Nut Free

We made this flan in a 4-cup savarin mold, but a 9 × 2-inch round cake pan or a 9-inch glass pie plate can be used as well.

Allowing the bread to soak in the custard batter for a full hour is the secret to a good bread-and-butter pudding.

With its chewy exterior and warm, puddinglike center, this dessert might be considered the more refined cousin of molten cake. With or without crème anglaise, it’s a showstopper.

This recipe can be doubled or tripled.

This recipe will also make four 16-ounce servings; divide filling amounts accordingly.

Keep the apricots submerged in the poaching liquid, or they will turn brown. Mixed with seltzer water, the poaching liquid makes a refreshing apricot fizz.