I had some buttermilk leftover from making the pistachio whoopie pies (see previous entry), I flipped through my collections of magazine/newspaper cutout recipes, and found an easy buttermilk cake recipe with sweet raspberries I got at the farmers’ market. It’s a very light and fluffy cake with tart and juicy berries, just the right amount of sweetness for me, which just means it’s not very sweet at all. (You can probably tell by now that I almost always reduce the amount of sugar added.) You can also substitute the raspberries with any other kind of berries.

Raspberry Buttermilk Cake (Serves 6)

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsb salt
1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp sugar, divided  [I used 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp]
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/2 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1 cup fresh raspberries (about 5 oz. )

• Preheat oven to 400 with rack in middle. Butter and flour a 9″ round cake pan.
• Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• Beat butter and 2/3 cup sugar [I used 1/2 cup] with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes, then beat in vanilla. Add egg and beat well.
• At low speed, mix in flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour, and mixing until just combined.
• Spoon batter into cake pan, smoothing top. Scatter raspberries evenly over top and sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 tbsp sugar [I used 1 tbsp only. Sprinkle more for that thick crunch of sugar].
• Bake until cake is golden and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, 25-30 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and cool to warm, 10-15 minutes more. Invert onto a plate.