Babas in restaurants: rum, gin and mezcal

Do you know what the best compliment you can get in the south of Italy is? Si ‘nu bbabbà a rrumma! “You’re just a father!” Almost like “You’re my sweet bun.”

For a Soviet person, baba is a sweet that could be bought in a bakery for a few kopecks since childhood. But in fact, “baba” is much more refined and aristocratic; Polish king Stanislav Leszczynski took part in its creation, and his past was not without travels – first to Paris, and from there to Naples.

The Fashion Vibes columnist Anya Baturina found eight different “babas” in Moscow restaurants that you should definitely meet if you like the combination of sweet and alcohol in one dessert.

Anya Baturina, author of the Telegram channel touch_my_bum

Sicilian woman, Lumicino

A juicy and alcoholic dessert for children, just like they love in Sicily. It is prepared with local (Sicilian, not Moscow, of course) rum, served with fresh strawberry tartare with lemon sorbet and raspberry-strawberry paste for freshness and balance. They say it is eaten this way on the Italian islands. But if you want to try “baba” in Neapolitan style, blink, the dessert will be poured with limoncello before your eyes – and now you are already in mainland Italy.

Address: st. Bolshaya Nikitskaya, 58

Whiskey woman, claw Louis

Dreamtime pop-up brasserie Louis The Claw continues to serve up Louisiana vibes at the Marco Polo Hotel in Patriarchy. The term “pop-up” scares us, because the hotel and restaurant are promised to be closed next winter, so it’s definitely not worth putting off going there for too long for the whiskey baba. It’s very boozy, soaked in high-quality eight-year-old whiskey and lightly coated in a base of mascarpone cream, whipped cream and vanilla.

Address: Spiridonievsky lane, 9, p. 1

Sherry Baba, Padron

Padron offers a Spanish interpretation of the classic dessert. For the impregnation they use fortified wine from the southwest of the country – Andalusia. Only three grape varieties are allowed for the production of sherry – palomino, moscatel and pedro ximénez and for the Spanish “woman” of Padron, only one of them. Pedro ximénez is the only drink that can balance the sweetness of cherry stone ice cream.

Address: Strastnoy Boulevard, 7, p. 1

Rum-baba, “Erwin. Patricks. Pavilion. Pond”

At a restaurant near the main pond in Moscow, they make a rum baba that is “just right” by Italian standards. It’s served with limoncello and lime cream—a Neapolitan touch—and looks as sophisticated as any other Patrick’s Day girl. Be careful, by “just right” we mean the level of alcohol in the dessert, because Italians love extremes.

Address: Bolshoi Patriarchate Street, 7, p. 1

Greek father with strawberries, “Northerners”

Chef Georgiy Troyan knows what a delicious baba should be. In “Northerners” he has combined all his favorite childhood desserts into one dessert for adults: creamy ice cream and strawberries. The “baba” is cut in half and fruit ice cream is placed directly between the halves. This way you can collect all the ingredients in one spoon at a time.

Address: Bolshaya Nikitskaya street, 12

Tropical father, Atelier de Tartelette

A non-standard “baba” wrapped in a tartlet, with passion fruit puree syrup, Malibu liqueur, biscuit inside, pineapple-passion fruit dessert and dipped in coconut-flavored cream. I want to eat this at any time of the year to prolong the summer.

Address: Spiridonevsky lane, 10 A, p. 1

Rum Baba, Remy Kitchen Oven

There’s a great daddy in the baked goods department at Remy Kitchen Bakery. The rich doughnut is soaked in rum-citrus syrup and glistens with an apricot jelly glaze on top, under a textured cap of vanilla cream.

Address: st. Malaya Bronnaya, 2

Rum-baba, Touché

The classic classic that we dream of among Roma women is at the Touché restaurant in Trekhgorka, where all the babas languish in a huge transparent jar while waiting for the order, and when served, one of them is laid out from this jar right in front of the guest on a bed of white chocolate cream and seasonal fruits.

Address: st. Rochdelskaya 15, p. 22