As the weather cools, the appeal of warm desserts rises. On chilly nights, when cake feels cold and uninviting, pudding is in its cozy glory. Warm, gooey, and laden with mouthwatering aromas, no dessert is as comforting as pudding—be it sticky toffee, bread, plum, Christmas, or the questionably named spotted dick.  Even Betty Crocker knows a good thing when she sees it: the company’s Warm Delights line of hot microwaveable desserts is just a newfangled take on good, old-fashioned pudding.

In England, where pudding is synonymous with dessert, it also is associated with hominess. According to Daniel Pool’s What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew, most of London’s working class lived without ovens.  Simple cooking was done in the hearth or at neighborhood bakeshops, though mostly, food was bought already prepared.

Cakes, with their precise measurements, persnickety baking times, and temperatures, were something best left to bakeries—but who among London’s poor could afford them? 

Puddings, on the other hand, could be baked, steamed, or boiled in the hearth or even in the outdoor laundry copper. Puddings were something that working people made at home, a humble treat that filled the house with the teasing scent of cooking sweets. They were the one dessert prepared by the family, with love, and therefore often marked holidays and special occasions.

No—you don’t have to travel to Blighty to get a spot of pudding. Look for comforting

American versions at these local restaurants:

Lejends 22 Warburton Ave, Yonkers (914) 709-9840; www.lejendsrestaurant.com. Lejends takes the classic pudding down South with that New Orleans classic, bananas Foster. Its boozy, comforting pudding comes soaked with bourbon crème anglaise and topped with caramelized bananas.

Chiboust Bistro + Bakery 14 Main St, Tarrytown (914) 703-6550; www.chiboust.com. Owner/Pastry Chef Jill Rose takes her already buttery house-made croissants, butters and toasts them, then soaks the pieces in luscious vanilla-bean custard. Look for her baked bread puddings in seasonal varieties, too—including apple and pear.

The Sterling Inn 1279 North Ave, New Rochelle (914) 636-2400; www.thesterlinginnrestaurantny.com. Chef Sterling Smith’s rich and gooey take on bread pudding uses brioche, custard, shortbread, house-made caramel, and caramel ice cream.

The Dressing Room: A Homegrown Restaurant 27 Powers Ct, Westport, CT (203) 226-1114; www.dressingroom homegrown.com. Pastry Chef Coreen Cardamone gives her moist bread pudding a chocolaty turn with house-made brioche soaked in chocolate custard then baked in still more chocolate. The dessert is served with a changing roster of seasonal ice creams, all made with local ingredients. 

Belle Havana 35 Main St, Yonkers (914) 969-1006; www.bellehavana.com. Bread pudding goes Franco-tropical with Belle Havana’s breezy take on the classic. Look for four breads (sesame, challah, brioche, and baguette) soaked in dulce de leche custard then baked under toasted almonds. It’s served warm and fragrant alongside house-made vanilla ice cream.

—Julia Sexton