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So which of these multiple meanings gave rise to ''"baba"'', the bundt cake? Did the cake use to resemble a [https://www.google.com/search?q=baby+kamienne&tbm=isch pagan stone idol,] which is also called ''"baba"'' in Polish? Or does the cake's name come from its resemblance to a peasant woman's long pleated skirt? Or perhaps it comes from the fact that it's always been old women who were most experienced in the tricky art of yeast-cake baking?
[[File:Michał Elwiro Andriolli, Kłopoty wielkanocne.jpg|thumb|These ''baby'' (women) let a man into the kitchen and now their ''baba'' (cake) has flopped.]]
After all, baking a beautiful, tall, airy ''baba'' was one of the most demanding tasks Polish home cooks ever had to face. Great care was needed to prevent the cake from sinking or browning a little too much. A housewife who aimed for the perfect ''baba'' had to start by choosing the best ingredients – high-quality wheat flour, good beer yeast and fresh butter. The oven had to be heated as much as possible, so that it could keep a constant temperature for a long time. The moulds had to be perfectly clean before being filled with dough and popped into the oven. Then came the almost magical practices whose goal was to prevent the ''baba'' from "catching a cold" and falling. Doors and windows were sealed to avoid draughts, women walked on their toes and talked in whispers when close to the oven, and finally, the ''baba'' was gently placed on down pillows for cooling. And, of course, no men were allowed in the kitchen; the baking of a ''baba'' was a ''baby''-only affair.<ref>{{Cyt
}}</ref>
In any case, the word ''"baba"'' was used in the sense of "bundt cake" at least as early as the 17th century.,<ref>{{Cyt
| inni = ed. Włodzimierz Gruszczyński
| tytuł = Elektroniczny słownik języka polskiego XVII i XVIII wieku
| wydawca = Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
| miejsce = Warszawa
}}</ref> Here, for example, is a description of an Easter breakfast, supposedly celebrated at the court of Prince Sapieha during the reign of King Vladislaus IV (r. 1633–1648), long before Stanislas was even born: [[File:Michał Elwiro Andriolli, Kłopoty wielkanocne.jpg|thumb|These ''baby'' (women) let a man into the kitchen and now their so it''baba'' (cake) has flopped.]]{{ Cytat| <poem>In the middle stood a lamb with a pennon representing the Lamb of God, all in pistachios {{...}}There were four giant wild boars, as many as there are seasons of the year. Each boar was stuffed with pork, that is, ham, sausages and suckling pigs. {{...}}There stood 12 stags in a row, roasted whole, with gilded antlers, {{...}} stuffed with various game meats, such as hares, grouses, bustards and ptarmigans. These stags symbolized the 12 months.All around stood hefty cakes, as many as there are weeks in a year, that is 52, marvellous flat pastries, mazurkas, Samogitian pies, all studded with candied fruits and nuts.Behind them there were 365 babas, that is, as many as there are days in a year.</poem>| źródło = From an undated almanach, quoted in: {{Cyt | nazwisko = Gołębiowski | imię = Łukasz | tytuł = Lud polski, jego zwyczaje, zabobony | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=EMMaAAAAYAAJ&lpg=PA309&pg=PA309 | wydawca = Drukarnia A. Gałęzowskiego i Spółki | miejsce = Warszawa | rok = 1830 | strony = 309–310 }} | oryg = <poem>Na samym środku był baranek wyobrażający Agnus Dei z chorągiewką, calutki z pistacjami {{...}} Stało 4 przeogromnych dzików, s hard to jest tyle, ile części roku. Każdy dzik miał w sobie wieprzowinę, alias: szynki, kiełbasy, prosiątka. {{...}} Stało tandem 12 jeleni, także całkowicie pieczonych z złocistymi rogami, {{...}} nadziane były rozmaitą zwierzyną, alias: zającami, cietrzewiami, dropiami, pardwami. Te jelenie wyobrażały 12 miesięcy.Na około były ciasta sążniste, tyle, ile tygodni w roku, guess why Stanislas would have had to jest 52, całe cudne placki, mazury, żmudzkie pierogi, a wszystko wysadzane bakalią.Za nimi było 365 babek, to jest tyle, ile dni w rokureinvent the word from Ali Baba.</poem>}}
== From Stohrer to Savarin ==
