COOK'S CORNER SUCCOR FROM SUGAR - AND CHOCOLATE.

Byline: Natalie Haughton Food Editor

Besides hearty main-dish fare, many of us fondly remember those comforting desserts of our childhood days. Whether a pudding, crisp, cobbler, pie, cake or old-fashioned ice cream sundae, we delighted and indulged in them.

One of my old-time favorites was chocolate bread pudding. My mother made it, long before it was fashionable, whenever she had extra bread or bread crusts. Years later, when I asked her for the recipe, she said she never had one - and couldn't even give me any idea of ingredients or amounts. So years ago, digging into my taste memories, I headed into the kitchen, experimenting with a few different variations until I came up with something tasting very similar (at least to what I remember). Although my mother never used them, I've tossed in a few pecans for texture and extra flavor.

However you make it, be sure to serve it warm (heat in the microwave oven if you have leftovers stashed in the fridge) with a little heavy cream poured over all - or topped with whipped cream or ice cream.

There are also many other desserts that fill the comfort bill. In ``Square Meals,'' authors Jane and Michael Stern write about the After School Gingerbread, their all-time favorite gingerbread: ``Nothing makes one feel more like a child waiting for something to come out of the oven than the smell of baking gingerbread. It is more festive than bread, yet when eaten in abundance, less likely than cake to make the nursery glutton feel queasy.'' The recipe, which they suggest serving warm with a glass of milk on the side, is from ``The Household Searchlight Recipe Book,'' 1941.

Seven-Minute Icing was also a tried-and-true classic in our house during my growing-up years. Light and fluffy, it seemed heavenly swirled on top of chocolate cakes, even from a mix. Jean Anderson notes in her ``The American Century Cookbook,'' that she was hooked on the frosting, too, and that to this day it remains a favorite. ``What I didn't know then (she first tasted it in the early '40s), but am delighted to know today, is that this frosting is fat-free,'' writes Anderson. The classic she's used all these years follows.

Remember those pudding cakes - that seemed like magic once you baked them - where the soft cake ends up on the top of a gooey puddinglike sauce on the bottom? They seemed to pop up all over the country in the '40s, writes Sylvia Lovegren in ``Fashionable Food,'' with lemon and chocolate the two favorite flavors, although a '50s Betty Crocker cookbook included lime, orange and pineapple renditions.

Now for a short, delicious trip down memory lane ...

CHOCOLATE PECAN BREAD PUDDING

3 cups milk

4 (1-ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate, cut up

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1/8 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup chopped pecans

6 cups 3/4-inch French OR Italian bread cubes

Heavy whipping cream 

In a medium saucepan, heat milk and chocolate over medium heat, whisking constantly, until boiling and chocolate is melted.

In a large bowl, whisk eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt until blended. Whisk in hot chocolate milk. Stir in pecans and bread until well mixed.

Turn batter into a well-greased 11x7-inch (1 1/2-quart) baking dish; spread evenly. Bake, uncovered, in preheated 350-degree oven 35 to 40 minutes or until set. Serve warm or cold. Pass a pitcher of cream on the side or serve with ice cream. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

From ``365 Great Chocolate Desserts,'' by Natalie Haughton.

AFTER SCHOOL GINGERBREAD

2 eggs, well beaten

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

12 tablespoons butter, melted

3/4 cup molasses 

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda 

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup buttermilk 

Combine eggs, brown sugar, butter and molasses. Sift flour, measure and sift with baking soda, salt and spices. Add alternately with buttermilk to egg mixture. Beat until well blended. Pour into buttered 9x9x2-inch pan.

Bake in preheated 375-degree oven 30 to 40 minutes. Cool. Cut in squares. Makes 25 squares.

From ``Square Meals,'' by Jane and Michael Stern.

SEVEN-MINUTE ICING

2 egg whites

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar 

1 tablespoon light corn syrup 

1/3 cup cold water

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Mix egg whites, sugar, corn syrup and water in top of a double boiler. Set over barely boiling water and beat with an electric hand mixer 4 to 7 minutes, until mixture forms stiff peaks. Begin at low speed, proceed to medium, then high.

Add vanilla and continue beating to good spreading consistency. Makes about 4 cups.

NOTE: Powerful electric hand beaters can reduce cooking time to four minutes.

VARIATIONS

BROWN SUGAR SEVEN-MINUTE ICING: Prepare as directed, substituting 1 cup packed dark brown sugar for 1 cup granulated sugar and dark corn syrup for light corn syrup. Makes about 4 cups.

CITRUS SEVEN-MINUTE ICING: Prepare as directed, substituting fresh lemon, lime, orange or grapefruit juice for water. Omit vanilla and add 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon, lime, orange or grapefruit peel. Makes about 4 cups.

CHOCOLATE SEVEN-MINUTE ICING: Prepare icing as directed. Stir, DO NOT BEAT, in 2 ounces cooled, melted unsweetened chocolate. Makes about 4 cups.

From ``The American Century Cookbook,'' by Jean Anderson.

HOT FUDGE PUDDING CAKE

1 cup sifted all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup milk

2 tablespoons butter, melted

3/4 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 3/4 cups hot water

Sift flour, baking powder, salt, granulated sugar and 2 tablespoons cocoa into a large bowl. Stir in milk and melted butter, then nuts. Spread in a greased 9-inch-square pan.

Mix remaining 1/4 cup cocoa with brown sugar. Stir in hot water. Pour brown sugar mixture over batter.

Bake in preheated 350-degree oven about 45 minutes, until a knife inserted in top half of batter comes out clean. Spoon into bowls, ladling some of sauce over each portion. Whipped cream or ice cream is a nice extra. Makes 8 servings.

From ``Fashionable Food, Seven Decades Of Food Fads,'' by Sylvia Lovegren.