#Berry Birthday Baba recipe

[askwhatsforlunch]

Berry Birthday Baba

Today is Dad's 65th Birthday, and as he is as fond of the dessert as Jules is, his cake was this beautifully boozy Berry Birthday Baba!!! It was so great to be together on this special day, and to see him get second and third helpings, too! Happy Sunday!

Ingredients (makes 1):

220 grams/8 ounces strong white flour

50 grams/1.75 ounce caster sugar

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

½ teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

¼ cup milk

100 grams/ 3.5 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature

¼ cup demerara sugar

2 heaped tablespoons pure local honey

1 cup white rum

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup Mandarin Gin 

1/2 cup fresh blueberries

1/3 cup fresh raspberries

a few grapes fresh Red Currants (Gooseberries) 

�� cup double cream

In a large bowl, combine strong white flour, caster sugar, yeast and salt, making sure you don’t put the salt on top of the yeast, as it might kill it. Give a good stir; set aside.

In a smaller bowl, whisk the eggs and the milk together until well-blended.

With a wooden spoon, gradually stir egg mixture into flour mixture, until a soft, sticky dough forms. Tip dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead, a good 10 minutes, until dough becomes smoother. Then, gradually knead in softened butter, until you have an elastic, shiny dough. Return to the bowl, and cover with a tea towel. Prove, one hour, or until doubled in size.

Generously butter a 20cm/8” baba tin.

Once proved, knock back the air, and spoon dough into a piping bag. Pipe dough prepared tin. Prove again, until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 180°C/355°F.

Once the baba has risen, place in the middle of the warm oven, and bake, 25 to 30 minutes at 180°C/355°F, until a nice golden brown colour.

Whilst baba is baking, combine demerara sugar, honey, half of the rum and water in a large saucepan, and heat over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar and honey have completely dissolved. Boil rapidly, a couple of minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in remaining white rum and Mandarin Gin. Cover with a lid.

When the baba is baked, remove from the oven, and let cool, 15 minutes, before gently releasing from the tin. Then, carefully soak the sponge in the warm rum and Mandarin Gin syrup, gently turning it to soak evenly. Gently lift out of the saucepan, and transfer to serving plate; set aside. Keep about 1/4 cup of the rum and Mandarin Gin syrup.

Let rum-soaked sponge cool at room temperature.

Thoroughly rinse blueberries, raspberries and rc, then gently pat them dry with paper towels. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, beat double cream with an electric beater until soft peaks form. Add remaining cooled rum and Mandarin Gin syrup, and continue beating until stiff peaks just form.

Serve Berry Birthday Baba filled and topped with blueberries, raspberries and Red Currants, with Rum and Mandarin Gin Whipped Cream.

[lael-lu]

-Task 010-

What was your character like as a baby? As a child?

Lael was the rambunctious black sheep of the quiet Lu family. Extroverted and optimistic, Lael was a loud kid who often spoke out of turn but was, more often than not, a favorite of her teachers’.

Did they grow up rich or poor?

Wealthy, as nearly everyone in the Capitol does. Though her family’s riches could never match the opulence of those living in the city center, they certainly took advantage of the opportunities given to them in the Capitol.

Did they grow up nurtured or neglected?

While Lael’s family was very tight-knit, there existed a structure quite opposite from many, more traditional families. It was the task of the younger kids to take care of the older generation. Often, she and her cousins were charged with taking care of her elderly great-grandparents, and scolded harshly if they fell out of line.

What is their greatest achievement?

Becoming an escort for the Games, of course!

What was their first kiss like?

Lael was thirteen. It was with a boy she knew her family would never approve of, which is perhaps why she was so eager for it to be with him. Lionel was dark-skinned, mysterious, quiet, but kind. He wasn’t taking the high-level classes she was, but he listened to her and understood her passions. He took her on a walk after they snuck out at lunchtime during school one day and he kissed her under an oak tree. He used too much tongue. Lael didn’t kiss another boy for about four years after that.

What is the worst thing they did to someone they loved?

Lael felt a deep and abiding guilt upon leaving her family for the city center. She had expressed her plans to them and had been shut down. Not scolded, not told to stay home, but spoken to as if her parents and grandparents didn’t believe she would actually do it. She didn’t see their reactions when they discovered she had actually gone, but Lael imagined she had most likely hurt her family deeply.

