Genuine Neapolitan?

Genuine Neapolitan?
Napoli
Magazine: February 2008

No legend here, just history. All the facts are known, who invented it, how and why. King of Poland twice, then Duke of Lorraine, Stanislao Leszczynski dabbled in gastronomy. Around 1740, inspired by the Lorraine dessert Kugelhupf, he had young cook Stohrer create an ultra soft pastry, with Corinthian raisins added and drenched in rum. He called it Alì Babà because it reminded him of the Orient so much, or possibly in honour of The Arabian Nights. Hugely successful, it took almost 70 years for it to arrive in Naples, following the House of Bourbon. It remained an aristocratic dessert until after the Unifi cation of Italy. Neapolitan creativity omitted the raisins and the Alì part, opting instead for lightness (fl our, butter, milk, eggs, yeast, and sugar) and marriage with liquor. The small, mushroom like dessert is varied, like substituting rum with bergamot liquor. There are also cream and black cherry syrup stuffed babà, with whipped cream and fruit, or else the miniature version with limoncello (lemon liquor). The dose of liquor melted into the syrup is crucial: clearly distinct, never overpowering the airy delicacy of the pastry.