Today I’m sharing this unbelievably moist skillet apple cake. It’s a simple, rustic, yet elegant dessert and one of my favorite apple recipes. Bursting with fresh apples, it’s best served warm right out of the skillet. It’s like eating an apple pie…in cake form.

If you’re searching for:

Desserts to make in a cast iron skillet

Apple desserts that are not pie

Or

The best fall desserts

Then give this brown butter skillet apple cake a try! It is somewhat reminiscent of a Kentucky Skillet Cake, somewhat a of French Apple Cake, and tastes kind of like an apple pie. It’s a rustic and elegant dessert to serve on a cozy fall afternoon. Or, pop it in the oven while you eat dinner and serve it fresh for dessert.

It’s best enjoyed fresh out of the oven, and I like to add a scoop of vanilla ice cream as well! I served it just like this in my apartment yesterday.

What You Will Need

To make this cake, you will need an 8″ or 9″ cast iron skillet. If you don’t have one then you are more than welcome to use an 8″ cake pan.

You’ll also need approximately 3 medium apples. My rule of thumb here is that if it would taste good in a pie, it’ll work great for this recipe! I would recommend Granny smith, Jonagold, Honeycrisp, or Gravenstein apples.

Other ingredients include:

• One stick of butter, cut into slices
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• Dry ingredients: flour (measured correctly), baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg
• Milk of any kind
• Greek yogurt or sour cream
• Brown sugar and granulated sugar

How to Make Brown Butter Apple Cake

There are three things needed to prep for this recipe:

1. Brown the butter

If you frequent recipe blogs and articles, I’m sure you’ve read a lot about how browned butter makes everything better. It’s true! It adds a rich aroma and nutty flavor to this cake that I just love.

To brown butter, start by cutting the butter into slices first so that it melts evenly. Then, place the butter into a small skillet over medium heat. Melt the butter, stirring or whisking it frequency. It will start bubbling and sizzling, and then eventually foam. As it begins to foam, keep an eye out for brown flecks and a very nutty (and amazing) aroma. Once you see/smell it, turn off the heat! It’s easy to go from browned to burnt, so keep a close eye on it.

2. Cut the Apples

As noted above, you’ll need around three apples for this recipe. Now, read carefully about what you’re going to do with them.

Take two of the apples, peel them, and then cut them into half-inch cubes. You will then toss these apples with some brown sugar and cinnamon.

Then with the third apple, leave the skin on instead of peeling. And then rather than dicing it like the others, cut the apple into thin slices. The best way to do this is to first cut the apple in half from the stem down, and then cut each half into as thin of slices as you can. As you’ll see below pictures, these thin slices are used to decorate the top of the cake.

3. Prep the Pan

Grease your skillet with butter or nonstick spray. You can also line it with parchment paper to further help prevent sticking.

After you prep these things, it’s a matter of then mixing the batter and layering it with the apples on the cake before baking.

I also recommend finishing off the cake with a dusting of powdered sugar!

Tips & Recommendations

Use warm or room temperature ingredients: make sure that your milk, eggs, and yogurt are at least at room temperature or slightly warm. A quick tip is to whisk the milk and yogurt together, and then zap it in the microwave for about 15 seconds.

Don’t over-mix the batter: fold the flour in until it is just incorporated and be gentle. Over-mixing will result in a tough cake rather than delicate and moist.

Know when the cake is done: The cake needs around 50-60 minutes in the oven. Bake the apple cake until it’s golden in color and a toothpick comes out clean. One test I like to do as well is gently tap the top of the cake with the pad of my index finger. If it springs back at all, then the cake is done! Keep in mind that the skillet is hot and retains heat extremely well. As a result, be careful to not overbake the cake, as it may still cook a bit after you’ve removed it from the oven.

Serving: Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes after removing it from the oven, and then serve it warm right out of the skillet. Or, you can always serve it onto plates. No need to aim for perfect looking slices! It may look a little messy when you scoop it out, but I promise it’s delicious.

Did you Make This Recipe?

If so, I’d love to hear from you! Feel free to leave a comment or rating, or take a picture and tag me on instagram @toppedwithhoney. Looking forward to seeing your lovely skillet apple cakes!

Want more skillet desserts? Try a super gooey whole wheat chocolate chip skillet cookie!