Babà: what's its story and where can you eat the best ones?

It's a leavened baked dessert, originally from Poland, as mentioned, and called babka ponczowa. Later, French pastry chefs gave it the name baba, which was, finally, transformed by Neapolitans into "babà".

by Alessia Giannino

The babà, even though it has Polish origins, is considered a symbol of Neapolitan pastry-making.

The origins

The invention of the babà dates back to the Polish king Stanisław Leszczyński, who liked to invent new recipes but who, having no teeth, couldn't eat overly hard or dry sweets, such as the gugelhupf, originally from Alsace. To soften this dessert, he decided to soak it in syrup, giving life to what is, today, the ancestor of the babà. Another story also tells that the king, after a series of failed attempts, once threw a batch of this dessert against a cupboard, breaking a bottle of rum, which ended up soaking it; tasting it, the sovereign found it, at last, excellent.

The mushroom shape of this delight for the palate is owed to Nicolas Stohrer, the famous pastry chef who arrived in Paris with Maria, the Polish sovereign's daughter: indeed, still today, in the French capital, desserts similar to the babà are offered. In the 19th century, the master Brillat-Savarin invented a liqueur that pairs well with fruit salads; the Julien brothers thus had the idea of enclosing them in a babà brushed with apricot jam, giving life to the Babà Savarin.

As for the earliest Neapolitan sources, finally, they date back to 1836, when the chef Angeletti wrote a culinary manual, including the recipe for babà, prepared with raisins and saffron. Little by little, these ingredients were lost due to commercial pastry-making, but new variants were born, such as those with custard and sour cherry.

Today, in Naples, the babà is an institution.

The pastry shops where you can enjoy the best babà

Sfogliatella Mary - This pastry shop is tiny and is located inside the Galleria Umberto I. It's famous for its sfogliatelle (shell-shaped pastries), but also for its babà: indeed, in the small display window you'll find different types, from the plain ones to those soaked in syrup, through to chocolate ones and fruit ones. A riot of colours, which always attracts a great many tourists and not only.

Where: Galleria Umberto I, 66.

Pasticceria Capparelli - For anyone crossing the historic centre, a stop at Capparelli is a must. The babà here are enormous compared to those of other pastry shops, the dough is excellent and the dessert is golden just right and soaked to perfection. Besides the classic one, here too you can find different types. A sweet break for anyone visiting the historic centre.

Where: Via Tribunali, 325/327 and
Via Carbonara, 39, 80139 Naples NA

Antico Forno Attanasio - Famous for its sfogliatelle, but the babà here aren't to be messed with either. Soft and fragrant, they're soaked in rum impeccably. You often risk finding a long queue, due to the location, because travellers very often want to take Neapolitan sweets with them... but it's absolutely worth it.

Where: Vico Ferrovia, 1.

Scaturchio - This is one of the most renowned pastry shops in Naples, known by the many tourists who arrive in the city every day. Famous for the ministeriale (a chocolate cake invented by the pastry shop's founder), it also offers a superb babà: you simply can't miss trying it. Scaturchio is also the inventor of the babà shaped like Vesuvius, which has become one of its strong points. Today there are several branches: in the historic centre, in Vomero, in Posillipo and the most recent one, in Piazza Amedeo.

Where: Via San Domenico Maggiore, 19/ Via Luca Giordano, 79/Via Orazio, 143/Piazza Amedeo, 8.