Shining like nuggets of black coal, Aegen prunes, moist, plump and gently wrinkled were piled high in halved barriques at our weekly Caixon market. The kids loved going past this stand as the prunes were handed out to all and sundry to encourage buyers to invest in a minimum purchase of one kilogram; there was always a queue, such was their popularity. As the name suggests, this dessert hails from Brittany but it made a regular appearance on the village plat du jour menus. Serve as a batter pudding or use as a filling for a sweet tart, either way it is jolly good.

Ingredients

• 125 grams moist prunes, pitted
• ¾ cup flour
• 2 cups milk - I prefer whole milk for flavour and texture
• ¼ cup Armagnac or rum
• 4 eggs, beaten
• ½ cup sugar

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190ºC. Grease a 4 cup-capacity ovenproof dish with butter and scatter in the prunes.
2. Sift the flour into a bowl and make a well in the centre. Gradually add the milk to make a thin batter-like mix with no lumps. If you have lumps, a whisk and some elbow grease will fix, or even sieve the batter, both ways work and no-one wants to find lumps of flour in their pud. Add the eggs, sugar, Armagnac or brandy and beat only until the ingredients are incorporated. I add a dash of vanilla essence, it softens the bite of the Armagnac, but it is not compulsory.
3. Bake in a bain marie - water bath - for 45 minutes or until the batter has set. Serve warm. This recipe will make 4, one-cup capacity individual serving dishes; cooking time will be about 20 minutes.