Baba au Rhum and the Evangelical Impulse

It happens to all of us. Well…maybe it doesn’t and I’m trying to convince myself of the universality of this phenomenon in order to lessen the worries that I am an egotistical twit trying to tell everyone else what to do. I’m talking, of course, about what is known as the “Evangelical Impulse.” While the term “evangelical” has its roots in the greek term “euangelion” which is translated in most versions of the New Testament as “Good News,” it has lately been used primarily to refer to Christians who occupy an extremely socially conservative point of view and voice their opinions regularly in public (three cheers for a seminary degree!). I, however, am not using this term in either of these ways, although the latter is probably closer to the definition I am attempting to utilize. The evangelical impulse refers to one’s desire that others engage in an activity that, for the “evangelist,” produced a highly desirable effect. In this manner, the folks mentioned earlier do, indeed, tend to act upon this impulse (i.e. I don’t imbibe alcohol and I am perfectly happy; ergo, if you cease imbibing alcohol you will reach a similar level of happiness [and have me to thank (I just used parentheses inside of brackets inside of parentheses, how you like me now high school english teachers??)!]).

However, this group of people (admittedly broadly defined and therefore problematic – exceptions to stereotypes, overly broad homogenizations, etc… you’re free to choose the reason I’m wrong) tend to have some kind of motive to convert others to their particular faith and, perhaps, believe that in getting you to act in a similar manner to themselves your belief structure may begin to resemble theirs as well and you will keep reaching new levels of “happy” until you are as “happy” as they are. I have no such ulterior motive to alter your behavior (or do I?). What I do have is an experience that has made me happy that I wish to encourage all of my readers to engage in...[after a discussion with my legal team regarding the contents of the blog to follow, I can only encourage those of proper age under the laws of their country, state, city, county, etc. to engage in the aforementioned experience]. This experience: Baba au rhum. Dear Lord, I thought Vietnamese nougat was delicious (this is the part of this post where I’ll cease to discuss complicated themes using difficult words/sentence structures and certain mother-in-laws may find themselves giggling more).

Baba au rhum is a pastry sent down from the kitchen of every God ever worshipped and every prophet ever to receive a revelation (I believe it was a collaborative effort) to France to be served at restaurants, boulangeries, and prepackaged to be sold at Carrefour (an establishment that probably originated in the same kitchen of the Gods and prophets when Vishnu turned to Joseph Smith and said “How will we get this delicious pastry to the masses?” And Joseph Smith responded…“The sacred place shall be called ‘Carrefour’ and they shall also be the keepers of beer for two euros/six pack and delicious frozen pizza…and an American shall stumbleth upon it…and he shall bloggeth). I have experienced this pastry in the Carrefour variety and eagerly look forward to experiencing au restaurant, and you should do.


Problem: Many of you are in America where Baba au rhum is scarce. Solution: I’ve got you covered.


You see, Baba au rhum is a four-part treat. One part delectable pastry. One part crème. Two parts rum…don’t judge me. Basically, what Baba au rhum is…is a twinkie dunked in rum. What I am saying, then, is that those with legal access to both twinkies and rum (I’m not sure of the particular statute on twinkies in each of your localities) should buy both, fill a cup with rum, and…

Dunk.

That.

Twinkie.

What I am further saying is “Yes, I have experienced something good…nay great.” As well as “Yes, for those who share the love of fine pastries, crème, and rum, this good is universal.” If you do not like rum, don’t feel obliged to dunk a twinkie in it…feel encouraged to experience a French delicacy that a friend of yours has enjoyed. If you have some sort of health-related issue preventing you from enjoying an Americanized version of this delicacy, come visit and enjoy a Baba au rhum in Paris – I promise they are full of vitamins here. For those thinking that I have no right to tell them how to live their life – including dictating the beverage in which they dunk their crème-filled pastries – even if I “claim” to be “merely encouraging” an action…go hug a tree, Baba au rhum is delicious and everyone reading this should try it and buy one for someone else (perhaps one small step towards world peace?).

One final piece of advice: should some well-meaning – but mistaken – friend or relative call you an alcoholic for dipping a twinkie in a full glass of Captain Morgan’s tell them what I tell myself: “I’m not an alcoholic…I’m experiencing French culture.”

thanks for reading