Custard

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.

This is it, the decadent pie that seduced the seductive Marilyn Monroe. She simply couldn't get enough of it. Patch brought this recipe with him from Arkansas, where it was named for his sister Milton.

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 4 hr (includes cooling)

Just a few short years ago, crème brûlée was found only in four-star French retaurants. Now almost everybody makes one using a favorite and often exotic flavoring. This ice-cold custard with the crackling sugar top is the most popular dessert at my restaurant. So much so that I sometimes think it is the only dessert I should make. Perhaps it is the ease of preparation that makes me think so!

Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 4 hr

Parisians love chocolate, and cooks in Paris might make this with Valrhona, one of the best French brands. Begin preparing the dessert a day ahead.

This refreshing dessert comes from Lincoln Carson, pastry chef at the Highlands Inn in Carmel Highlands, California. It has a lovely rich texture, even though it has no eggs.

Crunchy candy-coated cranberries make festive garnish for this inventive dessert. Begin preparing the custards a day before serving.

This recipe is an accompaniment for Pear Charlottes with Chamomile Crème Anglaise .

Crema Pasticciera I Campanians are wild for pastry cream. Thickened with flour, rich with eggs, flavored with vanilla, lemon, chocolate, or coffee, it fills cream puffs, sponge cakes, and ladyfingers in all the composed desserts called delizie (delights), and the grandest of all, Zuppa Inglese. It goes under fruits and fruit preserves in tarts, which are called either crostate or pizze. It forms a topknot in the hole of the famous fried Zeppole di Guiseppe, the bignè — or French crullers, you might call them — made in honor of St. Joseph on March 19. Pastry cream is also one of the bases for frozen desserts. It can be lightened with whipped cream, thinned with loquid cream. It also makes a fine sauce, the same as the French crè anglaise. This recipe requires total concentration and a quick eye and hand. The eggs must be heated just to the point that they do their maximum thickening and never so much that they scramble. The starch must be kept in constant motion, too; otherwise it will lump. I find that even with the best technique it is always prudent to be prepared with a strainer placed over a bowl. No matter how careful you are, there are frequently at least a few lumps that need to be smoothed out.