Custard

Making these sweet-tart wonders might be easier than remembering to buy ice cream.

A perfect marriage of two of the very things that represent my love of food and culture: espresso and flan. It doesn’t get much better than this. The toasty almonds add great texture and the espresso will subtly keep you energized.

Whether you serve this warm-hug-in-a-casserole-dish for brunch or dessert, a pour of maple syrup and a dollop of fresh whipped cream would definitely be a welcome addition.

In this updated version of the childhood favorite, everything—except the gummy worms—is made from scratch.

Parbaking the crust of this blueberry pancake–flavored custard pie ensures the bottom will be crisp when it’s done.

End your meal with this creamy, coconut milk custard topped with a sweet-tart fruit compote and crunchy pistachios.

If you don't have a kitchen torch, time to treat yourself. They're inexpensive and super fun to use—and you can't make this dessert without one.

One of the most important steps in making custard is making sure the sugar is fully dissolved into the yolks. Be sure to beat them together until pale yellow ribbons form, since the sugar acts as a shield for the yolks, preventing them from curdling when you add the hot cream.

Silky, with a texture somewhere between pudding and panna cotta—and no water bath required.

Sweet-tart cherries elevate the otherwise straightforward custard, and buttermilk lends a welcome tang.

Try a Southern California take on this classic French dessert.

Editor's note: Use this recipe to make Francine Segan's Torta Mimosa . Creamy custard seasoned with aromatic vanilla, this is an absolute basic, used to make hundreds of classic Italian desserts, including torta della nonna and zuppa inglese. It's also served plain, accompanied by fresh fruit, slices of pandoro or panettone, or cookies. This is a simple and very forgiving recipe.

Pots de crème are little baked custards with a fancy name. A pinch of salt in these custards heightens the caramel flavor. Cover the baking pan of custard cups with aluminum foil; it makes for the most luxuriously smooth pots de crème you'll ever have.

Malcolm Livingston II, the pastry chef at WD~50 in New York City, shared this recipe exclusively with Epicurious. What's the inspiration behind this unusual dessert? "Chef Wylie Dufresne said to me, 'We both love root beer, so let's make it come to life as a dessert,' " Livingston explains. The first challenge was finding the right root beer. Livingston and Dufresne tried making their own, and sampled 12 different sodas before finding Fitz's —that's their preferred brand, but feel free to use your favorite. Consistency and texture were the next obstacles. "I wanted to make a pudding that had the consistency of Jell-O pudding, but with more texture, so I crushed up barrel-shaped root beer candies," says Livingston. The candy was combined with milk, milk powder, cornstarch, root beer, and eggs to create a smooth and creamy pudding that Livingston likens to "a solidified root beer float." Use extra caution when grinding the root beer candy, which can be hard on anything but a commercial or high-powered blender.

I love how the fruitiness of Cluizel Concepción chocolate, mellowed by a little cream cheese, plays against the caramel and the flowery, slightly musky acidity of the blossoms (actually, calyces) called "Jamaica flowers" in Mexico and red hibiscus in this country. (They are what gives Red Zinger tea its color.) When I first developed this recipe, I used hibiscus to flavor the caramel, but now I include it in a separate sauce where its red color makes a gorgeous contrast with the dark flan. You will find that this flan is reminiscent of the classic cream cheese–fruit paste pairing that Latin Americans like in other contexts. For this recipe, do not use the spice marketed as "cinnamon" in American stores (it's really cassia). Look for the soft, flaky true cinnamon from Ceylon (Sri Lanka), which has a much subtler and more delicate flavor. You can find it in Hispanic markets under the name canela.

A hint of lemon is perfect in a creamy baked custard. This one has no caramel to get in the way of the lemon flavor. Lemon juice would be too overpowering here. Instead, the subtle lemon flavor comes from steeping lemon zest in the milk for the custard mixture. The heat of the milk extracts the essential oil from the lemon zest skin, and the milk absorbs the delicate flavor. The hints of cinnamon and vanilla are there to support the lemon, not obscure it. Raspberry sauce makes a perfect complement. I wouldn't dream of serving the custard without it.