Pudding

This recipe was created to accompany Spiced Beef in Mini Yorkshire Puddings with Mustard Dressing.

Though we used parfait glasses for this pudding to show off the layers, at the restaurant Stitt serves it in large coffee cups with saucers and spoons. The whipped cream topping looks like the foam on a cappuccino — hence its name.

These rich custards are the perfect ending to this — or any other — spring meal.

Shirley Brody of Portland, Oregon, writes: "We've enjoyed our evenings at Wildwood Restaurant here in Portland for many years. Chef and owner Cory Schreiber has created such a great space for the neighborhood. We would love to have his recipe for butterscotch pudding, which is served in a tall parfait glass. The dessert's sophisticated look matches its rich flavor." You'll need to chill the pudding for at least six hours before serving.

Keep an eye on the caramel as it nears the end of cooking—it can go from deep amber to just plain burned very quickly.

When I eat Bread Pudding Soufflé I always think of the Commander's saying, "If it ain't broke, fix it anyway." Bread pudding was already near perfection, but we combined Creole bread pudding with the light texture of a meringue and ended up with the restaurant's signature dessert, the single most sought-after dish in our family's restaurant history. The whiskey sauce itself is divine but particularly so when generously poured over the piping hot soufflé. Take it from me, this is no light dessert. Make the bread pudding and the sauce in advance, the meringue just before assembling and baking.

You will find this every day at dessert time at Mrs. Wilkes'. "For a delicious change, we sometimes substitute our pound cake for the vanilla wafers," informs Marcia. This is a special favorite of the Girl Scouts who troop over from the Juliette Gordon Low House, birthplace of the founder of the Girl Scouts of America.

Rose Ann Pescheff of Watertown, Connecticut, writes: "My husband and I went to a friend's birthday dinner at Carmen Anthony Steakhouse in nearby Waterbury. The entire meal was good, but the bread pudding was outstanding — the perfect finishing touch. Since bread pudding is one of my husband's favorite desserts, I'd like to make it for him at home." The liqueur-flavored sauce turns this rich dessert into something wonderfully decadent.

These pretty mixtures of bread and sweetened berries are inspired by the classic English dessert called summer pudding. Begin preparing them one day before serving so that the bread will absorb the delicious juices.

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

English Christmas "pudding" is really a dense, moist spiced cake. This gingerbread version is flavored with orange marmalade and topped with a traditional hard sauce — butter and sugar mixed with brandy.

"I have never been a bread-pudding fan," writes Marie Hernandez of Chicago. "But after trying the pumpkin bread pudding at Wildfire restaurant in Oak Brook, Illinois, I think I've changed my mind. Had I know that this dessert could be so good, I would have started eating it long ago." Do as the restaurant does, and serve this with sweetened whipped cream.

John and Tori Nicholas of Indianapolis, Indiana, write: "We had such a wonderful time exploring New Orleans that my wife and I are now hopelessly hooked on the Big Easy. We play lots of Cajun music, and last week we rented the movie A Streetcar Named Desire. The best part of our trip was the chocolate bread pudding at Red Fish Grill." The sugar topping becomes crunchy when baked, creating a perfect contrast to the creamy chocolate pudding underneath.