Name: Cast Iron Apple Spice Skillet Cake
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 1
Ingredients: 1 box of white cake mix; 4 apples (Granny Smith or other variety), peeled and diced; 1 teaspoon cinnamon; 1/4 cup of unsalted butter, melted; 1/4 cup of brown sugar, packed; whipping cream for topping, optional

Jump to Recipe

Cast Iron Apple Spice Skillet Cake is the perfect fall dessert! It's quick and easy to make, needing only five ingredients, including a box of cake mix. This cake is baked in a cast iron skillet for an extra rustic touch and a fun way to serve your dessert.

Cast Iron Apple Skillet Cake is the perfect fall dessert! It's quick and easy to make, needing only five ingredients, including a box of cake mix. This cake is baked in a cast iron skillet for an extra rustic touch and fun way to serve your dessert.?

This post contains affiliate links. Affiliate links support A Joyfully Mad Kitchen at no additional cost to you. I receive a commission if you choose to make a purchase through these links.

A few years ago, my mom threw me a fall-themed baby shower. At the party, we served a lot of fall favorites including one of the easiest recipes ever for apple spice cupcakes. It was a recipe we came up with on a whim and we were lucky it worked!

As this fall season rolled around, I could wait to try to make a new version of this cake. I discovered the fun of making cast iron skillet cakes when I made this pineapple upside-down skillet cake a few summers ago. Baking cakes in cast iron skillets is such a fun and rustic way to not only bake cakes but also serve them.

This cast iron apple spice skillet cake was a natural choice for a quick after-dinner dessert. It's also super easy to make and share when having friends over or even for a party. Presenting a cake in a skillet will take people by surprise and make for a fun conversation topic for a while.

What I love most about this cake actually isn't how it looks or even how it tastes. It's how simple it is. Simple as in FIVE ingredients. Yep. You read that right. You see, the beauty of this recipe is that it uses a cake mix for the base of the apple spice cake. I'm all about homemade desserts from scratch, but this recipe is ideal for a quick and easy dessert in a pinch.

When I was making this recipe, I made a last-minute decision to take an idea from the pineapple upside-down skillet cake and put brown sugar and butter on the bottom of the pan. It ended up being an incredible experiment that worked. Now I'll request brown sugar bottoms on all of my cakes in the future 😉

Table of Contents

How do you make a cake in a cast iron skillet?

You make a cake in cast iron just like a regular cake! Mix up the cake mix according to instructions, pour into a pan, and bake at 350ºF for 25 minutes or until the cake is golden brown.

How do you clean a cast iron skillet?

Cleaning a cast iron skillet is easy, just wash it with a sponge and soap. If food is stuck to the pan or difficult to get off, use a pan scraper or you can also pour coarse salt into the pan and light scrub with a sponge.

What does it mean to season a cast iron skillet?

Seasoning a cast iron skillet just means preparing it for cooking.

Why do you need to season a cast iron skillet?

Cast iron surfaces are rough, which makes it hard to cook foods on. By preparing it for cooking, we are adding oil to the pan that essentially traps the oil on top of the bumpy surface. This allows food to cook without sticking or getting trapped in the rough surface of the skillet.

How do you season a cast iron skillet?

Start by pouring ½ cup of salt into the pan and use a paper towel to rub the salt all over the pan. This will remove dust and impurities from the pan and get it primed for seasoning. Then rinse the pan off in the sink and dry it off with a towel or by putting it on the stove over low heat.

Using a paper towel, spread a light coat of vegetable oil on the inside and outside of the skillet, including the handle. The skillet should be almost dry to the touch. Too much leftover oil can cause the skillet to become sticky.

Line the bottom rack in your oven with foil or a baking sheet. Then place the skillet upside in the oven at 450ºF for 30 minutes. Then allow cooling in the oven.

Here are a few tips for cast iron skillet care:

If you've never seasoned your cast iron skillet, you should start there. Follow the steps to remove and clean the pan first, then season with oil.
Cleaning the pan with soap is okay, once you've seasoned the pan. This is because seasoning the pan adds a thin layer of polymerized oil which won't be broken down by soap.

What tools do I need to make a Cast Iron Apple Spice Skillet Cake?

Looking for more apple recipes? Check out this Apple Olive Oil Cake or Spiced Apple Dutch Baby Pancakes. For dinner, try this pan seared apple pork tenderloin.

If you make this recipe or are wanting to, leave a comment or rating below and let me know! I'd love to hear from you!