Le Far Breton : Pitted prunes batter cake

The "Far breton" is a famous cake from Brittany, France. Some versions have Rhum or Kirsch.

Vanilla flavoured, it looks ands tastes like a French Flan (Custard Tart) 

though a bit heavier and dense, BUT it's so easy and quick to make, that we don't really care :)

This recipe has been perfected along the years by a family from brittany :

my step-brother's mother kindly shared it with me, thank you Yvonne !

  Preparation    Hard to do easier than that ;) Cooking time can change depending on your oven. 

I used a glass-pan (Pyrex) and it was longer than expected. 

I have added more prunes than I was supposed to, for a perfect dose of fruits :)

  Tasting    It has to be eaten fresh and cool, so you'll have to wait a bit before tasting it ;) 

According to me, proportions seem perfect. I've seen others on websites with more sugar or flour. 

This one was delicious. It was not as heavy as I remembered some bought in stores !

  To conclude    It took us a few days to finish the pan, there is only 2 of us :) But we both liked it.

Serves 8

   You will need :   

1cup 3/4 flour (7oz/200gr)

1cup white sugar (7oz/200gr)

4 eggs

4 cups hot milk (34 fl.oz/1L)

12 to 15 pitted prunes

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven at 350°F (180°C) with the buttered pan inside.

Hot milk

Heat the milk with the vanilla in a medium saucepan. (it must not boil)

Main batter

In a large bowl, mix sugar with flour. Add in the eggs one by one until homogeneous.

Pour the milk

When the milk is steaming but not boiling, pour it slowly on the previous mix, 

stir by hand with a wooden spoon. 

\\ Take your time, don't pour it at once or you will completely miss the recipe //

Pouring

Take the warm pan out of the oven, place the pitted prunes in it 2 inches apart.

Add more or remove some depending on the size of your mold.

Pour slowly the batter on them, really slowly or the prunes will move.

Baking

Bake 1h or so, turn off the oven and let it bake 15 more minutes.

Mine took 1h15 to bake completely. (+15minutes in the oven)

- If you use a stone-pan it can be quicker -

The top must be golden

Mine had a strange shape when out of the oven :D

I should have turned it front to back at halftime-baking... do so !

Let it cool down at room temperature, then cover with a plastic film and reserve in the fridge.

Eat after at least 4 hours in the fridge !

The French Flan - Custard Tart

A Home-made flan like in french bakery shops. A touch of vanilla, it's a really fresh dessert.

That's the first flan I have ever made, and I really think it was perfect... not too heavy, 

not too much flour, great colour and shape... this recipe convinced me !

I've looked in many books and magazines, finally it's Sébastien Gaudard's rcipe that I've chosen, 

But I followed others advices and tips (Françoise Bernard's) and I've added vanilla.

The book it comes from : "Le meilleur des desserts"/"The best of desserts" lacks of details...

Honestly, if you follow it word by word, you won't succeed....

Well, I already knew the tricks so I haven't had any problems, here is the detail recipe :)

Enjoy that delicious flan !

  Preparation   There is a few tricks but I explain everything carefully in the recipe

  Tasting    Amazingly good, at least as good as in the french pastry shops !

  To conclude    I'm not looking further for a flan recipe right now, I'm happy with this one :)

For a 9inch mold

For 8 people

   Il vous faut :   

1 cookie dough, vanilla flavoured

3 cups + 3tbsp of milk (75cL)

4 eggs

3/4 cup of granulated sugar

3,5tbsp of Maïzena (2.1oz)

- cornstarch -

1 vanilla bean, grated

1/2 tsp of vanilla extract

Turn the oven on at 320°F

Making the dough

Follow the recipe of pâte brisée

Add in 1 tsp of vanilla extract with the water

Place some parchement paper in your pie-mold so you can unmold it easily afterwards.

Flatten you dough (2mm) place it in your mold, pressing gently on the edges.

Use a rolling pin to remove the excess

- roll toward the exterior of the mold -

Create an alluminium circle so the dough won't go down. 

Do that only if the edges are vertical like mines.

Put in the oven 15 minutes

Set aside at room temperature.

Put the oven on at 375°F

Prepare the vanilla bean

Open he bean in half, remove the seeds and set them aside for another recipe.

Doing the pastry cream

Bring the milk to a boil with 1tbsp from the sugar in a saucepan

- putting sugar avoids milk burning/sticking on the sides -

In the meanwhile, whisk the eggs with what's left of sugar. Stirr in the maizena until homogeneous.

- that's quick -

When the milk simmers, put in the vanilla bean and pour the half of it on the previous batter, whisking !

Whisk for 15seconds and put it all back in the saucepan at medium heat, whisk well.

Leave it 2 to 3 more minutes, whisking continuously especially in the corners of the sauce pan !

It will thicken quickly. Remove from the stove and pour in a bowl. 

You have made a french pastry cream :)

Remove the vanilla beam, and beat with an electric beater 1 minute at low speed.

Pour the cream in the mold, flatten the top.

Put in the oven 45 to 50 minutes in the middle of the oven until real golden on the top.

 

- it's alive ! -

- After cooling down, it flattens and creates a thin layer of dough :) -

Let it cool down at room temperature, 

then refrigerate at least 3 hours

Serve cold !

Spinach Flan

I've worked on this recipe for a while, a few miserable try and deception.. 

Couldn't unmold it, then there was too much flour, not enough flavour etc... 

I've finally found a good balance between ingredients :)

I tried with ham, less cheese more milk... Finally the dry-ripened tomatoes are perfect !

For 4 people

   You will need :   

for the spinach batter

1lb of fresh spinach

- around 1.1lb if possible -

7oz ricotta (200gr)

3 eggs

1oz flour (30gr)

- 2 small tbsp -

1/3 cup + 1tbsp of milk (3.4 fl oz.)

1tbsp olive oil

"herbes de provence"

- mix of thym, rosemary, oregano, basil, lavander, sage... -

1/2tsp of salt

pepper

If you have some agar agar, you can add some so it will be even more flan-texture

for the heart

#tbsp of dry-ripened tomatoes(1.4 oz/40gr)

1tbsp of flour

2,1 oz ricotta (60gr)

Prepare the spinach

Rinse them well and remove the biggest stams.

Put your spinach in a big sauce pan  full of salted water and bring to a boil. After 2 minutes at a gnetle boil, drain them well in a strainer. Use a spatula to press and remove as much water as you can.

Put them on your cutboard and coaersely chop. Reserve.

Turn the oven on at 360°F

Prepare the flan

Beat egss and salt, pepper ans ricotta for 2 minutes with an electric beater.

When the batter is homogeneous, stir in by hand the flour and the milk

Pour it little by little, starting with the flour, ending with the flour.

Finally, add the oil and the herbs. Mix well and stir in the spinach. Reserve.

Prepare the heart

Chop finely your dry tomatoes, remove the excess of oil with an absorbent paper and mix them with the flour. Stir in the ricotta. Reserve.

Cooking

Cover your mold with parchment paper and use some cooking spray on it.

If you have a silicone mold, oil it with an absorbent paper.

Pour 3/4 of the spinach-batter in the mold, and in the center, 

pour the tomato-mix as a long strip in the center of the cake. 

Use 2 teaspoons to help you shape that stripe.

Pour on the top the end of the spinach-batter.

Cook 40 to 45 minutes

Turn the oven off, slightly open the door and let it cook 20 more minutes in the oven.

You can enjoy it as a main course : still warm with rice, salad or a tomato sauce. 

But it's also good when cold, as an appetizer.

Well, and next, what should I do...