The Best Cast Iron Skillet Cake

This truly is the best Cast Iron Skillet Cake recipe! A moist buttermilk cake baked in a skillet until golden brown, then topped with a gooey pecan praline topping and served warm. It’s super delicious, easy to make, and great for serving a crowd!

I don’t know about you, but I LOVE desserts with caramel and pecans. It’s such a natural pairing. I also love desserts that are easy, that everyone loves, and that can serve a group of people when I have guests over. 

Enter The Best Cast Iron Skillet Cake! It’s so simple to make, but everyone is always so impressed by it. The buttermilk makes it moist and tender, and the praline topping is warm and gooey in the very best way. We adapted this recipe to fit a 12 inch skillet from a Peaceful Cooking recipe that we love.

Skip to:

• Essential tools 
• Ingredients for cast iron skillet cake
• How to make cast iron skillet cake
• For a crowd
• FAQs
• Other delicious desserts
• Tips & Tricks
• Recipe
• Comments

Essential tools 

The most important tool you need for this recipe is a cast iron skillet… it is The Best Cast Iron Skillet Cake afterall. My favorite 12-inch cast iron skillet is cast iron skillet. (affiliate) It’s not a fancy brand, but it works great and has lasted forever. Plus it has a handy handle on the front that makes it easy to put in and take out of the oven. 

This recipe will not bake the same in a normal skillet; you have to make it in a cast iron skillet. Also, it will overflow if made in a 10 inch skillet, so make sure to use a full 12 inch one.

Ingredients for cast iron skillet cake

• Flour: Just regular all-purpose flour here.
• Baking powder and baking soda: These will react with the buttermilk to help the cake rise and be fluffy.
• Salt: Just a little to draw out the vanilla flavor in the cake.
• Butter: I suggest using unsalted butter in the cake and praline topping since there is already salt added to the recipe. If you use salted butter, add a bit less salt than called for.
• Sugar: Just regular white granulated sugar for the skillet cake.
• Eggs: Make sure to have the eggs at room temperature before baking.
• Vanilla: This adds all the flavor to the cake and also adds some to the praline topping. Don’t skip it in this recipe!
• Buttermilk: Buttermilk makes the cake extra moist and even adds a little tang that pairs nicely with the praline topping.
• Brown sugar: Use this to make the praline topping.
• Heavy cream: This lightens the praline topping and gives it the perfect consistency for spreading on the cake.
• Pecans: You can chop them yourself or buy them pre-chopped.

How to make cast iron skillet cake

The buttermilk skillet cake can be made in essentially 6 steps. 

• First, preheat your oven to 375°F and spray a 12-inch cast iron skillet with non-stick baking spray. 
• Next, whisk together the dry ingredients and set aside. Easy. 
• Now cream the butter and sugar together for 3 minutes on medium speed until it is light and fluffy. 
• Add the eggs one at a time, beating on medium speed for 1 minute in between each addition. Scrape down the sides occasionally and add the vanilla after the eggs. 
• Next add ½ the dry mix to the batter and combine on low speed. Add the buttermilk and mix again on low speed, then add the remaining dry mix. Mix on low speed until just combined. It will be pretty thick. 
• Pour the batter in the skillet and spread into an even layer. Then bake for 25-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. 

While the cake is baking, make the praline topping. It’s a very simple three step process. 

• Combine the brown sugar, butter, cream, and salt in a small saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat until melted. 
• Bring the mixture to a soft boil for 3-5 minutes, stirring often. The sugar should be dissolved. 
• Last, remove it from the heat and mix in the vanilla and pecans. Let it cool for 15-20 minutes to thicken while the cake finishes baking. 

When finished, remove it from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Then pour over the thickened praline topping and use a spoon or spatula to spread it all the way to the edges. Allow it to cool for 10 minutes, then serve warm. Topping it with vanilla ice cream is especially delicious!

For a crowd

Since this skillet cake is baked in a 12-inch cast iron, it serves 10-12 people on its own. If you have a larger crowd, serve it in smaller portions with ice cream to help it stretch, or double the recipe and make two cakes.   

If you do bake two cakes at once, switch the racks they are on halfway through the baking time. This will help them bake evenly. Also keep in mind that you will need to make the batter in a very large mixer or make each batch separately to avoid overmixing.

FAQs

Other delicious desserts

• Skillet Apple Pie Biscuits - Biscuits coated in brown sugar and cinnamon, then baked in a cast iron skillet with apple pie filling. They’re sweet, sticky, and SO delicious. 
• Microwave Caramel Pecan Sauce - This easy sauce is good enough to eat by the spoonful. 😉 It’s also amazing on ice cream, cheesecake, and pound cake. 
• White Chocolate Blondies with Maple Sauce - Moist blondies studded with walnuts and white chocolate chips, then topped with vanilla ice cream and the most luscious (but easy!) maple sauce. You can’t go wrong with these!

Tips & Tricks

• This is a thick batter, so make sure to stir it at a gentle low speed after adding the flour. Mix until just combined to avoid overmixing. 
• For a really moist buttermilk cake, don’t overbake it. Check it with a toothpick at the 25 minute mark and then every 3 minutes or so until the toothpick comes out clean. 
• I’ve never had this cake overflow, but as a safety measure I always bake it with a cookie sheet on the rack below. If for any reason it does overflow, the cookie sheet will catch the mess.

Recipe