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⅓ cup sugar

4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature

RASPBERRIES

8 ounces (2 cups) fresh raspberries

¼ cup sugar

Whipped cream (optional)

1 Heat the oven to 425°F with a rack positioned in the top third of the oven.

2 Sift the flour with the baking powder in a large bowl. In a second large bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk until creamy and yellow, and then whisk in the buttermilk, vanilla, sugar, and butter (the mixture will look curdy and broken; that is fine). Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture, and whisk until the batter is combined and smooth.

3 Divide the batter among 8 standard-size (3-ounce) nonstick muffin-pan cups, filling them two-thirds full. Bake for 9 minutes. Check the cakes by inserting a knife tip between the rim of the cake and the muffin cup and pulling gently to expose the side of the cake. If the side of the cake appears evenly browned, the cakes will hold together when inverted and are ready. If not, bake for another minute and check again.

4 While the cakes bake, place the raspberries in a medium bowl. Shower them with the sugar, and then use your hand to gently toss them in the sugar until they have a light dusting on them. (If the berries are overripe and bursting, or wet because you washed them, the sugar will dissolve on them. This is fine—they’ll still taste great!)

5 When the cakes are done, invert them onto individual small plates and divide the berries among them, mounding them on top and around the cakes, and top with a dollop of whipped cream, if using.

buttermilk pudding cake dessert ideas

SIMPLER

buttermilk pudding cakes with raspberry sauce and whipped cream Combine 8 ounces (2 cups) fresh raspberries, 3 tablespoons water, and 1 teaspoon sugar in a food processor, and puree. Place each cake on a small plate, top with a dollop of sweetened whipped cream, and pour the raspberry sauce over the whipped cream and cake until the sauce pools around it.

buttermilk pudding cakes au rhum Make a rum syrup by dissolving ½ cup sugar in ¼ cup water in a small saucepan set over low heat. Add ⅓ cup dark rum, such as Mount Gay, and stir to combine. Brush this mixture over the warm baked cakes 2 to 3 times, until soaked. Top with orange or grapefruit segments.

SIMPLE

buttermilk pudding cakes with brandied plums Warm Brandied Plums in a saucepan and cut them into slices. Serve each warm cake topped with 3 or 4 slices and a few spoonfuls of the plum-brandy syrup. Top with whipped cream, crème fraîche, sour cream, or a small scoop of store-bought vanilla ice cream.

buttermilk pudding cakes with strawberries in port wine syrup Make the port wine syrup as described in Strawberries with Sour Cream and Port Syrup (Step 1). Instead of drizzling the syrup over the strawberries, let the strawberries soak in it, tossing them every 5 minutes, for 15 minutes. Spoon this mixture over the cakes and then top with whipped cream, crème fraîche, or sour cream.

buttermilk pudding cakes with peaches with bourbon Make the Peaches with Bourbon. Spoon peaches and syrup over each cake, and top with dollops of whipped cream sweetened to taste with sugar and bourbon.

BRANDIED PLUMS

makes two 1-quart jars • TIME: 40 minutes, 30 minutes cooling

Fresh plums “pickled” with brandy, hot syrup, and spice are a southern tradition, and one of our favorite springboards to several quick desserts: a warm plum half nestled into a dish of vanilla ice cream, for example, or thinly sliced plums stuffed into crepes with a smear of Buttermilk Fresh Cheese.

And the syrup! The rose-colored elixir that remains in the jar is potent, fruity, mellow, and worth fighting over. A tablespoon at bedtime chases off bad dreams and any form of malaise. In a savory setting, the syrup can be used to baste and lacquer a roasting duck’s gorgeous crackling skin. And brandied plum syrup inevitably finds its way into our Lowcountry Pousse-Rapière, a fizzy aperitif of plum syrup and sparkling wine.

3 pounds plums (about 12 large plums)

Two 1-inch-long pieces