Cinnamon-sugar apple skillet cake ♥

Guys, tomorrow is Halloween! Are you ready?  It's going to be a chilly 52 degrees here, but no rain so our trick or treaters will be nice and dry.  For the past several years we've been invited to trick or treat with some of John's school friends in their neighborhood.  It's so much fun! My friend Courtney puts on an awesome spread of hot chocolate and cookies on her front porch before we go, and honestly...that's my favorite part ♥

But before we go Trick or Treating.... 

...I thought I would share with you a favorite apple recipe of mine since it IS still apple season (actually, isn't it always apple season? :)

I made this cake for the first time a couple of years ago and I fell in love with it.  I used a cast iron skillet but a glass baking dish works just as well! This cake is perfect with your tea or coffee and served warm will fill you with utter JOY on a cold day, especially if you a fighting a touch of a cold like me.  

Tis the season.....♥

recipe adapted from Joy the Baker

1 1/2 cups flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

3/4 tsp salt

6 tbs (3/4 stick) unsalted butter,  at room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 egg yolk

2 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup buttermilk

3 or 4 apples, peeled and sliced into thin rounds

1/4 cup sugar and 3/4 tsp cinnamon for topping

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Grease and flour the bottom and sides of an 8 or 9 inch cast iron skillet (or other oven proof dish or cake pan). 

In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add egg and yolk, one at a time, beating for one minute between each addition. 

With the mixer on low, add half of the flour mixture.  Add the buttermilk and when the flour is just combined with the butter mixture, add the remaining flour.  Beat on low until all of the flour has been incorporated. 

Spoon batter into the pan and spread evenly.  Top with the sliced apples and cinnamon & sugar.  Bake for 25 - 30 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. 

WAIT! Where's the whip cream! What was I thinking? ♥

Either way, it's really delicious! I hope you try it and use up all the yummy apples of the season.  

Well, the cake is ready, pumpkins are carved, and John has his costume.  He's bringing back and oldie but goodie and going as a slice of bacon again this year!  I'll be back on Friday with pictures : )

Have a very happy and safe Halloween! 

Enjoy your festivities, even if it's just cozying up on the couch watching a scary movie! 

Boo!!!!! (and please save me a Three Musketeers Bar cause they're my favorite ♥)

Cinnamon-Sugar Apple Skillet Cake & a great book!

 

Hello Friends! I hope you all had a wonderful week! Ours was busy and I'm so glad that the weekend is finally here! Yay!

 

As promised I made an apple skillet cake this week.  I really think you are going to love this one.  The first, warm piece out of the pan was the best, and we literally ate every crumb of this cake.  Rob took a piece everyday for his coffee break and I even packed some in my son's lunch box for snack.  Apple anything is ALWAYS a good idea.  Don't you agree?

  

 

 

Even though it's not apple season, I've had my eye on this skillet cake for a while now.  There is something so comforting about warm apples with cinnamon and sugar on it.  It all sounds so simple which just proves my point that the best things in life are the certainly the easiest.  ♥

 

recipe adapted from Joy the Baker

1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp salt
6 tbs (3/4 stick) unsalted butter,  at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 or 4 apples, peeled and sliced into thin rounds
1/4 cup sugar and 3/4 tsp cinnamon for topping

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Grease and flour the bottom and sides of an 8 or 9 inch cast iron skillet (or other oven proof dish or cake pan). 

In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add egg and yolk, one at a time, beating for one minute between each addition. 

With the mixer on low, add half of the flour mixture.  Add the buttermilk and when the flour is just combined with the butter mixture, add the remaining flour.  Beat on low until all of the flour has been incorporated. 

Spoon batter into the pan and spread evenly.  Top with the sliced apples and cinnamon & sugar.  Bake for 25 - 30 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. 

  

  

 

 

Before I go I have to tell you about this awesome book that I just finished called Garden Spells. It's by a wonderfully talented writer named Sarah Addison Allen.  I LOVED this book!  I'm usually a pretty slow reader.  On average it takes me at least two weeks to finish a book.  I flew through this one in under a week because I simply could not put it down.  I was so sad when I finished the book.  Not because I was unhappy with the ending, but because I was sad to see it end.  I guess that's a sign of a good read! : ) 

 

 

The story takes place in Bascom, North Carolina and tells the tale of two sisters living together in their grandmother's house.  In the back of the house, there is a garden that posses special powers and a very enchanting apple tree.  Anything that grows in garden is magical, so be careful what you eat.

 

Growing up, Sidney and Clair Waverly were always thought of as outsiders in their hometown and looked down upon by their peers.  Now Claire is a successful caterer (making dishes with her mystical plants, and thus casting spells upon the ones that eat them) and Sidney had just returned home after being gone for years and struggling to deal with her dark past. 

 

There are family secrets, drama, romance, and a little bit of magic.  What more could I want in a book? If you are looking for a little escape, I highly recommend Garden Spells ♥

 

I just picked up another Sarah Addison Allen book called The Girl Who Chased the Moon.  Has anyone read it? I hope it's as good as Garden Spells! : ) xo

 

 

PS. No magical apples were used in the making of my apple skillet cake...unfortunately...