Far Breton

Serves 4

A far is a custardy pudding similar to a clafouti, but with a denser, almost quiche-like texture, common in Brittany. The prunes and Armagnac give it a sort of boozy, celebratory feel, perfect to round off an Easter lunch.

A far is a custardy pudding similar to a clafouti, but with a denser, almost quiche-like texture, common in Brittany. The prunes and Armagnac give it a sort of boozy, celebratory feel, perfect to round off an Easter lunch.

100ml milk
2 small eggs, beaten
35g caster sugar
35g butter, melted, plus some extra for greasing
A few drops of good quality vanilla essence
A pinch of salt
35g plain flour
90g stoned prunes, soaked in water for 4-5 hours
15g raisins, soaked in water for a couple of hours
50ml Armagnac or brandy
Icing sugar for dusting

Whisk the milk, eggs, caster sugar, flour, butter, vanilla and salt in a bowl to make a smooth batter then refrigerate for 1 hour.

Put the prunes and raisins in a pan with the soaking liquid, bring to the boil and simmer for about 10 minutes until the fruit has softened, add the Armagnac and cook on a high heat until there is no liquid left. The Armagnac may ignite - don't worry, the alcohol is just burning off and the flame will burn out. Transfer to a bowl and leave to cool.

Pre-heat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6. Butter a 20cm x 5cm deep cake tin, preferably non-stick and with a removable bottom, and place on a baking tray. If you haven't got a non-stick one then butter and lightly flour a normal one, or you could use a non-stick frying pan that's got an oven-proof handle. Give the batter a final whisk up and pour into the cake tin, then spoon in the prunes and raisins distributing them evenly.

Bake for about 1 hour until the sides have puffed up and are golden, and a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean. If it's colouring too much, turn the oven down or cover with foil. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

Carefully remove from the cake tin. If you haven't got a removable-bottomed tin, invert the cake on to a plate then turn it on to a serving dish. Dust with icing sugar, serve in slices with crème fraîche or more prunes in Armagnac or other boozy fruit left over from Christmas.