13 Easy Cast Iron Skillet Dessert Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What can you bake in a cast iron skillet? ›

Bake what you want, any way you want

Bonus: It can be used for so much more than dessert, like pizza, rolls, roasted foods, and quiches. Want a crispy crust? Preheat your cast iron bakeware before adding your batter or dough for crunchy edges on cornbread, pizza, and biscuits.

We recommend starting with vegetables as they are more forgiving than most proteins - they taste delicious and won't stick to your pan! Keep in mind that using a little bit of oil is necessary to help to keep food from sticking.

A thick-cut steak such as a ribeye or New York strip is best for cooking in a cast iron skillet because it can withstand the high heat of the skillet and develop a gorgeous crust, while remaining juicy and tender in the middle. Avoid lean cuts like flank steak or skirt steak, as they are prone to drying out.

This chocolate cake topped with milk chocolate frosting couldn't be easier—it's made, and baked, right in a cast iron skillet. Stella Parks is a CIA-trained baking nerd and pastry wizard, dubbed one of America's Best New Pastry Chefs by Food & Wine.

What oils can I use to season cast iron? All cooking oils and fats can be used for seasoning cast iron, but based on availability, affordability, effectiveness, and having a high smoke point, Lodge recommends vegetable oil, melted shortening, or canola oil, like our Seasoning Spray.

When cooking in cast iron, you should add a little oil to the pan before adding your food. This helps ensure the food doesn't stick, and it helps build layers of seasoning. You can generally use whatever oil you prefer, as long as the cooking temperature is below the smoke point of the oil.

The non-stick properties are in the cook, not the cookware!

Conventional wisdom says that the seasoning on a piece of cast iron cookware is what makes it non-stick, but that's just not true. With the right mix of heat and oil, it's possible to cook on a rock without food sticking.

Clean your cast-iron skillet each time you use it. Doing so prevents stuck-on food from staying on the skillet between uses. If the skillet is only slightly dirty, a quick wipe after cooking in it will work. If dirtier, or food is stuck, then scrubbing it is best.

Yes, you can season the pans for frying, sautéing, or baking in cast iron cookware like pans, pots, or skillets with butter, but it's not the right choice to season it for the first time. Butter immediately starts to smoke when added to a heated pan because cast iron can withstand a lot of heat.

The key to getting the perfect pan seared steak is to ensure that your steaks are room temperature. Then, pat them dry with a paper towel and season them generously with sea salt and black pepper Heat a high heat oil (like avocado oil) into a cast iron skillet. Then, once it's hot, transfer your steaks into it.

What is better than a cast iron skillet? ›

Cooking with Carbon Steel Pans

And because it's more conductive than cast iron, it heats more evenly, with fewer hot spots. But even with that, it is still capable of reaching temperatures high enough to thoroughly sear a steak, and can likewise be used on the stovetop and in the oven.

Occasionally food may stick to your cast iron cookware. This can happen for a variety of reasons, such as not using enough fat or oil when cooking, using cookware that isn't well seasoned, or when breaking in new cookware that hasn't built up additional layers of seasoning.

Since a cast iron skillet can be used on both the stovetop and in the oven, you utilize both functions to help control the baking process from start to finish.

Cast iron is nonstick (if cared for properly) so there's no need to use a chemical nonstick cooking spray. While some of the newer cast iron skillets come "pre-seasoned" out of the box, it just isn't the same. The same holds true for the newer "seasoning sprays" we've seen sold online.

But if you're looking for an easygoing cake method, something that is for a quick weeknight treat or that's perfect for a casual dinner party, look no further than baking in your cast iron skillet.

Or you can use them to get the perfect sear on juicy steaks, roast chicken and vegetables, bake a decadent blueberry pie, or fry eggs and bacon. Our American-made, seasoned cast iron cookware is perfect for beginners, and chefs, and home cooks of any skill level.