Once, while snooping around the kitchen of a French pastry chef, I peeked into a ramekin he’d pulled from the oven. “Chocolate pudding!” I gushed.

He shook his head and replied sharply: “This is not pudding. Pudding is that terrible stuff you Americans make with starch. This is pot de creme.”

Creamier, smoother, silkier and without any distracting grit from the starch, baked pots de creme, or custards, are superior to the stove-top-made cornstarch pudding in every way but one. The baked stuff does not form the same kind of slippery, sticky skin as the cornstarch kind.

As a pudding-skin lover, I find this lack slightly sad. But I bake mine anyway, because in all other respects, the custards are that much better.

One tricky thing about baking custard: the water bath. The first time I ever used one, I filled a giant roasting pan with boiling water, then moved the hot, heavy, sloshing pan to the oven. The water rose in waves over the custard, ruining it before landing on my feet.

Since then, I’ve learned a few things about water baths. The first is that you don’t need to use a roasting pan. One that’s just large enough to hold all your custard cups without their touching each other or the sides of the pan is ideal. Second, don’t bother boiling the water; hot tap water works fine.

Finally, the baking time for custard varies immensely. The bigger your pan and the heavier your custard cups, the longer it takes. So use the baking times as a guide rather than the creamy gospel. When the custard seems as thick as applesauce but still wobbles in the center, it’s done. It will solidify in the fridge.

That said, not all baked custards need a water bath — for example, the tapioca recipe below.

Classic tapioca is the rare American pudding that doesn’t have cornstarch, nor is it usually baked. But here, I bake it, mostly because it’s easier. Once it’s in the oven, you can leave it alone.

Its topping of Demerara sugar and cinnamon is quickly singed under the broiler. Served warm, the topping is a crunchy brulee. But chilled, it softens, turning into the closest thing to a skin these baked beauties get. Which for me is the best of all worlds.

Baked Tapioca Pudding with Cinnamon Sugar Brulee

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

3 C whole milk

1 C heavy cream

1 cinnamon stick

1⁄3 C sm pearl tapioca

4 lg egg yolks

85 grams granulated sugar (about 1⁄3 C)

1⁄4 tsp fine sea salt

45 grams Demerara sugar (about 3 TBS)

1⁄4 tsp ground cinnamon

Heat oven to 300 degrees.

In a medium saucepan, bring the milk, cream and cinnamon stick to a simmer. Whisk in the tapioca. Simmer until the pearls are completely tender, about 20 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, granulated sugar and salt. Whisking constantly, pour in a third of the tapioca mixture. Whisk yolk mixture into the pot of tapioca; simmer over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a heat-proof spatula, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes.

Transfer pudding to a buttered 11⁄2-quart gratin dish. Sprinkle the top with Demerara sugar and cinnamon. Bake, uncovered, until the pudding is firm around the edges and jiggly in the center, about 30 minutes. Put under the broiler until top is bubbling and golden, 3 to 5 minutes. (Watch carefully to make sure it doesn’t burn.) Eat warm, or chill and serve cold, removing the cinnamon stick while serving.