It's born in Poland at the court of Duke of Lorraine Stanislaus Leszczyński, father-in-law of Louis XV of France, was perfected in Paris by the famous pastry chef Nicolas Stohrer, where he took the name of Babà, he then settled permanently in Naples where it has become a standard of Neapolitan pastry a, equal to the pastiera or the sfogliatelle, and where, in spite of any misunderstandings, the "b" has been doubled which makes it turned into dad to future imperishable memory, of his Neapolitanitude.
And now it happens that at the Mille&unBabà competition, which took place in Naples, an all-Neapolitan jury, made up of Sal De Riso, president of AMPI (Accademia Maestri Pasticceri Italiani) and Ambassador of taste of the Amalfi coast; Sabatino Sirica, veteran of Campania pastry; Gennaro Esposito, chef of the two-starred La Torre del Saracino, and Antimo Caputo, CEO of Mulino Caputo, a Neapolitan company specialized since 1924 in quality flours for haute cuisine, have crowned a Tuscan, Florentine doc, Andrea Sacchetti creator of the best innovative Babà of the year. His Alì Babà, a single portion that revisits the original recipe it was made up of babà paste with a lime-scented poché pineapple heart inside, pineapple-lime flavored rum syrup, Bourbon vanilla whipped ganache and shiny mango jelly. The news made noise: a Tuscan Babà with exotic influences that outperforms all the other competitors who also belong to the Campania pastry elite, is no small matter.
But Andrea Sacchetti, despite his young age, 26 years old, comes from a long family and personal history. Let's go in order. Meanwhile, the name Sacchetti della “New World” pastry shop of Prato is one of the most prestigious of the Italian white art. Father Paolo, vice-president of Ampi, the Academy of Italian Pastry Chefs presided over by Iginio Massari, a well-known face on TV, specialized in leavened products whose panettones have always ranked among the best in Italy, famous for his "Pesche di Prato" brioche dough bombs filled with cream and soaked in alchermes, was elected Best Pastry Chef in Italy in 2012, awarded for the Best Breakfast in Italy by the Gambero Rosso Guide in 2015 and is present in events in Italy and abroad. Son of a great father, Andrea Sacchetti threw himself into the world of pastry with the desire to say something new and personal. After completing his classical studies, he attended the advanced training course at Cast Alimenti in Brescia at the age of 19, to then continue for 7 months in the Veneto pastry shop of Iginio Massari as an intern, a subsequent period with another great master, alessandro damasso of Avigliana. And he has attended courses with other master pastry chefs, including Angelo Musa, Cedric Grolet, Stephan Leroux and many others, before taking root in his father's workshop in Prato. "The father-son relationship at work - he says - is not always rosy and we don't always agree on everything, but I think that from this comparison of two such different paths such as mine and God the father, something good or better to say: sweet”.
The basic philosophy that underlies the history and present of Pasticceria Nuovo Mondo remains important (the name is not accidental): renew the tradition ovvI was tradition in evolution.
“How can one go about doing this? I think the first thing is to have a strong knowledge of the tradition and history of pastry making because if you don't know where it comes from, you don't know where it will end up. And last but not least, you must know the subject, but all topped off by being very greedy. Why I say this because in every product and raw material created and processed with passion knowledge and inevitable to put oneself and one's own philosophy”
His Alibabà was born from this philosophy: respecting tradition by keeping the Babà al rum, obviously a quality rum, in this case the diplomatic Venezuelan rum, also using the fruit cooking syrup to contrast the dryness of the rum with the sweetness of the fruit in this case the pineapple. “I decided not to change the Babà's pasta – the Chef explains – precisely to respect the tradition of this magnificent dessert and this extraordinary pasta which I believe in my humble opinion does not need any other evolutions. But I modified the shape making it more contemporary by making a cylinder with holes to fill with a heart of pineapple cubes flavored with lime and vanilla. Of tastes you can understand that I chose the exotic one because I see Babà as a fresh, sweet and light dessert at the same time. Since the eye wants its share I used a mango jelly always to stay in an exotic climate to correct and protect the color of the pasta and to entice. Finally, I gave a touch of modernity by using what in the environment We call tourbillon From the French vortex”.
