This time of year is perfection with the last of of season ripe tomatoes, and the fall fruit in full swing! I like having vine-ripened tomatoes and apples in the same week – it gives you the sense of having your cake and eating it too. (Although I’ll have to say, I’m definitely hoarding the last of my garden tomatoes.)
And…speaking of cake, we’ve had a chilly fall, and I found myself wanting to bake like crazy. Since I’ve been wanting to update this recipe for a while, I decided to get busy and remake one of our favorites. Everyone loves this recipe because it really is the best of both worlds, with a pie filling on the bottom, and a vanilla scented cake on top.
This cake bakes into a tender moist deliciousness that’s best served warm with Homemade Coconut Ice Cream, The Best Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, or Homemade Maple Ice Cream.
For the apples, peel, core, and slice them into quarters. Then, slice each quarter into 1/4 inch slices.
Sauté them in a 9 inch ovenproof skillet, I used a cast iron skillet. I kept a lid on the pan for the first 5 minutes of the cooking time to help soften the apples. In the second half of the cooking time, I removed the lid to let the juices cook down until they were thick.
When the apples are just tender, pour the cake batter evenly over the top…
… and then bake into perfection!
(As you can see, part of the filling bubbles up around the edges creating caramelized cake edges that everyone always fights over.)
I’ve had so many questions asking if there’s a typo in the recipe because it doesn’t contain flour of any kind. But I assure you it’s definitely not a typo, there’s something magical about nut butters where they can transform into cake, cookies, and brownies that have the best flavor!
Apple Pie Skillet Cake
- Total Time: 35 mins
- Yield: 4-6 1x
Ingredients
- Cake:
- 8 ounces cashew butter, (1 cup)
- 1/2 cup honey
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 Teaspoon baking powder
- 2 Teaspoons vanilla
- Apples:
- 2 pounds baking apples, peeled,cored, and sliced 1/4 inch thick
- 2 Tablespoon butter, or coconut oil for dairy free
- 1 Teaspoon Vietnamese cinnamon
- optional: a tablespoon or two of honey if your apples are really sour
Instructions
- In a medium sized bowl, mix together all the cake ingredients until the batter is smooth, set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 325F.
- Place a 9″ cast iron skillet (or oven proof skillet), over medium heat.
- Sauté the apples with the butter or coconut oil and the cinnamon. Place a lid over the skillet and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the lid and cook until the juices are almost gone, about 5 more minutes.
- When the apples are just tender, pour the cake batter over the top and place the skillet in the oven.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the cake batter has just set.
- Serve the skillet cake right out of the oven with ice cream – We really like this Homemade Coconut Ice Cream
Notes
For baking apples, I like to use Macintosh, Sweet 16, or Pipin. Granny Smith will work just fine if a more interesting apple isn’t available!
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
Do you mean 8oz or 4 oz of cashew butter for this recipe? You specify 8 oz but then use (1/2C) in the ingredients list. Please let me know. I am very excited to make this!
My mistake, it’s the 8 ounces which is usually about 1/2 a jar. I’ve corrected the recipe and I’m sure glad you caught that, luckily everyone that has made it went with the 8 ounces. Let me know how it goes, and thanks for commenting, I really appreciate it when someone catches a mistake so that I can fix it! 🙂
try a half/half mix of sunbutter and pecan butter … great when spread on apple slices too.
Thanks for the great idea! We don’t have pecan butter here, but I want to try making it. I love the sweet, slightly maple flavor of pecans, so I think it would be great in baked goods!
Yum yum! I love this idea! I can’t have cashews, so I’ll have to try it with coconut butter like the previous commenter. Thanks for the recipe!
I’m working on a Coconut Mana, (coconut butter) based cake with vanilla bean, (hoping to get it out in the next couple of months)!
looks yummy!
We’ve made it several times lately and I still can’t get enough!
It was so yummy that it has been a must-have weekend dessert. The second time, I used an electric mixer for the cake mixture and the top was flufier. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for the mixer tip, I’ll have to try it next time!
I really love your recipe! My daughter is allergic to nuts and most seeds 🙁 but we tried your recipe with coconut butter/manna instead of cashew butter and it turned out fantastic!
Thanks for sharing, janell
Thanks for telling me about the coconut butter/manna, I’d like to get away from using nuts as the base in my recipes. I’ll have to look for some and give it a try!
I have mine in the oven right now. I can’t do nuts so I used Sunflower Seed Butter and i am licking the bowl. Thanks for the recipe!
Let me know how it tastes with the sunflower seed butter, I’ve been wanting to try that for a while!
Kari it was great! Tastes best warm…not as thick.
I think both my skillet cakes taste better when they’re warm because they’re fluffier!
The cake looks wonderful! We have an egg allergy in the house…can we use flax egg or applesauce as a substitute?
I don’t have much experience with egg substitutes, but I would try the flax egg over the applesauce. Let me know if it turns out!
I have almond butter, more than I can use. Can I use this in this instead without a huge texture or taste change (never had cashew butter, don’t know where to find it and everything else I have on hand so I could make it today w/o going to the store.). Looks great!
You can use almond butter, I’ve substituted it before with good results. The almond butter makes for a deeper nut flavor than the cashew, and it’s not quite as smooth but it’s barely enough to notice! Just make sure to use a flavorful apple because that’s the key.
Yum! I don’t tolerate all of the almond flour recipes well, but I’ll have to see if the cashew butter works for me. I’m really excited about fall baking!
I know what you mean about recipes with a lot of almond flour – I save those for an occasional treat! This recipe only has a half cup of cashew butter, so there’s a greater fruit to nuts ratio which seems to work better for me.