rich Yeasted Cake Base

Name: Classic Baba Dough—Rich Yeasted Cake Base
Prep time: 25 min
Total time: 1 h 25 min
Yield: 12
Ingredients: 17 g cake yeast (or active dry yeast, dissolved in lukewarm milk or water); 450 g all-purpose flour; 4 g salt; 140 g unsalted butter (soft but not melted); 17 g honey; 500 g eggs (large, at room temperature); 25 g whole milk (lukewarm)

JojoM

Light, rich baba dough made with eggs, butter and honey—a versatile yeasted cake base for rum babas, savarins and individual molds.

Classic Baba Dough—Rich Yeasted Cake Base 🍯🥚

This beautifully enriched baba dough is the foundation of classic French baba au rhum, savarins, and individual yeasted cakes. Soft, elastic and rich with eggs, butter and honey, it bakes into a wonderfully airy crumb that happily absorbs syrups and soaking liquids. If you love light yet indulgent enriched doughs, this versatile base will become a favourite in your pastry repertoire.

What Makes This Baba Dough Special ✨

A great baba starts with a dough that is highly hydrated, egg-rich and deeply aromatic. This formula uses a generous amount of eggs for lift, a touch of honey for gentle sweetness, and softened butter for richness. The result is a dough that feels almost like a light brioche but stays wonderfully open and sponge-like once baked—perfect for soaking rum syrup or fruit infusions.

Because the dough is naturally soft and slightly sticky, the mixer does most of the work. As the gluten develops, the dough transforms from shaggy to glossy and elastic. Once baked, the crumb turns into an incredibly absorbent sponge that carries flavours beautifully.

Working With High-Egg Doughs 🥄

Enriched doughs rely heavily on technique, especially when eggs and butter form a significant portion of the hydration. Adding eggs gradually helps them emulsify smoothly into the flour and butter mixture. The result is a shiny, cohesive dough that pulls cleanly away from the bowl—your sign that the gluten network is well developed.

Chilling the dough briefly after the first rise is not just optional—it’s a secret weapon. A cool dough is easier to portion into baba molds, pipe into mini savarin rings, or tuck neatly into classic baba tins.

Perfect Uses for This Baba Dough 🍰

This dough is a reliable base for:

Classic baba au rhum soaked in rum syrup
Mini babas for canapés or plated desserts
Savarin rings topped with Chantilly and berries
Modern entremet components that need a syrup-ready sponge
Individual molded cakes glazed with citrus syrup

Its ability to hold its shape while staying extremely absorbent makes it ideal for pastry chefs and home bakers who love flavour-packed desserts.

Tips for Success 💡

Use room-temperature eggs for smooth incorporation and a stable emulsion.
Let active dry yeast foam before mixing to avoid dense dough.
Avoid adding flour to “fix” stickiness—this dough should be soft.
Chill before shaping for clean, professional-looking results.

A Versatile Base for Classic French Desserts 🇫🇷

Whether you’re preparing a boozy weekend treat or building a plated restaurant-style dessert, this baba dough offers consistency, structure and absorbency—everything a perfect rum baba requires. Once you master this dough, the world of baba variations opens wide: citrus, vanilla, tea-infused, berry-soaked, spiced, or even alcohol-free versions that shine with fruit syrups.

Enjoy transforming this simple enriched dough into stunning French pastries that soak up flavours like a dream. 🍹✨

Classic Baba Dough—Rich Yeasted Cake Base

JojoM

Light, rich baba dough made with eggs, butter and honey—a versatile yeasted cake base for rum babas, savarins and individual molds.

Classic Baba Dough—Rich Yeasted Cake Base image

Cakes

Pastries

Buttery

Cedric Grolet Inspired

Low Sugar

Prep Time

25 mins

Cook Time

0 mins

Total Time

85 mins

Servings

Chef's Tips

Use room-temperature eggs so the dough comes together smoothly and emulsifies with the butter.
If using active dry yeast, dissolve it fully in lukewarm milk or water and let it foam before mixing into the dough.
The dough will be soft and slightly sticky; rely on the mixer and a dough scraper instead of adding extra flour.
Chill the dough briefly after the first rise to make portioning into baba molds easier and neater.

Tools Used

Stand Mixer With Dough Hook Medium Mixing Bowl Kitchen Scale Rubber SpatulaDough Scraper

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Ingredients

Scale

USMetric

Scale

Baba Dough

17 g cake yeast - or active dry yeast, dissolved in lukewarm milk or water
450 g all-purpose flour
4 g salt
140 g unsalted butter - soft but not melted
17 g honey
500 g eggs - large, at room temperature
25 g whole milk - lukewarm

Instructions

Baba Dough

1
If using active dry yeast, dissolve it in a little of the lukewarm milk or water and let stand for 5–10 minutes until lightly foamy.
2
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, add the flour, salt, softened butter, honey and crumbled cake yeast or dissolved active dry yeast.
3
Mix on low speed until the butter is broken up and the flour looks slightly moistened, then begin adding the eggs a little at a time, allowing each addition to incorporate before adding more.
4
When all the eggs are in and the dough starts to look shiny and elastic, pour in the lukewarm milk in a thin stream while mixing on medium speed.
5
Knead on the second speed until the dough is very smooth, elastic and comes completely away from the sides of the bowl, about 8–12 minutes. The dough will be soft and slightly sticky but should hold together in a glossy ball.
6
Scrape the dough into a lightly greased bowl, cover and let rise at warm room temperature until doubled in volume, about 45–60 minutes.
7
Punch down gently to deflate, then cover and chill for 20–30 minutes to firm up before portioning into baba molds or rings.

Comments & Reviews

Ana
9/7/2025
I chilled the dough before piping into small savarin molds and it was much easier to handle. Great base recipe for boozy babas!
Luca
6/18/2025
The instructions for mixing in the eggs gradually really helped. Dough was soft but elastic and baked up with a lovely open crumb.
Marie
4/2/2025
This baba dough is beautifully rich but still light. I used it for mini rum babas and they soaked up the syrup perfectly.