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French Prune Custard Cake (Far Breton)

A slice of Far Breton on top of the prune custard.
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5 from 6 reviews

French prune custard cake, or Far Breton, is a classic dessert from Brittany that bakes rum-soaked prunes into a rich, dense, flan-like custard. It takes about 20 minutes of hands-on time, makes 8 servings, and can be prepped a day ahead.

Ingredients

Scale

For soaking prunes:

  • 2 cups + 5 1/2 teaspoons (500 ml) warm water
  • 3 1/2 tablespoons (50 ml) rum
  • 2 tea bags

For the batter:

  • 20 stoned prunes
  • 2/3 cup + 4 1/2 tablespoons (120 g) flour
  • 1/2 cup + 3 1/2 teaspoons (130 g) sugar
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 4 eggs
  • 1.7 oz (50 g) butter
  • 2 cups + 5 1/2 teaspoons (500 ml) milk
  • 1 tablespoon (15 ml) rum

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Instructions

  1. To soak prunes, place tea bags into warm water to infuse. Add rum, pitted prunes, and let it rest for two hours. Drain the prunes in a colander and set aside.
  2. Preheat oven to 395°F (200°C). Butter a square ceramic baking dish and place the drained prunes on the bottom.
  3. To make the custard, place eggs, sugar, and salt in a bowl and mix with a hand whisk. Add flour and mix to combine. Add the melted butter, cold milk, and rum, and whisk till the mixture becomes homogeneous. Pour the batter over the prunes and bake at 395°F (200°C) for 10 minutes. Then reduce the oven temperature to 345°F (170°C) and bake for one hour longer.

Notes

  1. Soak prunes for 2 hours one day ahead. Drain them, cover them, and let them stand at room temperature or in the fridge. You can soak prunes overnight as well.
  2. Make the batter a day in advance, then keep it in the fridge.
  3. Replace rum with calvados or plum liqueur to vary the taste or omit alcohol to make the custard cake kid-friendly.
  4. Toss prunes in flour and add them into the poured batter (instead of arranging them on the bottom of the dish); they will float higher in the cake.
  5. Soak some raisins with prunes to make Far Breton with two kinds of fruit if you prefer.
  6. Don't open the oven during baking to prevent the cake from deflating before it is ready! 
  7. Store Far Breton in the fridge for up to one to two days; its flavors and textures will mature, and it will become firmer. 

Nutrition

Find it online: https://www.bakinglikeachef.com/custard-far-breton-chef-philippe/