This brown butter peach skillet cake is baked in a cast iron skillet to give it super crispy edges with a soft, tender center. It's topped with sliced peaches and a dusting of powdered sugar for a super easy summer dessert!
This cake comes together in just one bowl and is ready to eat in about 40 minutes! You can also substitute whatever fruit or berries you have on hand!
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What is Skillet Cake?
Skillet cake is kind of like a cross between cake and cobbler (and almost even a clafoutis)! It has a super light, fluffy cake batter topped with fresh fruit!
The cake is baked in a preheated cast iron skillet to get super crispy edges with a moist, tender center.
Ingredient Notes
You just need a few simple ingredients to make this super easy peach skillet cake!!
Cake Flour - I always use cake flour in my cakes because it makes them super soft and tender, but all purpose flour also works great!
Peaches - Fresh peaches are my all time favorite fruit, so they were the natural choice for this recipe. But any type of stone fruit or berry would also work great! However, I don't recommend using frozen fruit for this recipe.
Brown Butter - My favorite ingredient of all time is brown butter!! Brown butter is just unsalted butter that has been melted and gently cooked to bring out a toasty, nutty flavor. If you've never made brown butter before, you can check out this post with all my tips for how to make brown butter!
The complete list of ingredients and amounts is located in the recipe card below.
How to Make Skillet Cake
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a medium size bowl. Add in the milk and vanilla and mix until fully combined and smooth.
Melt the butter in a 10 inch cast iron skillet over medium heat (this both preheats and greases the pan).
Once melted stir frequently and watch closely for the formation of brown specs on the bottom of the pan.
First the butter will get thick and foamy. Then it will start to bubble rapidly. Don't stop stirring the butter. After a few minutes, the butter will start to turn a golden brown color and you'll start to see those brown specs on the bottom of the pan. It will smell intensely buttery, nutty, and rich.
Once you see the brown specs, remove from the heat and immediately pour into the cake batter (it's okay if a little butter stays behind) and stir to combine.
Pour the batter into the hot greased pan and smooth into an even layer.
Top with the sliced peaches.
Bake the skillet cake at 350°F for 30-40 minutes or until the batter is fully set and the top is browned.
Dust the peach skillet cake with powdered sugar and serve warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream!
Recipe FAQ's
Yes, absolutely! Any type of stone fruit or berry is delicious in a skillet cake! Plums, cherries, blueberries, etc. would all work great!
Nope! You can use a regular round 8 inch cake pan if that's all you have. The edges just won't get crispy.
Tips for Success!
For best results I always recommend using weight measurements (especially when baking) because it's the most accurate. Kitchen scales are super affordable and also reduce the number of dishes you have to do! However, all my recipes also include US customary measurements for convince. Use this chart to convert measurements for common ingredients!
Substitutions: In all my recipes, I've included substitutions that I know will work, but I cannot guarantee results if you substitute ingredients that I have not recommended. [For example, granulated sugar and honey are indeed both sweeteners but they have very different properties so they can not always be swapped 1:1. Using honey in a cookie recipe that calls for granulated sugar will yield a giant mess.] In the recipe card you'll find links to the specific ingredients/brands that I use.
A note on salt: I almost exclusively use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt because it's the best all-purpose salt for cooking and baking. If you're not using kosher salt, consult this handy guide for a conversion chart! When in doubt, if you're using table salt just reduce the amount by half for baked goods. When cooking, I prefer to under-salt because you can always add more! If you've over-salted, adding a little bit of acid (like lemon juice) can help.
More Peach Recipes You Might Like
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Recipe Card
Brown Butter Peach Cast Iron Skillet Cake
Special Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup cake flour, substitute all purpose flour
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 4 large fresh peaches, sliced
- powdered sugar, for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a medium size bowl. Add in the milk and vanilla and mix until fully combined and smooth.
- Melt the butter in a 10 inch cast iron skillet over medium heat (this both preheats and greases the pan).
- Once melted stir frequently and watch closely for the formation of brown specs on the bottom of the pan.
- First the butter will get thick and foamy. Then it will start to bubble rapidly. Don't stop stirring the butter. After a few minutes, the butter will start to turn a golden brown color and you'll start to see those brown specs on the bottom of the pan. It will smell intensely buttery, nutty, and rich.
- Once you see the brown specs, remove from the heat and immediately pour into the cake batter (it's okay if a little butter stays behind) and stir to combine.
- Pour the batter into the hot greased pan and smooth into an even layer. Then top with the sliced peaches.
- Bake the skillet cake at 350°F for 30-40 minutes or until the batter is fully set and the top is browned.
- Dust the peach skillet cake with powdered sugar and serve warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream!
Notes
Nutrition
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.
Lee Cee says
I just made this today. I followed the recipe exact, and it came out amazing!! At first, I thought the batter was a bit thin, but after a bit, it was perfect. My family Loved it! I will make it again.
K says
DEELISH! I was in a pinch and had homemade pear pie filling that needed to be used before it went bad and just subbed that for the peaches. I also made it gluten-free for my mom, and even my dad (who is not gf) loved it! What a comforting dessert for this cold & snowy week.