Baba

S & I: Baba dough, chantilly cream. H & C: Also known as Baba au rhum, the invention of this cake is attributed to the Polish king Stanislas Leszczynski, duke of Lorraine in the 18th century. According to legend, the duke liked to dip his Kugelhopf (traditional leavened cake with dried fruit and raising, traditional of Alsace, Bavaria, and Silesia) in rum and Malaga syrup and set it alight for his amusement. Being an admirer of A Thousand and One Nights, he christened this cake the Ali Baba. After his death, his pastry chef established himself in Paris and began to sell his master’s creation, calling it simply Baba.