Prune Custard Pie (French Far Breton)

This is a classic prune flan recipe from northwest France - Bretagne (Brittany). Far is a recipe for clafoutis in Bretagne, of which there are several variants. It’s called farz prov (far in the oven) in Breton. The most famous is with prunes, although traditionally far do not have any. In Brittany, since they have their own language - just to keep those of us who speak French on our toes - they refer to flan as far, and put prunes in it. Far is one of the stars of the Bretagne desserts. Which is not surprising because it takes only a few ingredients and is made in a jiffy. It lends itself to interpretation and one should always have one in reserve. One can replace prunes by raisins or sultanas, with calvados or rum or no alcohol. The Far Breton has its origin in salted grits that were once the staple of many Bretons. The original recipe dates back to the 18th century, when it was made in a savoury version and was used to accompany meat dishes. Over time, more butter and eggs were added to the combination, making far Breton an expensive dessert which was mostly consumed by the upper classes at the time. Today, the cake remains one of the most loved French family desserts.

2 cups whole milk
3 large eggs
½ cup sugar
5 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted, cooled
¼ tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. kosher salt
¾ cup all-purpose flour, unbleached
1 cup small or medium-size pitted prunes (about 6 oz)
½ cup water
1/3 cup raisins
¼ cup Calvados, Armagnac or dark rum
confectioners' sugar

Combine milk, eggs, ½ cup sugar, butter, vanilla, and salt in blender jar. Blend 1 minute. Add flour and pulse just until blended, scraping down sides of jar. Cover and chill in jar at least 3 hours and up to 1 day.

Combine prunes, ½ cup water, and raisins in heavy small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until fruit is softened and water is almost evaporated, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Turn off heat. Pour brandy over fruit. Using long match, ignite brandy. Let flames burn off, shaking pan occasionally. Transfer fruit to small bowl. Cool completely.

DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and let stand at room temperature.

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F (190°C, Gas Mark 5). Butter 8" diameter cake pan with 2" high sides. Line bottom with parchment or waxed paper. Butter paper. Dust pan with flour, shaking out excess; place on baking sheet.

Reblend batter until smooth, about 5 seconds. Pour into prepared cake pan. Drop prunes and raisins into batter, distributing evenly. Bake cake on baking sheet until sides are puffed and brown and knife inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool cake completely in pan on rack.

Place piece of parchment or waxed paper on flat plate. Sift confectioners’ sugar onto paper. Run knife around cake in pan to loosen. Invert pan onto paper, releasing cake. Remove pan; peel off paper. Place serving plate over cake and invert. Dust top of cake with additional confectioners’ sugar.

Makes 8 servings.