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Homemade Blueberry Skillet Cake

January 11th, 2010

We spend some time each summer gathering sun ripened berries and stowing them away in the freezer. They’re a delightful reminder of summer during these cold dark winter months. