Apple Skillet Cake couldn't be easier to make! This cozy Fall dessert is made with fresh red and green apples and is perfect to serve with a scoop of ice cream or whipped cream! It's great comfort food for a cold Autumn or Winter night or year-round.
Apple skillet cake
This recipe uses simple ingredients and is literally stuffed with fresh apples. Baking an apple cake in a cast iron skillet creates beautiful golden crispy edges and a moist and tender center. This colorful and vibrant Autumn dessert is super easy and will surely become a family favorite! It's a great cake to bake on the weekend, and can be served as a dessert, breakfast, brunch, or a snack! Not only is it a great cozy treat on cold Fall or Winter nights, but you can also make it year-round just like these delicious apple squares with cinnamon and brown sugar! Love skillet cakes as much as I do? Try this peach and blueberry skillet cake next.
Why you'll love it
- Lots of apples. This dessert is PACKED with apples. If you love lots of fruit in your desserts, you'll love this cozy Fall treat!
- Amazing texture. Baking an apple cake in a cast iron skillet gives it crispy, golden-brown edges with a soft and moist center. It's one of my family's favorite Autumn go-to desserts!
- Beautiful presentation. It's easy to make any dessert look beautiful in a cast iron skillet. Use 2 colors of apples (red and green), don't peel them, arrange the apple slices in a circular pattern in a skillet, and you have yourself a beautiful homemade cake!
- Perfect for sharing. Serve it as a simple breakfast, a luscious weeknight dessert, or a crowd-pleasing treat for special occasions.
Cozy Autumn cake
This light and moist apple skillet cake comes together quickly using basic ingredients, such as flour, butter, Greek yogurt, eggs, sugar, baking soda, and baking powder. I used red apples (Gala apples and Cosmic Crisp) and green apples (Granny Smith variety). It's my go-to cake on cold Fall and Winter weekdays and weekends when I want to have a quick dessert for my family and friends.
Why use a cast-iron skillet for baking desserts?
Skillet cakes are some of my favorites because they are so easy to make! Baking this apple cake in a cast iron skillet creates crispy, golden-brown edges with a soft and moist center. The cast-iron skillet heats through evenly resulting in a beautiful and consistent texture.
What kind of apples to use?
I recommend using apples with a firm texture that will hold up well after being baked in the oven. I also recommend using 2 different colors for the presentation - red and green. For green apples, I used the Granny Smith variety. For red apples, I recommend Gala, Fuji, or Cosmic Crisp.
Can you make it gluten-free?
Yes, you can! I have tested this recipe with King Arthur Measure for Measure Gluten-Free flour and it worked great! Just follow the recipe as is.
Main ingredients
- Flour. Use regular all-purpose flour. You can also use gluten-free flour - this cake has been tested with King Arthur gluten-free measure-for-measure flour.
- Baking powder and baking soda. Make sure both are fresh so that the cake rises.
- Butter. I use salted butter and did not add any extra salt. Use softened butter at room temperature. There is only 2 oz of butter used for the whole cake.
- Sugar. Use regular granulated white sugar.
- Eggs make the cake moist and fluffy.
- Vanilla elevates the flavor of fresh apples.
- Greek yogurt works great in cakes and ensures a nice, smooth texture.
- Apples. Fresh apples not only add natural sweetness, but they also add texture. Pick apples with a firm texture that will hold up well when baking. Avoid apples with a soft and mushy texture. I used as many apples as I possibly could so this cake is literally stuffed with fruit.
How to make apple cake in a cast iron skillet
1) Preheat the oven to 350°F with a rack in middle. Grease the sides and the bottom of the cast-iron skillet with butter.
2) Combine dry ingredients together by sifting flour, baking powder, and baking soda into a medium bowl.
3) Prepare the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, beat softened butter, sugar, and 2 eggs for about 2 minutes on high speed until very light in color and fluffy. Add vanilla and sour cream and continue beating until very creamy and light in color, for about 1 more minute.
4) Combine dry and wet ingredients together. Keeping the mixer speed low, mix in the flour mixture until combined. Do not overmix. Transfer the cake batter to the cast-iron skillet.
5) Top with cake batter with half of the sliced apples.
6) Bake the cake in the preheated oven at 350 F until the cake turns golden - for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on your oven. Midway through baking, I like to put the remaining half of the apple slices on top of the cake for presentation purposes and return the cake to baking.
