Who doesn't love the soft, creamy texture of old-fashioned puddings? For many, this nostalgic ultimate comfort food brings back fond childhood memories.

Bon Appetit magazine identifies pudding as one of the top 10 trends - the dessert of this year.

"It's the most luscious and satisfying way to end a meal," writes Alice Medrich, a former chocolate-shop owner and author of the recently released "Pure Dessert."

"Puddings never went away," says Chris Kimball, founder and editor of Cook's Illustrated magazine.

But over the years, the real pleasure and quality of the easy-to-eat homemade dessert has been lost as people turned to buying packaged mixes and ready-to-eat refrigerated cups and containers. Unfortunately, those familiar with only packaged and pre-made varieties are missing out on a good thing.

"It doesn't surprise me that people buy mixes (pudding, cake, pie crusts, frozen pizza, etc.)," says Kimball. "People are bloody lazy. How hard is it to make pudding?"

Pudding from scratch takes a little bit more work, but it is easy and tastes far superior.

"Pudding, to me, means chocolate pudding," Kimball continues, adding that the English use puddings to describe desserts in general. "The thing about a pudding is that the texture of pudding coats the tongue so you get a much more intense flavor experience than (with) other desserts like a chocolate cake."

Nowadays, you'll find an array of puddings on restaurant menus. Or you can whip up some terrific versions at home.

VANILLA PUDDING

3/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/8 teaspoon salt

3 1/2 cups half-and-half

3 large egg yolks

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 tablespoon vanilla

Combine sugar, cornstarch and salt in a medium saucepan. Slowly whisk in half-and-half and then yolks. Bring mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat, whisking gently but constantly and scraping bottom and sides of pan. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly until pudding is thick and coats the back of a spoon, 1 to 2 minutes. Strain pudding through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl, scraping the inside of the strainer with a rubber spatula to pass the pudding through. Stir butter and vanilla into pudding until butter is melted. Press plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming and refrigerate until set, about 3 hours. (Pudding can be covered tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerated up to 2 days, but stir briskly before serving.) Serve topped with whipped cream, if desired. Makes 4 cups, 4 to 6 servings.

BUTTERSCOTCH PUDDING: Increase the cornstarch to 3 tablespoons. Substitute 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar for granulated sugar. Reduce vanilla to 2 teaspoons. Stir 1/2 cup butterscotch or caramel sauce (store-bought is fine) into the pudding with butter and vanilla.

DOUBLE-CHOCOLATE PUDDING. Reduce the cornstarch to 4 teaspoons. Add 2 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder with the cornstarch. Add 6 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, melted, to the mixture after the yolks and reduce vanilla to 2 teaspoons. (The chocolate may form clumps, but will smooth out during cooking.)

COCONUT PUDDING: Substitute 1 1/2 teaspoons coconut extract for vanilla.

From "The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook (revised edition)" by the Editors at America's Test Kitchen.

CHOCOLATE POTS DE CREME

10 ounces bittersweet chocolate (use 60 percent cocoa bittersweet chocolate such as Ghirardelli, Callebaut, Valrhona OR El Rey), chopped fine

5 large egg yolks

5 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

3/4 cup half-and-half

1 tablespoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder mixed with 1 tablespoon water OR 1 tablespoon strong brewed coffee

Whipped cream and cocoa powder OR chocolate shavings for garnish

Place chocolate in medium heat-proof bowl; set fine-mesh strainer over bowl and set aside.

Whisk yolks, sugar and salt in medium bowl until combined; whisk in heavy cream and half-and-half. Transfer mixture to a medium saucepan. Cook mixture over medium-low heat, stirring constantly and scraping bottom of pot with wooden spoon, until thickened and silky and custard registers 175 to 180 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, 8 to 12 minutes. Do not let custard overcook or simmer.

Immediately pour custard through strainer over chocolate. Let mixture stand to melt chocolate, about 5 minutes. Whisk gently until smooth, then whisk in vanilla and espresso. Divide mixture evenly among 8 (5-ounce) ramekins. Gently tap ramekins against counter to remove air bubbles.

Cool pots de creme to room temperature, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, at least 4 hours or up to 72 hours. Before serving, let pots de creme stand at room temperature 20 to 30 minutes.

Serve topped with a dollop of whipped cream whipped to soft peaks with a little sugar and vanilla and garnish with a dusting of cocoa powder or chocolate shavings, if desired. Makes 8 servings.

Shared by Chris Kimball, from Cook's Illustrated, November 2006 issue.

BUTTERSCOTCH BUDINO WITH CARAMEL SAUCE

BUDINO:

3 cups heavy cream

1 1/2 cups (whole) milk

1 large egg

3 large egg yolks

5 tablespoons cornstarch

1 1/8 cups dark brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

5 tablespoons butter

1 1/2 tablespoons dark rum

SAUCE AND TOPPING:

3/4 cup heavy cream

Scrapings from a 1-inch piece of vanilla bean OR 1/4 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup crème fraîche

Maldon sea salt for garnish

For Budino, in a large bowl or pitcher, combine cream and milk; set aside. Whisk egg, egg yolks and cornstarch in a medium bowl, set aside.

Combine brown sugar, kosher salt and 1/2 cup water in a heavy duty pot. Place over medium-high heat and cook (without stirring) until edges start to brown. Tilt pot as needed to even the browning until caramelized, nutty and deep brown, about 10 minutes.

Immediately whisk in cream mixture - mixture will steam and caramel will seize. Bring to a boil, whisking, then reduce heat to medium. Whisk a cup at a time into egg mixture until half is incorporated. Remove from heat, and immediately whisk egg mixture back into pot until custard is very thick, about 2 minutes.

Whisk in butter and rum. Pass through a fine mesh strainer and divide among 10 (6-ounce) ramekins. Cover with plastic wrap, allow to cool, and refrigerate until chilled, about 3 hours or up to 3 days.

For Sauce, combine 1/2 cup cream and vanilla in a medium saucepan. Heat until simmering. Add butter and remove from heat; set aside.

In large heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine corn syrup, granulated sugar and enough water (3 to 4 tablespoons) to make a wet, sandy mixture. Cook over medium-high heat, swirling pan for even cooking, until mixture is medium amber, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and carefully whisk in cream mixture; set aside and let cool. (May be refrigerated and reheated before serving.)

Whisk remaining 1/4 cup cream in a large bowl until it begins to thicken. Add crème fraîche and whisk until thick and fluffy. To serve, spoon a tablespoon of warm caramel sauce over each cold budino. Garnish with a few flecks of Maldon sea salt and add a dollop of cream topping. Makes 10 servings.

From Nancy Silverton, co-owner and Dahlia Narvaez, pastry chef, Pizzeria Mozza, Los Angeles.