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I have a confession to make. I just recently bought my very first cast iron skillets. Besides one enameled cast iron skillet, I have never owned a traditional non-enameled piece of cast iron cookware. Ever. That is, until a couple of months ago.
Let me try to explain why I hadn’t previously owned one. There are myths about cast iron that were filling my head; myths that made me nervous and unsure if cast iron would fit into our lifestyle. For one, I was under the (false) assumption that one needed to use an obscene amount of butter or fat in order to cook in cast iron and that is just not something that we are in the habit of doing. We try to keep things light whenever possible. In reality, a properly seasoned skillet only needs a modest amount of oil to cook foods to perfection. Who knew?
Another myth was the care of cast iron. No soap? Needing to be cleaned right away aka no sink soaking? I’m not sure those are two things I can get on board with because at my core, I am a sink soaker. It turns out, the no soap thing, is no big deal, and the need for immediate clean up? Also, not something that has bothered me. In fact, it helps to keep me on track and curb my gut instinct to simply throw a pan in the sink, fill it with water and deal with it in the morning. So it seems that I owe cast iron a debt of gratitude for my kitchen being clean.
This Peach Thyme Skillet Cake is divine – simple to mix together, but utterly superb with a beautifully moist crumb. The fresh thyme brings a subtle herbal quality to the cake and the succulent peaches add to its sweetness. Being baked in an 8 inch skillet, this cake is petite, but perfect for a weeknight dessert or even a special occasion treat. I am so thrilled to have this cake in my arsenal of go-to recipes – all thanks to my ‘discovery’ of cast iron.
Peach Thyme Skillet Cake
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for skillet
1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for skillet
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
2 small ripe peaches (or 1 large), thinly sliced
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter and flour an 8 inch cast iron skillet (or other oven safe skillet) and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, thyme and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together butter and 3/4 cup of sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg. With the mixer on low, add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk. Be sure to start and end with the flour mixture.
3. Pour batter into prepared skillet and smooth with an offset spatula. Spread 3/4 of the peach slices over the top of the cake. Sprinkle the top of the cake with 2 tablespoons of sugar.
4. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Add remaining peach slices to the top of the cake in the last 25 minutes of baking. Allow cake to cool slightly before slicing.
Enjoy!
Notes:
- During baking, the cake will most likely bake up over the peach slices. Adding the reserved peaches at the end of the baking time is purely for presentation. If you forget to reserve the peaches, the cake will still be delicious!
- Extra cake can be stored in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Reheat for about 20 seconds in the microwave before serving.
- Peach Thyme Skillet Cake is wonderful when served with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.
Jelly Toast Blog adapted from Martha Stewart
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You had me at “cast iron skillet”. I am OBSESSED! I’ve never tried dessert because I’ve been afraid that my cake will taste like chicken or steak. Do you use the same pan for everything or have a different one for dessert?
SO glad to found your recipe today Emily, I was just looking for my large cast iron skillet to make Fajitas. This peachy dream cake looks absolutely delicious!
Cheer,
J
Sounds wonderful and I can hardly wait to make it.My (one and only) husband will love this.
I am 84 and still love to cook, shop and do anything else that sounds like fun. One of those fun things is cooking in cast iron skillets which my father gave me 61 years ago for an extra “wedding present”. He was right when he told me that I would use them more than anything else in my kitchen. May you use your cast iron as long and with as much joy.
Was yours pre-seasoned or did you do it yourself, and if the latter, how did you go about it?
Hi Misky! I bought Lodge Cast Iron skillets, and they did come pre-seasoned. To maintain the seasoning, I scrub the pan with hot water and a brush after each use and then wipe the surface with a neutral oil to restore the shine and seasoning. You can season your own pans if they don’t come pre seasoned and I found a good tutorial on the Lodge website: http://www.lodgemfg.com/useandcare/seasoned-cast-iron. I hope this helps! Thanks for stopping by!
~Emily
That combo sounds so good. I love herbs with fruit. Do you think I could double this recipe? My cast iron skillet is a 12 inch. NEVER leaves my stovetop too! Thanks SO much.
Hi Noreen! I don’t know for sure, as I’ve never tried it, but if the volume of an 8 inch pan is roughly half the volume of the 12 inch (not sure, but it might be close) I would think that it would be possible. Cooking time would differ greatly, however. If you try it, let me know how it turns out! I’d love to hear :)
Good luck and thanks for stopping by!!
~Emily
That looks delicious!! I’ve never made a cake in a skillet before but this would be the perfect time to try :-)
I was a bit intimidated at first about baking in the pan, but it was so easy! Just be sure to butter and flour it well and your cake will release beautifully! It helps, to if your pan is nicely seasoned.
Thanks so much for stopping by!
I feel I want more peach flavour
Yes, based on the ingredient list, it might not seem like the flavor is overly peachy, but the layer of peaches kind of sinks down into the cake and creates this soft, sweet peach layer throughout the entire cake. Plus, if you use ripe peaches the flavor is amazing! Thanks so much for stopping by!
~Emily
What a delicious looking cake! The peach/thyme combination sounds wonderful!
Thank you, Maria!
This looks delist!! As soon as I saw the photo, I knew this was an Emily post ;) Welcome to the awesome world of iron skillet cooking!!
Thanks, Jackie!! I need to come up with even more ways to use them, although this cake is one of my favorites so far :) Thanks for stopping by!
~Emily
I reallllly would like to get a cast iron skillet! Everything made from it just seems diving.
You’d love it, Grace! Luckily, the Lodge Cast Iron pans (the ones that I have) are reasonably priced and come pre seasoned, which is great! Thanks for stopping by!
~Emily