This traditional Russian baked item was almost always store-bought, and for good reason – making them requires using nearly every pan in the kitchen
For the cakes:
1 kg flour;
2 cups milk;
7 eggs;
1 1/4 cups sugar;
300 grams butter;
3/4 tsp salt;
200 grams raisins;
1/2 tsp vanilla;
50 grams yeast.
For the sauce
1/2 cup sugar;
1 3/4 cups water;
4-6 spoonfuls of rum, wine or other liquor.
Dissolve yeast in 1 cup or warm milk. Add three cups of flour and knead into a stiff dough. Roll into a ball. Make 5 or 6 shallow cuts in the ball and place the dough into a pan filled with 2-2 1/2 liters warm water. Cover with a lid and set in a warm place for 40-50 minutes.
When the dough increases in volume by 50%, remove it from the water with a slotted spoon. Separate the eggs. Add egg yolks to sugar and mix until there is no white showing. Whip egg whites into a froth. Add to the dough ball the second cup of warm milk, salt, vanilla and egg yolks mixed with sugar. Mix well.
Add the remaining flour and knead the dough. After that, add the butter to the dough and knead very well. The dough should not be too thick. Again cover and put in a warm place. When the dough again increases in volume by 50 percent, add the raisins, stir and pour the batter into the prepared mold.
Cover and put in a warm place to rise. When the dough has risen to 3/4 the height of the molds, then gently, not shaking, put it in a cool oven, approximately 45-60 minutes.
During baking, the mold must be rotated with great caution, as even a slight push can cause the dough to fall. When the rombabas are ready, (readiness is determined in the same manner as in cakes). Remove from the mold and put on a dish. When cool, pour the syrup over them, carefully turning on a platter so they are soaked in the syrup soaked from all sides. Then, put them on a separate dish to dry. Put on another dish, covered with a paper towel, to serve.