Born to bake

All along, he was soaking up these Southern traditions — like cookies in a glass of milk.

So for his first cookbook, “Sweet & Southern: Classic Desserts with a Twist” (Rizzoli, $39.95), Mims meditates on his Mississippi childhood while creating his own smartly playful repertoire of recipes, many of which occurred to him while testing food from around the world at Saveur magazine, where he was associate food editor for nearly five years.

In developing this highly personal cookbook, Mims, who is now associate food editor at Food & Wine, also wanted to take care not to repeat all the boring basics that clog up so many dessert books. Butter, after all, is butter, and flour is flour. His approach is to focus directly on the recipes.

“Sweet & Southern” — which includes instructions for his aunt’s Pretzel-Peanut-Chocolate Candy and her Mexican wedding cookies alongside his Swedish-inflected Satsuma Whipped Rice Pudding and “Red Velvet” Cake colored with pomegranate juice and cocoa powder — is lovely example of what happens when the legacy of Southern sweets is examined through a quirky modern lens.

Bread pudding is constructed from rich, cake-y cornbread and slathered in whiskey-laced caramel sauce. Cantaloupe upends pineapple in the classic upside-down cake, while pineapple is fashioned into tarte tatin. A deconstructed Southern ambrosia is scattered atop the New Zealand meringue called pavlova, and banana pudding is made into pie.

I've tried two of Mims' magnificent layer cakes; a batch of his Crisp Oatmeal Raisin Cookies; a pan of Grapefruit-Blackberry Bars and the aforementioned cornbread pudding — and I'm awestruck. The sweets are fresh, bright, often genius; the recipes clear, crisp, never fussy. Heed Mims' masterful advice, and even if you weren't born to bake, you'll soon have folks thinking you were.

‘Sweet & Southern’

Here’s a trio of recipes from Ben Mims’ new book — from classic Hummingbird Cake to Grapefruit-Blackberry Bars to bread pudding made with cornbread.

Cornbread Pudding with Whiskey Caramel Sauce

Bread pudding can be made from any kind of stale bread, so why not cornbread? The bread is soaked in a rich, egg-y custard before baking, then drenched in a decadent, whiskey-laced caramel sauce. That sauce. Man.

Cornbread (see recipe), day-old, cut into 2- to 3-inch cubes

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

2 cups milk

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1½ teaspoons kosher salt

5 large eggs

Whiskey Caramel Sauce (see recipe)

Put the cornbread in a 3-quart oval or rectangular baking dish. Heat the butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring often, until it begins to brown lightly. Remove from the heat and stir in the milk, sugar, vanilla and salt, stirring until sugar dissolves. Stir in eggs; then pour over the cornbread. Let sit for about 10 minutes to allow cornbread to soak up the custard; then cover with a sheet of aluminum foil. Bake for 30 minutes, remove the foil, then continue to bake until golden brown and set, about 30 minutes more. Let cool for about 10 minutes before serving, drizzled with the sauce. Serves: 8-10

— Adapted from “Sweet & Southern” by Ben Mims (Rizzoli, $39.95)

Per serving, Cornbread Pudding only, based on 8: 542 calories (percent of calories from fat, 49), 13 grams protein, 57 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 29 grams fat (17 grams saturated), 254 milligrams cholesterol, 970 milligrams sodium.

Cornbread

You don’t have to make the cornbread pudding to enjoy Ben Mims’ wonderful version of this Southern standard.

1 cup yellow cornmeal, plus more for sprinkling

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon baking soda

2 cups buttermilk

2 large eggs

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

Heat the oven to 425 degrees.

In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda. In another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and eggs, then add to the dry ingredients and stir together until just combined.

Heat a 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat until it just begins to smoke. Add the butter and swirl the pan constantly until butter is melted. Pour melted butter into batter and stir to combine. Sprinkle the bottom of the skillet lightly with more cornmeal, then pour in the batter, smoothing the top quickly. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean and the edges are golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Makes: 1 12-inch round

— Adapted from “Sweet & Southern” by Ben Mims (Rizzoli, $39.95)

Per serving, based on 8: 266 calories (percent of calories from fat, 46), 7 grams protein, 29 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 14 grams fat (8 grams saturated), 86 milligrams cholesterol, 541 milligrams sodium.

Whiskey Caramel Sauce

I tend to put bourbon in everything. S0 for this sauce, I decided to try something different: Troy & Sons Oak Reserve, an heirloom moonshine. Something about using corn whiskey with cornbread pudding just worked.

1½ cups granulated sugar

½ cup heavy cream

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into cubes

¼ cup whiskey, bourbon or Armagnac

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 large egg, lightly beaten

In a small saucepan, stir together 1 cup of the granulated sugar and ¼ cup water over medium-high heat until the sugar dissolves; then cook, without stirring, until the sugar turns a medium-amber color, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and add cream, butter, whiskey, salt and nutmeg and stir until smooth.