Baking Tips
- Baking dish. I used 10-inch round high-sided cast-iron skillet. You can also use a 9x3-inch springform pan. Or, use a high-sided 9-inch regular round cake pan (make sure it's at least 2 inches tall, or taller, not the short kind).
- Greek yogurt. You can also use buttermilk, kefir, or sour cream instead.
- Use a scale to measure flour or aerate the flour well. Aerate the flour by fluffing it with a spoon and adding it into your measuring cup with the spoon instead of just packing the flour into the cup. This will prevent the flour from overpacking. Overpacking the flour results in a denser cake texture.
Storage Tips
- This apple skillet cake will keep, stored at room temperature for up to 3 days. Loosely cover the cake with foil or plastic wrap. If your room temperature is on the warmer side, refrigerate it.
- Fridge. Place the completely cooled cake in an airtight container or tightly wrap the cake in plastic wrap or foil and refrigerate it for up to 5 days.
- Freezer. Once the cake is completely cool, freeze it within 2 days of baking. Wrap the cooked and completely cooled cake tightly with plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. Or, freeze the cake in an airtight container.
How to serve it
- Ice cream. Serve a warm slice of apple skillet cake with a simple plain vanilla ice cream. Brown butter or pecan ice cream is delicious, too. Add chopped pecans on top of the ice cream.
- Caramel sauce. Drizzle the cake lightly with caramel sauce and then top with chopped toasted pecans or walnuts for a Fall-inspired presentation!
- Whipped cream is another way to elevate this simple cake.
Other apple cakes you might like
If you love apples as much as I do, don't miss these vibrant and delicious apple desserts:
- Cranberry Apple Pecan Bundt Cake
- Apple Pumpkin Cinnamon Vanilla Bundt Cake
- Easy Apple Squares (Cake Bars)
- Apple, Blueberry, Peach Coffee Cake
Apple Skillet Cake
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 oz butter softened (4 tablespoons)
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 red apples medium, cored, unpeeled, sliced into wedges
- 2 green apples medium, cored, unpeeled, sliced into wedges
Instructions
- I used 10-inch round high-sided cast-iron skillet. You can also use a regular 8-inch or 9-inch round cake pan or a 9x3-inch springform pan.
- Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Grease the sides and the bottom of the cast-iron pan with butter.
- Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, together into a medium bowl.
- In a separate bowl, beat 2 oz of softened butter, sugar, and 2 eggs until very light in color and fluffy, 2-3 minutes on high speed.
- Add vanilla and Greek yogurt and continue beating until very creamy and light in color, for about 1 more minute.
- Keeping the mixer speed low, mix in the flour mix until combined. Do not overmix.
- Transfer the cake batter to the cast-iron skillet. Top with half of the sliced apples. Arrange apple slices in a circular pattern, alternating red apple slices with green apple slices.
- Bake uncovered until the cake turns golden, and the tester comes out clean in the center, about 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on your oven.
- Midway through baking, add the remaining half of the sliced apples for presentation purposes. Arrange apple slices in a circular pattern, alternating red apple slices with green apple slices. Return the cake to baking.
- When the cake is done baking, remove it from the oven and let it cool in a cast-iron skillet.
- I provide step-by-step photos of how to arrange the sliced apples on top of the cake. Scroll up above this recipe card for photos.
Notes
- What kind of baking pan to use? I used 10-inch round high-sided cast-iron skillet. You can also use a 9x3-inch springform pan. Or, use a high-sided 9-inch regular round cake pan (make sure it's at least 2 inches tall, or taller, not the short kind).
- Use a scale to measure flour or aerate the flour well. Aerate the flour by fluffing it with a spoon and adding it into your measuring cup with the spoon instead of just packing the flour into the cup. This will prevent the flour from overpacking. Overpacking the flour results in a denser cake texture.
- Apples. I used Granny Smith for green apples and Gala and Cosmic Crisp for red apples. You can also use Fuji.
- Greek yogurt can be replaced with sour cream, buttermilk, or kefir.
- Can you make it gluten-free? I have tested this recipe with King Arthur Measure for Measure Gluten-Free flour and it worked great! Just follow the recipe as is.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
What if it is sprinkled with powdered sugar on top?
It will be delicious!