Full disclosure, peeps: although I’ve had a collection of cast iron skillets for kind of a while now, this is the first time I have ever baked a skillet cake in one. Crazy, right? It’s like baking a single-layer cake in a 9- or 10-inch cake pan, but looks about a billion times more gorgeous. I had high expectations for this skillet cake: I wanted it to be super easy to throw together (it is), super moist and deeply vanilla-flavored (check), as yummy for breakfast, as it is for a snack, or a dessert after dinner (triple check) and as tasty for an adult as it is for a picky kid (not that I know anything about picky kids . . .).
The skillet cake is oil based which contributes to its moistness and is mixed by hand (no pesky mixers to clean). The peaches are not peeled, making them an easy ingredient to work with and gorgeous to look at (I love the pink hue the skins impart). A generous sprinkling of Turbinado sugar atop the cake pre-bake contributes a delightful crunchy texture (yes, texture can be “delightful”).
Finally, I used sour cream as my “liquid” ingredient, as I love the tang it imparts in a cake and because I was given the opportunity to work with a sour cream I had never purchased before: DairyPure® (read: sponsored ad). I was happy to do so, as the milk used by DairyPure® is artificial growth-hormone, as well as anti-biotic free, quality tested, cold-shipped, and from cows fed a healthy diet. Check out the DairyPure® coupon-link, here.
This cake is a quick week-night dessert game-changer (we’re talking practically one-bowl here), and though I love it with peaches, I could imagine it being equally as scrumptious with berries or cherries or plums (and come winter: apples . . . ). And if, like me, you have yet to use your cast-iron pan as a baking vessel, you’re in for a real treat.
Peach Sour Cream Skillet Cake
Ingredients
- 3 small to medium peaches skin-on
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp table salt
- 2/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 yolk
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup sour cream preferably DairyPure®
- Turbinado sugar for sprinkling
- Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350-degrees. Generously grease a 10-inch cast-iron skillet with cooking spray or softened butter. Set aside.
- Slice the peaches into 1/2 -inch wedges and set side.
- Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine the oil and sugar and whisk vigorously to combine. And the egg, yolk and vanilla, and whisk again. Add the sour cream and whisk a final time.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and with a rubber spatula, gently fold to combine. Do not over mix. Stop folding when there is still a streak of flour or two.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and decoratively place the peach wedges on top. Just use as many as it takes to make a circle around the outer edge. Add a couple more to the center of the circle. Do not overload the cake with peaches or it’ll have trouble setting up and will be soggy. Serve any leftover peach slices with slices of cake - or better yet, just eat them.
- Sprinkle the cake with Turbinado sugar and place in the preheated oven for about 40 minutes, rotating the cake at 20 minutes and testing it for doneness at 35. The cake can be pulled from the oven when a tester inserted in the center comes out with only a moist crumb or two. Serve slices directly from the pan warm or at room temperature, with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
I’ve got lots more cake recipes, so don’t forget to check them out!