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far breton from Cave Larégnère

Desserts & pâtisserie

Far Breton

From Cave Larégnère

An amber top gives way to thick, tender custard and pockets of soft, dark prune. Milk, eggs, butter and vanilla give Cave La Régnère’s far Breton its gentle richness, with tea-softened fruit running through the generous slices. Let it settle before cutting, then enjoy it slightly warm or cold. A glass of chilled cider, or a cup of black tea, makes a welcome partner to this simple Breton dessert.

Prep
20 min
Cook
45 min
Total
3 hr 5 min
Serves8
Jump to recipe ↓Cave Larégnère ↗

Ingredients

Far Breton

Method

  1. Soak the prunes in warm tea for 15 minutes, then drain.
  2. Whisk eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt; blend in the sifted flour.
  3. Gradually whisk in the milk, then the melted butter. Cover and rest the batter for 1 hour.
  4. Heat the oven to 180°C (356°F). Butter a deep dish, distribute the prunes and pour over the batter.
  5. Bake for 45–50 minutes until browned and just set, with slight movement in the centre.
  6. Cool until firm enough to serve; the source allocates another hour to cooling.

Equipment

Mixing bowl; Whisk; Sieve; Deep baking dish; Oven

Notes

  • Keep the texture dense: use the smooth, fairly liquid batter as written, without baking powder or whipped whites. The far may swell slightly, then settle as it cools.
  • Rest the batter for the full hour after gradually whisking in the lukewarm milk and melted butter. This gives the flour time to hydrate.
  • Choose a deep-sided, well-buttered dish so the finished far is about four to five centimetres thick. An exact pan length and width are not supplied; a shallow far can dry out.
  • Soak and drain the prunes before arranging them evenly. Pitted fruit is used here. If using the source’s whole-prune alternative, warn everyone about the stones. The one-cup tea measure has no specified volume standard.
  • Look for an amber surface and a centre that is just set with a slight tremble. A blade inserted near the edge should come out clean. If the centre is liquid, allow another ten minutes, with foil over a top that is browning too quickly; overbaking can make the far rubbery.
  • For a pale top, the source offers an optional two to three minutes under the grill, watched closely. Keep this finishing option separate from the main baking sequence.
  • Allow both the one-hour batter rest and the one-hour cooling interval. The published 125-minute total accounts for only one of them, and baking is given as a forty-five to fifty-minute range.
  • For another day, cool and refrigerate covered for up to three days. The source prefers the far the next day, cold or slightly warmed, and suggests removing it from the fridge fifteen minutes before serving. Avoid freezing, which spoils the flan’s texture.
  • Serve with chilled brut or demi-sec Breton cider, black tea or coffee. Demi-sec cider particularly suits the prune sweetness.

Photos

1 photo
Far breton aux pruneaux : la recette facile et gourmandeServingPrune far Breton with cider

Far Breton

Recipe photos

About this dish

Farz forn, far baked in the oven, is part of Brittany’s broader family of flour-based puddings. Plain far has its own tradition, while the prune version draws on an ingredient that reached the region through Atlantic trade. Prunes from the Agen area travelled from the ports into inland cooking, where they could enrich stews, wedding cakes and other special dishes.

Writing for Bécédia, food historian Patrick Hervé points to prunes in Breton wedding cakes in 1795 and to their association with far in Le Gonidec’s 1850 dictionary. Their place in this dessert has a long history, without making fruit essential to every Breton far.

Cave La Régnère gives the prune version a tea soak and a rested batter. The rest hydrates the flour; gentle setting and cooling create the dense, tender texture. A little puffing followed by settling is expected. The caviste suggests cool Breton cider alongside, its freshness balancing the milk-rich pudding and its sweetness complementing the fruit.

Recipe and cooking notes adapted from Cave Larégnère.