Cold and creamy custard desserts to keep in the fridge all summer long

This week, I wrote about my favorite new dessert — my Big & Boozy Panna Cotta — which I’ve been making for dinner parties the past few weeks. Call it a lazy man’s custard, if you want, because I don’t fiddle with individual ramekins as tradition states. Instead, I pour the sweet and creamy mixture into a large dish to set up, then serve generous spoonfuls in bowls and top it with whatever fresh fruit I picked up at the market that week. It allows me extra ease while entertaining to know I have a cold dessert ready on these warm summer nights.

Working on that panna cotta recipe got me thinking about all the other cold and creamy desserts that I love to keep around in my fridge or freezer to grab at a moment’s notice.

Consider my Old-Fashioned Custard Ice Cream, which has that unmistakable eggy, chewy quality of a cooked custard. New ice cream techniques may come and go but a custard base is still the best. It’s also the ideal canvas for stone fruit like ripe peaches, nectarines or roasted apricots.

Flan is one of my favorite desserts, and although you can make a wonderful version with just caramelized sugar, I love this version made with goat milk cajeta. Goat milk lends an alluring savoriness to the caramel sauce that complements the baked custard beautifully.

Key Lime Pie may not be the first thing you think of when you imagine a custard dessert, but it’s essentially eggs and sweetened condensed milk bound together with lime juice. It’s bright, sweet and creamy, and my friend Nicole Rucker of Fat + Flour makes the best version.

Big & Boozy Panna Cotta

This large-format panna cotta takes all the fussiness out of serving the dessert in individual ramekins. Treat the panna cotta like ice cream and scoop large spoonfuls into bowls that you then top with whatever fresh, macerated fruit you prefer.
Get the recipe.
Cook time: 20 minutes, plus 4½ hours unattended.

(Silvia Razgova / For The Times; prop styling by Jennifer Sacks)

Old-Fashioned Custard Ice Cream

This recipe is a great all-purpose base to add your own ingredients and make your favorite flavor. The egg yolks keep the ice cream smooth and scoopable straight out of the freezer.
Get the recipe.
Cook time: 35 minutes, plus 6 hours chilling.

(Ben Mims / Los Angeles Times)

Nicole Rucker’s Key Lime Pie

You can use pre-ground graham cracker crumbs to make the crust or finely grind about 10 whole graham crackers. To serve a crowd, try the slab pie variation below and cut into bars.
Get the recipe.
Cook time: 1 hour, plus 3 hours chilling.

(Ricardo DeAratanmha / Los Angeles Times)

Goat Milk Cajeta Flan

This flan is amazingly smooth and creamy with a delicately firm texture, balancing its rich caramel topping with a bright, if subtle, unexpected tang from the goat milk in the custard base.
Get the recipe.
Cook time: 2½ hours.