Custards and Puddings

• Custards and puddings are closely related, and sometimes only regional custom determines which name is attached to a given recipe. The difference lies in how they're thickened. Custards are always thickened with eggs, though starches can be used as well to make the mixture more stable. Puddings are usually thickened with starches, though eggs are usually included for richness and flavor. Professionals usually fill pastries with pastry cream, a custard stabilized with cornstarch. Most pudding recipes and pudding mixes give a similar result, so home cooks can use them freely in pastries.

Instant Mixes

• If your expertise in puddings is limited to the variety made from instant mixes, that can restrict your options. Instant mixes can't be baked into a pastry, so you'll need to use already baked tart shells, Danishes, cream puffs or other pastries. Prepare the mix as directed on the package and pour it immediately into tart shells. For filling other pastries, either spoon it in carefully or pipe it into the pastries with a pastry bag. You can improvise one by filling a zipper-seal bag with pudding and snipping off the corner. The flavor of your pudding mix can be improved by adding a bit of heavy cream and some good-quality vanilla extract.

Cooked Mixes

• Cooked pudding mixes more closely resemble a professional's pastry cream. If you pour the prepared mix into a pie or tart shell while it's still warm, it will set with a smooth and glossy finish that can be decorated with drizzles of melted chocolate, fresh fruit or other sauces. Cooked mixes are also heat-stable, so you can use them to fill unbaked pastries and then finish them in the oven. The pudding should usually be cooled first so that it doesn't make the pastry crust soggy and leathery.

Scratch-Made Puddings

• Scratch-made puddings are very much the same as a professional's pastry cream. They're made by whisking cornstarch into the recipe's sugar, then mixing in whole eggs or egg yolks. Next, the cook whisks in heated milk or cream in a thin stream, warming the eggs gently and "tempering" them so they don't curdle. Finally, the mixture is heated over a double boiler until thick. Like a cooked pudding mix, this type of pudding can be poured while hot or chilled and then spooned or piped into pastry shells. A single batch can be divided and colored or flavored as needed, providing maximum versatility.