French Savarin

Savarin is a very popular dessert cake, easily prepared ahead of time. Is is a yeast cake soaked in plenty of syrup, usually with the addition of rum or flavoured liqueur. I made this without alcohol so that it is family-friendly. I flavoured the syrup with vanilla but you can adapt it to any flavour you like. Often, it is orange flavoured with added Grand Marnier liqueur. It is supposed to be baked in a savarin mold, which is a ring mold of approx. 8 inches in diameter. I had to use my Bundt form which is much bigger and could have easily held double the batter. So if you need it to serve more than 6 people, you should consider making twice the amount written in this recipe.

French Savarin

Ingredients

• 6 tbsp warm water
• 1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup flour
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup sugar

Instructions

• Mix 6 tbsp of water with the yeast and 1 tsp sugar. Let rest for about 10 minutes until bubbles appear.
• Add the egg, butter and flour and mix well.
• Fill the savarin into a buttered ring mold and let the batter rest covered for about an hour.
• Bake for 20 mintues at 350 degrees. Unmold and let cool.

For the syrup, bring 1 cup sugar and 2 cups water to a boil and let boil for 1 minute. Put the cooled savarin back into the ring mold and slowly pour the hot syrup on top. Optional: You can add 3 tbsp of your choice of alcohol and add it to the cake. Let cool completely.

Invert the savarin onto a serving platter, fill the middle with fruit and serve with whipped cream. Traditionally, whipped cream is piped around the cake.

French Savarin

Note: You can make the cake ahead of time and keep it for a few days covered, or freeze it. Before soaking it in syrup, defrost it completely.