The moment I saw this pic on srah's Flickr album, I knew it was only a matter of time before I would try the recipe too. And I did :)
A far is a custardy pudding cake, with a dense, smooth, flan-like texture. This one, a far breton, is studded with brandy-soaked prunes, and is apparently the signature pastry of the region of Brittany, served for breakfast as well as dessert.
Ingredients
* 3 large eggs
* 2 cups milk (or 1 cup milk and 1 cup half-and-half)
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more for pan
* 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 cup pitted prunes (or dried cherries)
* 1/4 cup Armagnac or 1 cup hot tea, such as Earl Grey
* Confectioners' sugar, for dusting
Directions
1. Place eggs, milk, sugar, salt, vanilla, and melted butter in a blender or food processor and blend for 1 minute. Add flour, and pulse several times. Pour batter into a pitcher, cover, and refrigerate for 3 hours, or preferably overnight.
2. Meanwhile, place prunes, 1/4 cup water, and Armagnac in a small saucepan over medium heat. Simmer until prunes are plumped and the alcohol no longer smells pungent, a few minutes; set aside to cool. If using tea, place prunes in a heatproof bowl and pour tea evenly over fruit. Let cool to room temperature, cover, and set aside.
3. Place rack in center of the oven and preheat to 375°. Butter an 8-by-2-inch round cake pan; or use an 8 inch skillet. Place the pan on a baking sheet.
4. Remove batter from refrigerator and whisk to reblend. Forcefully tap the bottom of the pitcher on your work surface to break any top bubbles. Pour batter into prepared pan. Add the prunes, evenly distributing them within the batter; discard any remaining soaking liquid. Bake until top of the cake is puffed and brown and a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire cooling rack and cool to room temperature. If desired, dust with confectioners’ sugar just before serving.
Ta-dah!
It was gooood... I used 2% milk because that's all we had, which worked just fine, so I guess it's a matter of how rich you prefer your custard. Also, the recipe calls for the prunes to be soaked in armagnac but we didn't have any so I soaked them in Earl Grey tea instead. I actually kinda liked the faint bergamot aftertaste in the prunes- plays off the richness of the custard and the sweetness of the dried fruit (which plumped up nicely into burstfuls of pruney goodness!). Jude didn't quite care for the prunes though so I'm glad I didn't put more of it. I might try it with dried cherries next time. And it really is great both warm and cold- we had it for dessert last night, AND breakfast this morning! :)
Thanks Sarah!
4 comments:
I went with Earl Grey too but I could barely taste it. It was just faint enough to add something to the cherries, I think. Did you like the prunes?
I only wish it were bigger! I made it for a party and I only got a little slice. I'll have to make one for myself. :)
I liked the prunes- Jude didn't though. Maybe there's something about prunes that absorbed more of the Earl Grey than cherries. I was going to use those instead of prunes the next time- do you recommend or should I just stick to prunes?
I don't know - I haven't tried prunes yet! We both have half the knowledge necessary. I think you're going to have to bake me a prune far breton so that I can test the difference. Heh heh.
Nope. What you need is an anonymous taste tester, moi, to decide between prunes or cherries.
I once made this pork dish with prunes soaked in red wine. But then I chopped them into smaller pieces when I added them back to the recipe. Maybe chopped prunes will help Jude?
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