In a medium-size heatproof bowl, whisk the remaining ½ cup sugar and the egg together until smooth; then drizzle in the warm caramel sauce and whisk well. Pour back into the saucepan. Return to medium heat; cook, stirring often, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Serve the sauce immediately, spooned over bread pudding or ice cream, or pour into a clean heatproof glass jar and put a lid on the jar. Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 month. Makes: About 2 1/2 cups

— Adapted from “Sweet & Southern” by Ben Mims (Rizzoli, $39.95)

Per 2-tablespoon serving: 162 calories (percent of calories from fat, 50), 1 gram protein, 19 grams carbohydrates, no fiber, 9 grams fat (5 grams saturated), 39 milligrams cholesterol, 37 milligrams sodium.

Grapefruit-Blackberry Bars

Author Ben Mims thinks grapefruit is under appreciated in baking, and I agree. His riff on classic lemon squares gets a little sweet tang by drizzling in blackberry sauce.

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3¾ cups granulated sugar

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 ⁄8 teaspoon kosher salt

6 ounces blackberries

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon pomegranate juice

2 tablespoons grated grapefruit zest

½ tablespoon grated lemon zest

1 cup fresh grapefruit juice

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

6 large eggs

Confectioners’ sugar for sprinkling bars (optional)

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-by-13-inch baking pan evenly with baking spray.

In a bowl, beat the butter and ½ cup of the granulated sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add 2 cups of the flour and the salt and mix until combined. Transfer the dough to the prepared pan and press it into the pan to cover the bottom and about halfway up the sides. Refrigerate the dough for about 30 minutes. Bake until light brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.

In a small saucepan, combine the blackberries, ¼ cup of the granulated sugar, lime juice and pomegranate juice and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thick, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Press through a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl, pressing on the solids to extract all the juice from the berries. Let cool completely. Discard solids.

In a bowl, whisk together the remaining 3 cups granulated sugar and 1 cup flour. (This is to prevent lumps of flour from forming in the filling). Then add the grapefruit and lemon zests, grapefruit and lemon juices, and eggs and whisk until smooth. Pour the filling onto the crust, then drizzle the blackberry sauce in stripes over the top. Drag a toothpick or knife through the filling and sauce to create swirls. Bake until the filling is just set in the middle but still slightly jiggly in the center, about 35 to minutes. Let cool completely at room temperature; then refrigerate for at least 4 hours to set the filling before cutting into bars. If desired, dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving. Makes: 12-16 large bars or 2 to 3 dozen bite size

— Adapted from “Sweet & Southern” by Ben Mims (Rizzoli, $39.95)

Per bar, based on 12: 546 calories (percent of calories from fat, 30), 7 grams protein, 91 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 18 grams fat (10 grams saturated), 147 milligrams cholesterol, 58 milligrams sodium.

Hummingbird Cake

First published in Southern Living in 1978, this super-moist spiced layer cake slathered with cream-cheese frosting is, as cookbook author Ben Mims puts it, a “people-pleaser.”

For the cake:

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting pans

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup finely chopped pecans

1½ cups granulated sugar

1 cup packed light brown sugar

3 large eggs, beaten

1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple or 1 cup pureed fresh pineapple

2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 5 bananas)

1 cup canola oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the frosting:

¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter,

at room temperature

2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese,

at room temperature

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

Chopped pecans for garnish

To make the cake: Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray three 9-inch round cake pans evenly with baking spray, and dust with flour.

In a bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt; stir in the pecans. In a large bowl, combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar and eggs. Whisk until smooth. Add the pineapple, bananas, oil, and vanilla and whisk until the batter is smooth. Add the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined and smooth. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans and smooth the tops. Give the pans a good bang on the counter to settle the batter evenly into the bottom of the pans. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Let cool in the pans for 25 minutes, then invert the cakes onto wire racks and let cool completely. (The cakes can be wrapped in plastic and set aside for up to 1 day.)

To make the frosting: In a bowl, combine the butter and cream cheese and beat with a mixer until smooth. Add the vanilla and confectioners' sugar and beat on high speed until light and fluffy. Place a cake layer on a cake stand and, using a small rubber or offset spatula, spread 1 cup of the frosting evenly over the top. Place the second cake layer on top and frost with another cup of frosting. Repeat with the remaining cake layer, then spread the remaining frosting over the top and sides of the cake. Sprinkle with the chopped pecans and refrigerate to firm the frosting, at least 1 hour. Serve chilled or at room temperature. Serves: 12

— Adapted from “Sweet & Southern” by Ben Mims (Rizzoli, $39.95)

Per serving: 865 calories (percent of calories from fat, 52), 9 grams protein, 96 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams fiber, 51 grams fat (18 grams saturated), 125 milligrams cholesterol, 420 milligrams sodium.