Far Breton Aux Prune (Plum Cake) Recipe

This “Far Breton” cake has a long history dating back to the Middle Ages. The word “far” means wheat (wheat). There is something between clafoutis (which is made with cherries) and the custard (baked vanilla cream.

In the past, it was made from flour with milk and sugar (without fruit) but for some time (several hundred years) eggs, aromas (vanilla, rum) and fruits (fresh or dehydrated plums, raisins dipped in rum or simple raisins) appeared in its composition along with the cognac). Far aux pruneaux is the one with dry plums and it is made especially in winter.

The plum cake has less flour than a clafoutis and the composition is similar to a vanilla cream pastry. Basically we are talking about baked plums in cream. It is not a pie, as there is no pie without the crust!

Ingredients:

approx. 800 g plum
4 eggs
125 g sugar (you can put 150-175 g if the plums are very sour)
100 g flour
salt
600 ml milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract or vanilla sugar
50 g butter to grease the shapes.

Preparation:

1. I washed the plums and drained them.
2. I cut them in half and removed the pips.
3. I chose a circular shape of 26 cm which I anointed with plenty of butter. The layer of soft butter must be thick. It contributes both to the taste and aroma of the cake and to its detachment from the form (non-stick role).
4. I set the oven to 200 C with ventilation (heat up + down). I arranged the plum halves in shape with the curved side up.
5. I put the eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla in a bowl and I beat them vigorously. I added the flour and continued mixing. Then I gradually diluted the composition with cold milk.
6. The composition is much thinner than that of pancakes or clafoutis. I carefully poured it over the shaped plums (they will rise to the surface during baking anyway).
7. I baked this cake with plum for 20 minutes at 200 C and another 20-25 minutes at 170 C. It should brown well on the surface. Of course, the taste is also according to the degree of browning: the Maillard caramelization reaction is the one that gives flavor to the preparations (meat, vegetables, sweets, etc.).
8. This cake is served warm (at room temperature) or cold (from the fridge). Once cooled, the cake is slightly sliced and carefully removed with the spatula.