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Cheery way to start the day: Pancakes packed with cherries

Recipe: Cherry buttermilk pancakes made with fresh sweet fruit

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED JUN 8, 2025

Cherry season is short -- enjoy them at breakfast in these delicious buttermilk pancakes . Debbie Arrington

A neighbor’s bountiful trees remind me: We’re still in cherry season. But it won’t last much longer.

Here’s a way to start your day with this flavorful fruit. Instead of traditional blueberry, try these cheery buttermilk pancakes packed with juicy sweet cherries.

Flip the pancakes when they have plenty
of bubbles.

This simple pancake recipe makes the most of fresh cherries. Remove the pits and cut the cherries into quarters; the smaller pieces make for better distribution in the batter.

Fold the fruit gently into the batter; otherwise, the batter may turn pink with cherry juice (which is OK, too).

For fluffier pancakes, make sure your ingredients stay cold before mixing.

Serve with butter or margarine and syrup. Maple syrup works fine; cherry or berry-flavored syrup is even better.

Cherry buttermilk pancakes

Makes 8 to 10 pancakes

Ingredients:

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk

1 large egg, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted and cooled

1 cup fresh cherries, pitted and quartered

Butter or margarine for griddle

Instructions:

These pancakes almost don't need anything else
-- but serve with butter and syrup if desired.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar.

In a smaller bowl, mix together buttermilk and beaten egg. Stir buttermilk mixture into dry ingredients until smooth. Stir in melted butter or margarine. Fold in cherries.

Heat griddle to 350 degrees F. Melt butter or margarine on the griddle.

Spoon or ladle batter onto griddle. Let pancakes cook until bubbles cover the surface, about 2 to 3 minutes. Flip and cook until done, about 2 to 3 minutes more.

Serve warm with butter or margarine and syrup, if desired.

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RECIPE

A recipe for preparing delicious meals from the bounty of the garden.

Keywords:

recipe recipes pancakes cherries fruit spring June breakfast cooking produce management farmers markets stone fruit Sacramento gardening

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Garden checklist for week of May 10

Take it easy during that high heat – then get to work! Your garden is calling.

* Remember to irrigate your tender transplants. Seedlings need consistent moisture. Deep watering will help build strong roots and healthy plants. Water early in the morning for best results.

* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. Time to set out those tomato transplants along with peppers and eggplants. Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.

* Direct-seed melons, cucumbers, summer squash, corn, radishes, pumpkins and annual herbs such as basil.

* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.

* In the flower garden, direct-seed sunflowers, cosmos, salvia, zinnias, marigolds, celosia and asters. (You also can transplant seedlings for many of the same flowers.)

* Plant dahlia tubers. Other perennials to set out include verbena, coreopsis, coneflower and astilbe.

* Transplant petunias, marigolds and perennial flowers such as astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia and verbena.

* Keep an eye out for slugs, snails, earwigs and aphids that want to dine on tender new growth.

* Feed summer bloomers with a balanced fertilizer.

* For continued bloom, cut off spent flowers on roses as well as other flowering plants.

* Put your veggie garden on a regular diet. Set up a monthly feeding program, and keep track on your calendar. Make sure to water your garden before applying any fertilizer to prevent “burning” your plants.

* As spring-flowering shrubs finish blooming, give them a little pruning to shape them, removing old and dead wood. Lightly trim azaleas, fuchsias and marguerites for bushier plants.

* Don’t forget to weed! Those invaders are growing fast.

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