Custard

"As a kid, I'd accompany my mother to her job at the racetrack, where she would lead the horses out to the starting gate," writes Michael Hunter of Studio City, California. "Eventually I was helping out in the stalls, and when I got older, I became a jockey. My mother was also the person who, in a roundabout way, inspired my other passion: cooking. I'd come home from school, and she would have prepared something from a box or can. I didn't always like what was on the dinner table, so one day I asked her to buy me a cookbook. Pretty soon I was making dinner for us almost every night. Now, after seventeen years of racing horses and cooking for family and friends, I'm making the jump to professional cooking."

(BONET) This Piedmont specialty is made with two of the region's best-known products: chocolate and amaretti cookies. Begin preparing the dessert a day before serving. A slightly sparkling, floral and fruity Moscato d'Asti would complement it beautifully.

Tangelos are a cross between tangerines and grapefruits. This dessert could be made with tangerines in place of the tangelos. We find using turbinado sugar (purified raw sugar) instead of granulated sugar on top of the custards results in a more evenly caramelized crust that shatters at the tap of a spoon.

Even though purists protested, a variety of ingredients were used to flavor the classic French custard. And in all its incarnations, it became the fin-de-siécle way to end a swanky restaurant meal.

The parfaits can be made a day ahead.

Raw sugar melts easily and makes a nice crunchy topping on the custards.

Serve this perfect fall dessert after a dinner of roast pork tenderloin.

(Café Liègeois Onctueux) Liège is a province of Belgium; café liègeois is usually coffee ice cream with whipped cream, but it can also be iced coffee with whipped cream. This thick drink—served elegantly in wineglasses—combines the two styles into one delicious dessert.

These creamy custards feature the flavors of chai, a spiced tea that's enhanced with cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and ginger.

Make these a day ahead to give the caramel time to soften and the custards time to set.

Here's a rich, creamy classic with a tropical twist. Begin preparing it a day ahead.