Of course, going to Naples with a recipe like this might have seemed like a gamble, but Andrea Sacchetti's Babà has it fully convinced the judges for its innovative charge che has not distorted the iconic sweet of Neapolitan pastry but has indicated coherently with the philosophy of the "New World" that in this sector new paths can be taken and open up to new perspectives.
The recipe of Alì Babà, exotic Babbà
Baba pasta
500 g super gold Caputo flour
10 g salt
225 g butter
60 g acacia honey
50 g brewer's yeast
750 g fresh eggs
1 vanilla bean
1 grated lemon zest
Mix the flour, honey, brewer's yeast, the aromas and approximately 200 g of eggs in the planetary mixer with the hook. Once the dough has come together, add the salt, mix well and then add the butter. When the dough is elastic, add the remaining eggs a little at a time. Put the dough into the special silicone or steel molds for single portions, filling them up to a third of the volume (40 g) then let it rise at 26°-28° C for about an hour and a half, in any case until the dough has reached the edge of the mould.
Bake with the oven off, baking at 220° C for about 10-12 minutes until the babà gets a nice amber colour. if a silicone mold is used to facilitate extraction, blast chill to -18°C and then unmold.
Poached pineapple heart with lime scent
1 pineapple (net weight once cleaned about 1 kg)
500 g water
400 g sugar
1 bourbon vanilla bean
2 grated lime zest
Pineapple lime gel
300 g pineapple juice
5 g lime juice
2 grated lime zest
35 g sugar
3 agar agar
5 g gelatin powder
25 g water (to rehydrate the gelatin)
In a saucepan, heat the pineapple juice, lime juice and lime zest, then add the sugar mixed with the agar and bring to the boil. Filter and leave to cool after adding the previously rehydrated gelatin; then, mix after the thickeners have fully set, until a gel is obtained.
After having cleaned the pineapple, cut it into not too small cubes of about 2 cm, then cook in a saucepan together with water, sugar and vanilla for about 10-15 minutes depending on how ripe the pineapple is. Once cooked, add the lime zest, and let it rest for 1 hour. Strain all the liquid then add the gel to the cubes.
Pineapple and lime flavored rum syrup (12°)
250 g pineapple cooking syrup
110 g water
70 g sugar
70 g glucose
2 lime zest
175 g diplomatic rum 40°
40 g 70° rum
Mix all the ingredients together except the rum in a saucepan saucepan, then heat until the sugars have completely dissolved. Once cold below 30° C, filter and add the rum.
Bourbon vanilla whipped ganache
65 g fresh cream 36% mg
65 g fresh milk
87,5 g white chocolate
1 Bourbon vanilla pod
3 g gelatin powder
15 g water (to rehydrate the gelatin)
260 g fresh cream 36% mg
Heat the milk and cream, add the vanilla pod, then leave to infuse for 20 minutes, then bring to the boil and filter over the chocolate. With the immersion mixer create a glossy and stable emulsion, then add the previously rehydrated gelatin and finally the cold cream, continuing to mix without incorporating air. Cover with cling film and leave to rest in the fridge at +3°C for 12 hours, then whip in the planetary mixer with a whisk to obtain a frothy consistency.
Shiny mango jelly
250 g mango puree
125 g water
100 g glucose
300 g dextrose
12 g pectin nh
In a saucepan, heat the mango puree, water and glucose to 40°C, then add the sugar and pectin mixed together and bring to the boil. Store in the fridge at +3°C.
Assembly and decoration
Heat the syrup to 40°C then immerse the babas until they are completely soaked, squeeze lightly and leave to drip on a grill.
Then heat the glossy jelly to 50°C and glaze the babà, place it on the plate and arrange the pineapple heart in the centre, using a spoon. Then using the "electric carousel" (turntable), dress the whipped ganache on top forming a spiral.
Decorate by placing whichwhat a piece of pineapple and the isomalt decorations
