South American Caramel Pudding

When my assistant Luli was growing up, her family cook Elisa, an Argentinian of Italian descent, used to spread a baked pie shell with this superrich caramelized pudding, then top it with a rum-flavored custard. She’d use it to fill cakes, too, and to spread on toast (they called it “milk jam”). It also works nicely over cinnamon toast, as a dip for cut-up fresh apples or bananas or over ice cream.

This is rich stuff.