Flaming Rum Monkey Food

FLAMING RUM MONKEY

Steps:

• Warm a mug. (You can do this by filling a mug with boiling water, letting it sit for a a minute, and pouring it out. Or just fill a mug with water and nuke it for about 30 seconds and then pour it out.).
• Place into the mug a teaspoon of brown sugar and the cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and coconut syrup. Add about a tablespoon of boiling water and swish it about a bit to dissolve the sugar.
• Add the rum and Crème de Cacao, then fill the remainder of the mug with boiling water. Stir.
• Get your kitchen lighter ready. Find yourself a large spoon - at least as large as a tablespoon but it can be a serving spoon, too. Place a generous pinch of brown sugar in the bowl of the spoon, then add 151 rum until it's just about full.
• Hold the filled spoon over boiling water in the mug to allow the rum to get warm (but don't actually let it touch the water).
• Carefully light the rum in the spoon on fire and then oh-so-carefully tip the spoon into the mug's contents.
• As Pat Murphy says, "The mixture in the mug will burn with a lovely blue flame.".
• Carefully - away from any innocent (or not so innocent, mind you) bystanders - blow out the flames and enjoy your Flaming Rum Monkey. Yum!

FLAMING BABA AU RHUM

Steps:

• Pour 1/2 cup warm water into the bowl of an electric mixer. Stir in sugar and sprinkle in yeast. Let stand until foamy, 5 to 10 minutes.
• With mixer on low, beat in eggs, one at a time. Beat in flour and salt. Add butter, a few cubes at a time, and beat until batter is smooth, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let stand in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
• Grease a 10- or 12-cup bundt pan with softened butter. Spoon half the batter into bottom of pan. Sprinkle chocolate over top of batter, making sure the chocolate doesn't touch the sides of the pan. Spoon remaining batter over chocolate. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Remove plastic wrap and transfer pan to oven. Bake until deep golden and firm to the touch, 30 to 40 minutes. Let baba cool in the pan, set on a wire rack, for 10 minutes. Turn out onto rack while it is still warm and let cool completely.
• In a medium saucepan, combine brown sugar, 1 1/2 cups water, ginger, orange peel, cloves and cinnamon. Bring to a boil over medium heat; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool completely. Strain into a bowl; discard solids. Stir 1/2 cup rum into liquid.
• Place wire rack with cake over a rimmed baking sheet. Pour rum syrup slowly over surface of cake, allowing excess to drip into baking sheet below. Pour extra syrup from pan into a bowl and then pour it back on top of cake. Repeat several times until most of the syrup has soaked into the cake. (Reserve extra syrup for serving; you should have a least 1/3 cup left over.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip heavy cream to soft peaks. Beat in crème fraîche. Beat in confectioner's sugar, to taste, and vanilla.
• Place cake on large platter. Place remaining 1/4 cup rum in a small skillet over high heat. Tilt skillet slightly so that rum catches fire. (If you don't have a gas range, use a long-handled match or lighter to set rum on fire.) Pour flaming rum over cake and let it burn off. Spoon whipped cream into the hollow center of the cake, then slice; or slice and then dollop with whipped cream. Serve cake with reserved rum syrup.