Silky smooth cups of custard, called pots de creme, are given an Indian turn with the infusion of the distinctive flavors of tea, ginger, peppercorn and lemon.

Mascarpone cheese, whipped cream, and thin slices of pound cake make up this Italian torte that sits on a puddle of espresso sauce.

Trifle, a layered dessert of sponge or pound cake, creme Anglaise, fruit and fresh whipped cream, has been showing up at Christmas dinners for centuries.

This bread pudding has a decidedly Spanish-Moorish flavor from the orange zest as well as the blood orange caramel sauce. Delicious.

This Creme anglaise, a rich custard sauce that can be served hot or cold, is flavored with Tahitian vanilla beans, noted for their intense vanilla flavor.

An intensely chocolate mousse is the bed for a cloud of spun caramel sugar. Of course, you can skip the sugar and serve it with a dollop of whipped cream.

These pillowy soft puddings are shot through with lemon flavor. A perfect and refreshing ending to a leisurely meal.

Thick, rich, and decadent, this chocolate cake is soft and pudding-like in the middle surrounding by cakey sides and and crinkly top. Think dessert spoon bread.

Here the classic French custard with a wallop of fresh ginger in addition to vanilla. On top are blackberries in a sweet-tart sauce.

This lighter version of bread pudding uses brioche, has a minty-lemon flavor, and is bursting with deep-purple baked blueberries.

A thick, decadent Italian chocolate pudding made all the more sinful by the addition of chopped roasted hazelnuts and crumbled butter cookies.

Greek cheese is smoothed into an orange, cinnamon, and vanilla base and the cheesecake is baked until golden and dense. This beauty is served slightly warm.

Outrageously popular in Portugal, these cute little custard cups known as pasteis de nata boast a creamy filling and a flaky pastry, both of which words fail to adequately convey.

For this sweet Christmas dessert, slices of sponge cake are dipped in a sugar syrup then drizzled with a custard sauce and sprinkled with cinnamon.

Rice pudding is a Portuguese staple. This lighter recipe, which doesn’t call for the traditional use of eggs, is flavored with lemon and dusted with cinnamon.

A creamy custard riddle with flakes of sweet coconut and a hint of lemon are what these cups, called pasteis de coco in the Azores, Portugal, are all about.

This isn’t your nona’s tiramsu. Here layers of coffee-soaked sponge cake alternate with a cream cheese-mascarpone cheese filling and are dusted with cocoa.