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Custards:


Baked Custard (Old Fashion)
To me, baked custard is definitely a "comfort food." I can eat these custards anytime of the day. I especially like them for breakfast - it's a quick breakfast that provides your protein and calcium.


 

Baked Custard (Old Fashion) (low fat, low calorie)
A low fat and low calorie version of the above Baked Custard. It made this version all the time, as I seem to be always trying to lose weight.

Ginger Custard
To me, baked custard is definitely a "comfort food." I can eat these custards anytime of the day. This custard has a gently flavor of custard that doesn't overwhelm, but delights!

Ginger Custard (low fat, low calorie)
A delicious low fat and low calorie version of the above Ginger Custard. Stay on your diet and still enjoy dessert!

Pumpkin Custard (low fat, low calorie)
To me, baked custard is definitely a "comfort food." I can eat these custards anytime of the day. I especially like them for breakfast - it's a quick breakfast that provides your protein and calcium.


 

Bread Puddings:

Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce (New Orleans)
This recipe is from my first cookbook called What's Cooking America. This wonderful bread pudding always brings back memories of my visits to New Orleans.


 

Capirotada (Mexican Bread Pudding)
Capirotada is a Mexican Bread Pudding and is probably like nothing you have ever had before. Even if you have had Capirotada almost every cook makes theirs just a little different. It has an interesting combination of fruits, nuts, spices, and cheese. Cheese - yes cheese! Usually when I think of cheese in a dessert it is a cheesecake. In this dessert the one defining ingredient is the cheese! Remember, most Mexican desserts are not extremely sweet. Capirotada is a traditional and popular Lenten dessert, but it can be served at any time, especially when you have some nice crusty bread that needs to be used. 

White Chocolate Bread Pudding
From The Palace Cafe - The Palace Cafe, located on New Orleans' Canal Street, is the newest restaurant from the Brennan family, who also operate some of the City's finest restaurants. This dessert has become extremely popular, and has practically become The Palace Cafe's signature dessert.

Roasted Beet Bread Pudding
This was an interesting experiment with using roasted beets. I had an over-abundance of beets to use this year that I had roasted them in my oven. Now, what to do with all these roasted beets? When I came upon this recipe, I just had to try it and, of course, I couldn't just make the recipe as it was written, but had to experiment! My husband really likes it and I hope you will also.
 

Creme Brulees:

Creme Brulee - How To Make Perfect Creme Brulee
Very few desserts are more delicious to eat and to look at. Translated from the French, this popular dessert means "burnt cream," referring to the caramelized finish. A classic finale to a meal, creme brulee can be served slightly warm or chilled. This is one of my favorite desserts to serve at my dinner parties.




Chocolate Creme Brulee
I adapted this recipe from a recipe by Karen Krasne, creator of Extraordinary Desserts in San Diego, California. This very elegant dessert is sure to cure your "chocolate craving."
 

Ginger Creme Brulee
Very few desserts are more delicious to eat and to look at as creme brulee!

Lavender Creme Brulee
If you love lavender and love creme brulee, this dessert will instantly WOW you! I've served this wonderful creme brulee at many dinner parties.

Raspberry Creme Brulee
Fresh raspberries in a delicious creme brulee! What could be better?

Caramelizing Sugar (Photo Tutorial)
Caramelizing sugar is a term most often applied to melting sugar until it becomes a caramel color liquid. Caramelized sugar is simply a mixture of sugar and water cooked until it becomes syrupy and darkens, and reaching a temperature from 320 to 356 degrees F. Learn how easy it is to caramelize sugar for topping your flans, making caramels, and other desserts. The technique varies on what you're using the caramel for, so care should be taken to note in your recipe what kind of caramel is called for. For example, the caramel needed for caramel candies is much less cooked than what's needed for spun sugar.
 

Flans:


Chocolate Flan
Flan may be prepared in a large flan dish or in individual ramekins. In Mexico, flans are usually served in small ramekins (custard cups).

Orange Flan
Flan may be prepared in a large flan dish or in individual ramekins. In Mexico, flans are usually served in small ramekins (custard cups).

Panna Cottas:

Chocolate Panna Cotta with Port-Balsamic Cherries
These softly set and creamy Italian puddings are so silky-smooth they slip down beautifully at the end of a meal. Flavored with coffee and served with a chocolate cream adds a new look to this popular Italian dessert. They are also perfect for dinner parties because they can be made a day or two in advance and kept refrigerated until ready to be served.
 

Coffee Panna Cotta with Chocolate Cream
Flavored with coffee and served with a chocolate cream adds a new look to this popular Italian dessert. They are also perfect for dinner parties because they can be made a day or two in advance and kept refrigerated until ready to be served.


Panna Cotta
Panna Cotta literally translates as "cooked cream" in Italian. These softly set and creamy Italian puddings are so silky-smooth they slip down beautifully at the end of a meal. Perfect served with fresh berries or fruits according to the season. They are also perfect for dinner parties because they can be made a day or two in advance and kept refrigerated until ready to be served.

 

Panna Cotta (Low Fat & Low Calorie)
These are a very easy-to-make version that is low fat and low calorie to make them perfect for any diet. You can serve these to your dinner guests, and they will never know they had a diet dessert. They are also perfect for dinner parties because they can be made a day or two in advance and kept refrigerated until ready to be served.

