Rum cake associated with Christmas in Trinidad and Tobago. In Puerto Rico, rum cake is called "Bizcocho de Ron", and is a sponge cake, so as to absorb the rum. If fruit is added to it, it is fresh or dried. Raisins and sultanas may be soaked in rum for one day or one night. Bizcochos de Ron are given as gifts during the holiday season, but they are not considered an insulting gift, the way fruitcakes in the U.S. sometimes are. In the United States, rum cakes have been popular since at least the 1970s. While many island travelers go out
Rum baba communities over the world). The name means "old woman" or "grandmother" in the Slavic languages; "babka" is a diminutive of "baba". The modern baba au rhum (rum baba), with dried fruit and soaking in rum, was invented in the rue Montorgueil in Paris, France, in 1835 or before. Today, the word "baba" in France and almost everywhere else outside eastern Europe usually refers specifically to the rum baba. The original baba was introduced into France in the 18th century via Lorraine. This is attributed to Stanislaus I, the exiled king of Poland. The "Larousse Gastronomique" has reported that Stanislaus had