Far breton
A Breton dessert with a texture between custard and cake, made from a few things everyone has. What defines it is a very thin batter — literally milk with flour and eggs, no raising agent and no fat in the batter. The result is a dense, heavy mass that rises at the edges and sinks in the middle, and that is how it should look: the sunken centre is a feature, not a failure.
Your own work in that: 0 min.
- Soaking the prunes 30 min
- Batter 15 min
- Resting 30 min
- Baking 50 min
- Cooling 60 min
Step by step
0 / 6 doneSoak the prunes in rum and tea
Cover the prunes with hot tea and rum and leave 30 minutes. The tea gives them a light bitterness that balances the sweet batter, and the rum gives aroma. Soaked prunes will not draw moisture out of the batter as it bakes.
Ingredients: 250 g prunes · 80 ml rum · 150 ml black tea
Plumped in rum and tea — never dry.Whisk a lump-free batter
Mix the flour with the sugar and salt, break in the eggs and whisk smooth, then add the milk gradually, whisking throughout. Milk poured in at once gives lumps that can never be broken up in a batter this thin.
Ingredients: 750 ml milk · 200 g plain flour · 4 pcs eggs · 150 g sugar · 1 tsp vanilla extract · ½ tsp salt
Thin as pouring cream — as it should be.Rest the batter half an hour
Leave it 30 minutes. The flour hydrates and settles, and the batter stops feeling sandy. The same rest applies to crepes and for the same reason — far breton is essentially a very thick crepe from the oven. Meanwhile heat the oven to 200°C.
Ingredients: 750 ml milk · 200 g plain flour · 4 pcs eggs · 150 g sugar · 1 tsp vanilla extract · ½ tsp salt
Arrange the prunes in a buttered dish
Butter a 28 by 20 cm dish generously and spread the drained prunes evenly over the base. Evenly, because prunes do not float in this batter — they stay exactly where you put them throughout the bake. You will not need the soaking liquid — stir 2–3 tablespoons into the batter for aroma if you like.
Ingredients: 40 g butter · 20 g icing sugar
Prunes stay where you put them — space them evenly.Pour the batter and bake fifty minutes
Pour the batter over the prunes and bake 50 minutes at 200°C. The far rises strongly and darkens at the edges while the centre stays lower. High heat matters — it gives the risen, browned edges; at a lower temperature a far comes out pale and flat.
Ingredients: 750 ml milk · 200 g plain flour · 4 pcs eggs · 150 g sugar · 1 tsp vanilla extract · ½ tsp salt
Test with a knife and cool in the dish
A knife in the centre should come out clean but damp — a far is not meant to be dry like sponge. Cool it in the dish: hot, it is very soft inside, and cooled it firms to a thick custard. Dust with icing sugar.
Ingredients: 40 g butter · 20 g icing sugar
Before you start
The sunken centre is not a fault
Far breton rises in the oven like a soufflé and settles once out, leaving high browned edges and a lower middle. That is how it should look — trying to prevent it with a lower temperature gives a pale, flat cake.
Far without prunes
Far nature, with no fruit, is equally traditional. Versions with raisins or dried apricots exist too. The batter is identical — only what lies on the base changes.
Better the next day
Eaten cold, a day after baking, far breton has a dense, custardy texture, and many think it is at its best then; it is good warm, too. It keeps three days covered in the fridge.
