The scent of butter and sugar grips you as soon as you walk into Nicole Rucker’s Culver City cafe. In the pastry case are slices of pie with chunks of sunset-colored peaches spilling from the middle, wedges of custard pie with burnished meringue tops and mountains of cookies, brownies and cheddar and chive scones. This is the place I recommend most in the city. To taste Rucker’s fruit, cream and custard pies is to experience the sweetest parts of Southern California. The peaches taste like they were just plucked from the tree. Passion fruit custard beneath a bouffant of meringue is so addictively sharp, it makes my mouth pucker. Her crusts are buttery and flaky. If you see egg salad, order it. The white bread is soft and squishy, the egg salad well-seasoned and velvety. But if you’re planning on something savory before or after dessert, know that the short menu of sandwiches isn’t always available. Rucker has turned the area opposite the counter into a mini superette, where you can find condiments, snacks and gifts for food-minded friends. What she’s created is a destination wonderland of fat and flour, sugar and love. — J.H.

11739 W. WASHINGTON BLVD., CULVER CITY l FATANDFLOURLA.COM