Rum baba Rum baba A rum baba or baba au rhum is a small yeast cake saturated in syrup made with hard liquor, usually rum, and sometimes filled with whipped cream or pastry cream. It is most typically made in individual servings (about a 5 cm tall, slightly tapered cylinder) but sometimes can be made in larger forms similar to those used for Bundt cakes. The batter for baba includes eggs, milk and butter. The original form of the baba was similar to the babka, a tall, cylindrical yeast cake (babka is still baked in Ukraine, Poland and in Ukrainian and Polish
Rum is also a theory that it comes from the Turkish name for Greeks, "Rum," as some of the earliest rum spirits were distilled by Greek Christians in the eastern Mediterranean. Other etymologists have mentioned the Romani word "rum", meaning "strong" or "potent". These words have been linked to the ramboozle and rumfustian, both popular British drinks in the mid-17th century. However, neither was made with rum, but rather eggs, ale, wine, sugar, and various spices. The most probable origin is as a truncated version of "rumbullion" or "rumbustion". Both words surfaced in English about the same time as rum did