Skillet French Apple Cake
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Easy to make and loaded with fruit, this moist French apple cake recipe has the irresistible texture of bread pudding. Serve warm, straight from the cast iron skillet.
This cake is a sweet treat that’s as homey as it gets, inspired by a homestyle old-fashioned French or Italian-style apple cake.
Rustic and unfussy are two perfect words to describe this apple whiskey cake. Slice the cake with a knife right in the pan. A warm slice straight from the oven is the best way to encourage a full-on cozy fall feeling!
This is a good time to sing the praises of the cast iron skillet, a reliable, versatile piece of cooking equipment that should be in every cook’s kitchen.
Instead of a cake pan or springform pan, this dessert is baked in a cast-iron skillet, which is a big part of its homespun appeal. But aside from what it’s baked in, I think it’s the texture that might be the winning detail.
Because there are more apples in the batter than any other ingredient, the cake has a very moist interior that will remind you of a proper bread pudding. It’s so good!
Types of apples for apple cake
Use tart, crisp, firm-textured variety of apples for the best results.
- Granny Smith
- Jonagold
- Pink Lady
- Gala
- Honeycrisp
The small amount of spirits in the batter supplies a nice hint of woody, complex flavor, without tasting at all boozy.
I used an aged Irish whiskey to flavor the cake because that’s what happens to be sitting on the bar cart at the moment. Actually, whiskey’s barrel-aged overtones blend really well with vanilla extract for that very reason.
- To make this really French-inspired, definitely use cognac if you have it! Good American bourbon, whiskey or rum will also do the honors quite nicely.
- If you don’t want any spirits in your cake, just omit it and double the amount of vanilla extract.
- Add a 1/2 teaspoon of ground spices to the dry ingredients, such as nutmeg, cinnamon or ginger.
A spoonful of softly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream is fantastic served alongside a warm slice.
More cast-iron cooking resources:
- Check out my step-by-step guide to seasoning a cast-iron skillet and everyday cast-iron skillet recipes.
Cast Iron Skillet French Apple Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 stick (113 g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 ¼ pounds (625 g) Gala or Honeycrisp apples, 4 or 5 small
- 1 cup (140 g) all purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 eggs
- ¾ cup (180 g) granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons (45 ml) whiskey, bourbon, Cognac or apple brandy
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup (75 ml) buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons (30 g) turbinado sugar
- Powdered sugar for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees (175C)
- Brush a 9 or 10-inch cast iron skillet enough of the melted butter (about 1 tablespoon) to lightly coat it on the bottom and sides.
- Core the apples and peel all but one. Slice the unpeeled apple into half moons about ¼-inch thick. Cut the remaining apples into ½-inch chunks.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a mixing bowl.
- Lightly beat the eggs in another bowl with the sugar just until foamy (an immersion blender is great for this task). Stir in the whiskey, vanilla and buttermilk.
- Pour half of the egg mixture over the flour mixture and fold briefly. Pour in the remaining butter and stir. Add the remaining egg mixture and stir until no flour is visible. Add the chopped apples and stir gently to blend.
- Spoon the batter into the skillet. Arrange the sliced apples on the top, then sprinkle with the turbinado sugar.
- Bake until the cake springs back when poked in the center, and the edges are golden brown, 55-60 minutes. Cool 10 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar and serve warm or at room temperature.
Karen’s Notes and Tips
- Feel free to substitute the whiskey with another amber spirit, like bourbon or Cognac.
- If you don’t want any spirits in your cake, just omit it and double the amount of vanilla extract.
- The cake keeps at room temperature up to 2 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.
Hey, I’m Karen
Creator of Familystyle Food
I’m a food obsessed super-taster and professionally trained cook ALL about creating elevated dinners with everyday ingredients. Find simplified recipes made from scratch and enjoy incredibly tasty food! Read more about me here.
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Wonderful flavors great recipe
Wow! Thanks for this recipe Karen. I made it tonight for the family and we all loved it!! This will definitely be added to my dessert repertoire. Love your recipes.
I love this recipe — all of my favorite flavors and baked in my favorite pan! And it is absolutely delicious.
This is delicious.
I’m wondering if the 1 1/4 lbs if apples is the weight before peeling and chopping? Or is it what you want to have in apples for the cackle after chopping?
The weight is before peeling and chopping. Apples can vary so much in size!
This is a fantastic recipe! I added some dry spices as suggested and used 1 T whiskey and 2 T brandy, plus vanilla. It came together quickly and is so soft and delicious! My husband is on his second serving and says he could eat the whole pan. A keeper for sure!
It looks beautiful! So happy you both enjoyed it.
How would you adjust the recipe for high altitude baking (5,280 ft)? Thanks!
Hi Heidi, I don’t have experience baking at high altitude. But from what I understand, you’ll probably have to adjust baking time, oven temperature, and the amounts of flour, sugar and liquid. King Arthur flour has basic guidelines here: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/learn/resources/high-altitude-baking
I hope that’s helpful!
Quick question. I’m super excited to make this but I have a 12″ cast iron not a 10″. How, if at all, would you recommend I compensate ingredients for the extra inches. Thank you so much!
Hi Nicole – Do you have a 9″ or 10″ cake pan? You can use that instead of a skillet. If not, use your 12″ inch cast iron, but increase the oven temperature to 375 degrees and decrease the baking time to 40-45 minutes. The cake will also turn out a bit flatter.
Hi I’m a bit confused in regards to the apples. So do we soak all of the apples and then arrange them on top (including the unpeeled)?
Hi Alexis – great question. Just the chopped apples get blended into the batter, and the sliced apple is arranged on top to decorate.
This is beautiful! Love the cozy, slightly rustic appeal!
Thanks Laura!