Baba Cake

I’m not making this cake up. It exists, I promise. If you don’t believe me, check out La Cuisine de Memere (Lutcher Chapel Cookbook), Butterflies for Life cookbook, or go to Nobile’s restaurant in Lutcher. A quick google search will turn up rum baba cake and my beloved cake is nothing like that one.

Baba cake is a single layer yellow cake with a layer of coconut, covered in vanilla custard, and topped with toasted meringue. Seems basic with readily available ingredients, but outside of St. James and Assumption Parishes, you probably won’t find it. It’s decadent. It’s light. It’s the perfect summer dessert to cool you off.

For the base, I use Betty Crocker’s Bonnie Butter Cake. It’s my favorite yellow cake. The cake is unchanged except for a tweak to the mixing order of ingredients and a little extra detail. Have no fear of the meringue. I am a novice meringue maker at best and this meringue works every time.

Bonnie Butter Cake Ingredients
2 ¾ c all-purpose flour
1 ¾ c sugar
2 ½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2/3 c butter, softened
1 ¼ c milk
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Bonnie Butter Cake Directions
Heat oven to 350. Do a thin swipe of butter on an 9x13” Pyrex. Do not line the pan with parchment paper because the cake remains in the pan after it’s cool.

Use an electric mixer on low speed to incorporate 2 ¾ c flour, 1 ¾ c sugar, 2 ½ tsp baking powder, and 1 tsp salt in a large bowl.

Cut 2/3 c softened butter into roughly 1/3 Tbl pieces. Your finger should be able to make an indent in the butter with some resistance. If the butter is too cold, it’ll be hard to mix. Butter too warm won’t hold a lift as well. Scatter the cut butter in the bowl. Mix on low until the butter is pea size.

Measure 1 ¼ c milk into a 2 c liquid measure cup or small pot with a pour spout. Add the 2 eggs and 1 1/2 tsp vanilla to the milk and give it a quick whisk to combine.

Add all but ½ c of the milk mixture to the flour. Begin mixing on low speed until a batter begins to form. Beat on medium-high for about 60 seconds. It should be light and fluffy. Reduce speed to medium-low and drizzle in the remaining milk. Beat for about 45 seconds. It might look a little lumpy.

Pour the batter into the Pryex and smooth the top with a spatula. Pick up the Pyrex about 2 inches from the counter and drop it. Repeat twice. Pop it in the oven and bake for 40-50 minutes. Look for a light brown color and a few crumbs on a toothpick after it’s inserted into the middle of the cake. Allow to cool.

Vanilla Custard Ingredients
12 ounces evaporated milk
2 c whole milk (or what you have in your fridge)
3 Tbl corn starch
1/8 tsp salt
1 c sugar
4 egg yolks
4 Tbl cold butter
7 tsp vanilla (yes, 7)

Vanilla Custard Directions
Put 12 ounce of evaporated milk and 2 c of whole milk in a sauce pan. Add 3 Tbl corn starch and whisk until the corn starch is well-incorporated. Corn starch will not make a smooth mixture if it’s incorporated when the milk is hot.

Add 1 c sugar and 1/8 tsp salt to the milk and heat. I won’t say how much heat because burners vary greatly in their heat output. You want the milk to come in right under simmer. Whisk (with a whisk) it occasionally so the sugar incorporates (will be easier to do so once the milk becomes warm). If your burner runs hot, I recommend using a double boiler. You don’t want to risk curdling the eggs at a later stage!

Separate 4 eggs. I’m not usually OCD when separating eggs, but in this case be very careful. The whites will be turned into meringue and if you have any yellow in the whites, it will not be good. I use the 3 bowl method (regular cereal bowls will do the trick) – I only use this method when making meringue. Crack the egg and let the white slide through the crack into bowl A. Put the yolk in bowl B. It’s ok if a little white goes into bowl B. It is not ok if yolk goes into bowl A. Crack the second egg and put the white into bowl C. Add the yolk to bowl B. Dump bowl C see into bowl A. Repeat two more times. If a little yolk gets into the whites while separating, you won’t ruin all of the whites.

Take a fork and whisk the yolks a little. There’s no need to go crazy whisking. When the milk is right below a simmer, add about 2 tsp of the milk into the yolks while whisking. Repeat until your bowl is about 2/3 full. Then whisk the contents of the bowl into the pot. You want the heat right under a simmer. If if you feel like you’ve been whisking for days and your custard isn’t getting thicker, turn up the heat a little.

Continuously whisk until the mixture is thick. If you dip a serving spoon into the pot quickly, run your finger on the underside. A well-defined thick line should remain behind. Cook a couple of minutes longer. Remove from heat. Take a little taste. Stir in 4 Tbl of cold butter. Taste again. See the difference? After it’s all melted, stir in the 7 tsp (2 Tbl + 1 tsp) vanilla. Taste. Ahhh … magic! Put plastic wrap touching the custard and allow to cool. The plastic touching the custard will prevent a film from forming. Allow to cool to room temperature.

Coconut Filling Ingredients
8 Tbl butter
14 ounce of sweetened shredded coconut

Coconut Filling Directions
Melt the butter in a bowl in the microwave using 20 second increments or heat it in a sauce pan on the stove. Stir in the coconut.

Meringue Ingredients
4 eggs whites
½ tsp cream of tartar
2 tsp vanilla
2/3 c sugar

Meringue Directions
Soak a paper napkin with white vinegar and wipe a large glass or stainless steel mixing bowl (plastic holds onto oil so don’t use a plastic bowl). Repeat and wipe your beaters (whisk attachment if you use stand mixer) and rubber spatula.

Add the egg whites to your mixing bowl and beat on medium low until the egg whites are foamy. Add the cream of tarter and vanilla. Slowly add sugar while beating until stiff peaks form. If you’re using a stand mixer, make sure you use a spatula and fold the liquid bottom into the frothy eggs. If you pick up the whisk and turn it upside down, the tip should stand tall and proud. My tip is if you’re unsure how far you can go, err on the side of soft peaks.

Assembly
Heat oven to 350. Spread the coconut filling in an even layer on top of the cool cake. Cover the coconut with a room temperature custard layer. Take the rubber spatula and carefully scoop it down the sides of the bowl and scoop up. Dollop it on the custard. Gently spread the meringue. Take a butter knife and make swirls gently lifting at the end of the stroke to give the meringue peaks. Pop it in the oven for about 15-20 minutes. You want the peaks to be golden brown and the valleys to be white. If you don’t toast it long enough, you’ll miss out on the depth of flavor, but if you toast it took much, it becomes dry and doesn’t look as pretty.

Allow it to cool to room temperature (or close to it) and refrigerate it. Serve it chilled.

Notes
Salmonella can live on the exterior of egg shells which can contaminate the yolk or white if it rubs against it. Salmonella from eggs in the US in 2022 is rare and we’re cooking the eggs. If it makes you feel better, you can cup your hand, and allow the white to run between your slightly open fingers while the yellow stays in your hand.