What are their ambitions?

Lael would love to, eventually, be a Gamemaker for the Hunger Games. Her deep and abiding love for the Game and her self-proclaimed creativity have instilled in her that ultimate goal.

What advice would they give their younger self?

Get out before you’re 21 and have the craziest, most fun 21st birthday possible. It’s not going to be fun if you stay at home.

What smells remind them of their childhood?

Traditional bean curd desserts. Lael and her family didn’t know the name of the land their ancestors came from, but their unique recipes using red bean paste and lots of sugar had been handed down for generations. It was her favorite.

What was their childhood ambition?

Movie star! Or fashion model. Or Victor of the Hunger Games. Whichever would make her most famous.

What is their best childhood memory?

Lael’s best friend from home brought her on a trip with her family to the Capitol city center, where Lael finally got to experience the lights and shows and spectacles of the inner city. Her quaint neighborhood was nice, but boring. This was where she wanted to be.

What is their worst childhood memory?

Her great grandmother fell out of the shower when Lael was ten. Her parents gave her the responsibility of pulling her BaBa up and helping her recover, but as she pulled the old woman up her head started to bleed. She had hit it against the wall. Lael spent half an hour pulling her naked and slippery great grandmother out of the bathroom and into her bed while her parents called the medic and scolded Lael for not being more careful. BaBa passed away the next day, and Lael had always wondered if she had contributed to it because of her clumsiness.

When was the last time they were crushed with disappointment?

She’d made the plan to run away to the city center with her best friend, Alayanah, whose family had taken her there when they were kids. When Lael was set to go, Ala got cold feet, and Lael had a several minutes of panic when she thought she’d have to go back home and face her parents in disgrace. That didn’t happen; she ended up going alone.

What past act are they most ashamed of?

Her inherent clumsiness and her inability to save her great grandmother.

What past act are they most proud of?

Lael graduated university two years early. Her graduation was one of the only times her parents verbally expressed their pride in their only daughter, and the memory of that moment alone became a pride for Lael.

Has anyone ever saved their life?

No. Lael hasn’t ever been in any particularly precarious situations.

Is their family big or small? Who does it consist of?

She has a small immediate family of just her parents, but a large extended family. On her mother’s side, she has her Auntie Lee and Uncle Ron and cousins Steffi, Jax, and Turner, as well as her single Auntie Su (though her family doesn’t talk much about her). On her father’s side, she has her Auntie Ty, Uncle Fret, Auntie Penni, Auntie Jayelle, Auntie Dari, and Uncle Hal. Auntie Ty and Uncle Fret have their son Caius, Aunties Penni and Jayelle have their twin daughters Olive and Quinn, and Auntie Dari and Uncle Hal have their four sons Spence, Julius, Berry, and Octavian. In addition, she has both her Grandmas and both her Grandpas as well as three of her Great Grandmas and two of her Great Grandpas.

tl;dr: Small immediate family, large extended family.

What is their perception of family?

Because she comes from such a tangled network, Lael has never been sure what exactly a family is. But she thinks it’s the people who will look out for her and love her no matter what mistakes she makes.

Do they have any pets?

No, but she would love a dog and a couple of cats.

If your character could only save one thing from their burning house, what would it be?

Her wallet with identification information. Lael, for someone so blindly optimistic and in love with the Capitol, is actually not particularly materialistic. She knows she can get by with her ID and credit card, and she already has a job and income. No problem.

What is in their fridge?

Lots and lots of fruit! Her favorite is strawberries, which she has the Avoxes refill every day after she finishes off a bowl.

What is on their bedside table?

Her tablet to watch her latest television episodes, an old-school alarm clock, and her dental retainer (she has to wear it at night still).

What is in their purse or wallet?

Her ID, several homemade business cards, her credit card, a stamp card for her favorite sandwich stand in the Capitol, and a hotel room key she forgot to return a few years ago.

What is in their pockets?

Her keys and some loose change.

Describe their home.

The Lus lives in a large building which houses most of her extended family. Lael had her own room, but her family was hardly warm, and she hardly felt at home.