Puddings:


Chocolate Pots de Creme
A chocolate lover's delight! This is a very rich and delicious dessert. It is so easy to make. I used to demonstrate this recipe on television shows around the United States during my first cookbook tour. Everyone loves it!

Chocolate Pudding with Cinnamon and Chile (Pudin de Chocolate, Canela y Chile)
This recipe and photos are courtesy of Cynthia Detterick-Pineda of Andrews, TX. Any recipe that involves separating eggs seems always to be a hit with younger chefs, and this one is safe if they are not very experienced in the kitchen. It does still require the use of the stove, so be cautious about burns.   

Chocolate Rum Cream
Recipe from the cookbook The Best Ever Chocolate. This dessert requires no cooking apart from warming the cream, and is extremely east to make. It is particularly good served with crisp cookies and makes a superb finale to a dinner party menu.
 

Coffee Jelly
I found this delicious coffee dessert in an older 1968 Gourmet Magazine. 

Dulce de Leche (Arequipe and Manjar Blanco)
Dulce de leche, pronounced DOOL-say duh LAY-chay) is a luscious sweetened milk sauce that is literally finger-linking good! The name means "milk sweet," "milk jam," and "sweet milk sauce." This oven method is easy-to-do and very safe. The oven version also eliminates the need for stirring. Just check the water level halfway through cooking.

Tapioca Pudding (low fat, low calorie)
Tapioca Pudding is definitely considered a comfort food to most Americans. My husband loves this pudding and could eat it every day.


 

Salted Caramel Cheesecake Pudding
This recipe is by Michael Moorhouse and appeared in the October, 2004 issue of Food and Wine magazine. I slightly adapted this recipe. This dessert will be one of your favorites from now on!

 

Cream Puffs
Everyone loves cream puffs, but most cooks are afraid to try making them since they are considered time consuming and difficult to make. This is actually false, as they are quite easy to prepare and very impressive to serve.
 

Devonshire Cream
Originally from Devonshire County, England, it is a thick, buttery cream often used as a topping for desserts. It is still a specialty of Devon, Cornwall, and Somerset as this is where the right breed of cattle are raised with a high enough cream content to produce clotted cream. It is also known as Devon cream and clotted cream. Clotted cream has a consistency similar to soft butter.

 

Fried Cream
I adapted this recipe from the 1952 West Coast Cook Book by Helen Evans Brown. Helen Brown was considered the culinary authority of the West Coast during the 1950s and 1960s. Helen says in her book, "Gourmets who visit San Francisco enthuse about this dessert, which is to be found at a few of the best hotels and restaurants. It's not often served at home, apparently because most cooks don't dare risk it, but it's really very simple to make." This is a spectacular dessert that is well worth the effort for the impressive results.
 

Frozen Orange Soufflé
Recipe from the cookbook From the Earth to the Table, John Ash's Wine Country Cuisine, by John Ash. This simple dessert always seems to capture people's attention. It can be made a day ahead of time, if desired.
 

Hasty Pudding/Indian Pudding
Despite the name Indian Pudding, it is not a traditional native dish. Native Americans had neither milk nor molasses to use in their cooking. They did mix ground corn with berries, and may have had maple syrup. Hasty Pudding and Indian Pudding are basically the same pudding, as Hasty Pudding was an English tradition for centuries. Printed references to hasty pudding in England date to 1599, while Indian pudding recipes start appearing in American cookbooks in 1796.
 

Lemon Curd
A British teatime favorite. This sweet, yet tart, velvety spread is heavenly on freshly baked scones, muffins, and tea breads. Another favorite is serving lemon curd on gingerbread or used as a filling for tarts and cakes. Lemon curd is so easy-to-make as all it contains is eggs, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and butter.
 

Mango with Sticky Rice
A very sweet treat you'll absolutely love! In Northern Thailand and Northeastern Thailand, sticky rice is a staple. This Thai dish takes some time to prepare… but it’s worth the wait!
 

Peaches and Cream Custard
This is so good and so easy to make!  This is a take-off from my Peaches and Cream Pie recipe. I didn't want to take the time to make pie crust, and I didn't have any store-brought crusts in the freezer. This would be great for either breakfast or a dessert.

Pumpkin Parfait
This recipe is by Betty Ray of Vancouver, WA. The recipe and photo appeared in Sunset magazine's 2004 Recipe Annual. According to the Sunset article, Betty Ray, she created this creamy parfait as a light alternative to pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving dinner.

Tiramisu in a Martini Glass
Also known as Tuscan Trifle and Zuppa Inglese. Tradition tiramisu is a pudding-like dessert that usually consists of sponge cake or ladyfingers dipped in a liqueur, then layered with grated chocolate and rich custard. Tirasmisu was originally made as a loose custard, it is only in recent years that using mascarpone cheese has come into fashion.

Zabaglione with Fresh Berries
Zabaglione [zah-bahl-YOH-nay], is a famous Italian dessert that is usually served with sliced fresh fruit or berries. The French refer to this as Sabayon and it is used as a dessert or a sauce. It is light and refreshing and perfect as warm weather dessert.