Pudding

For convenience, chill these individual eggless custards overnight before serving. The sauce can also be made a day ahead.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Syllabub—a thick, frothy dessert made of wine, sugar and cream—originated in old England. This raspberry-topped version is served at Christiana Campbell's Tavern. Begin preparing it a day before serving.

Cooking rhubarb to the right consistency is trickier than you might think — it changes from barely tender to falling apart in a matter of seconds. Watch it carefully while it's poaching. In this recipe you’ll need to boil the rhubarb syrup to the "soft-ball stage." To determine this, just drop a small amount of syrup into a cup of cold water. If you can form it into a sticky lump that flattens when pressed, it has reached the right consistency. This technique is especially useful with small amounts of syrup, from which it can be difficult to obtain an accurate temperature reading with a thermometer.

A milk pudding that dates back to the Middle Ages, syllabub was first prepared by milking the cow straight into a bowl containing "Sille," a wine that used to be made in Silléry, in France's Champagne region. "Bub" was medieval slang for a bubbly drink. There are a number of syllabub recipes in eighteenth-and nineteenth-century Irish cookbooks. This modern version calls for a sweet dessert wine and whipping cream.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. Makes use of the microwave oven.

The recipe for these individual puddings comes from the Brazilian restaurant Pampas in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

One for the nut-lover. A refreshing apple compote is topped with an almond (or hazelnut) sponge. Simple and delicious, it's an ideal Passover dessert.

The silky texture and tangy buttermilk flavor of this panna cotta are irresistible. Start preparing the dessert one day ahead.

A custard-like texture makes these unique.

Couscous is a staple of the Moroccan table. This dessert version is similar to rice pudding. Cream of coconut adds extra flavor.

Francoise Joiris of New York, New York writes: "In honor of our firefighters lost on September 11, could you please rerun the article and recipes you published a few years back about Company 18 of the FDNY? This is our local company, and it suffered a great loss of men at the World Trade Center." We're happy to reprint this recipe, named for firefighter Steve "Gonzo" Gonzalez.

Postre de Quinoa Linda Bladholm's South American friend Lilian Zamorano gave us the recipe for this unusual but very tasty dessert. It's made with the ancient Peruvian grain quinoa, which is a common side dish at Peruvian restaurants. Active time: 10 min Start to finish: 1 1/4 hr