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A Trio of Silky Custards

Each of these classic custard desserts has its own delicious appeal: silky crème caramel rests in a pool of tawny caramel sauce; rich crème brûlée is topped with a sheer, crackly layer of caramel; and unadorned pot de crème—this one flavored with espresso—is a dish of pure sweet creaminess. Crème brûlée is to desserts as Tom Cruise is to movie stars: with Cruise as your leading man, you're guaranteed a hit. Whenever I'd put crème brûlée on the menu at the restaurant where I worked, it would outsell all the other desserts by such a huge margin that I'd have to start work early to keep up with the demand. Learning how to make the creamy classic seems to be just as popular—I once taught a pastry class and noticed two burly uniformed men among the mainly female audience. They turned out to be firemen who had come to turn off the smoke detectors before my class started; when they learned I was doing crème brûlée, they stayed for the class.

-Joanne Chang