1. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin with baking spray or butter, and coat fig leaves with additional baking spray or butter. Press center of each fig leaf into a muffin cup, folding and arranging the leaves as necessary to cover the interior of each cup.

2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs and buttermilk. Add melted butter, and whisk to combine.

4. Pour buttermilk mixture into flour mixture, and stir gently until just combined.

5. Fill each leaf-lined muffin cup half full with the batter, and nestle a fig on top of each cake.

6. Bake for 15 minutes. If figs have submerged beneath the cake batter, gently pull them back to the surface. Sprinkle cakes generously with the ¼ cup reserved sugar. Return to the oven until the cakes are set and golden and figs have begun to release their juices, approximately an additional 10 minutes.

7. Cool for 10 minutes before carefully removing cakes from the muffin tin.

8. Serve with a dollop of freshly whipped cream, a knob of bourbon to sip alongside, or both.

*To substitute dried figs, cover figs with boiling water, and set aside to rehydrate for 10 minutes. Drain excess liquid, and proceed with recipe.

Did you know? Since figs hold moisture in baked goods, pureed figs can be used as a fat substitution in recipes. Use half the amount of fig puree as you would use butter or oil.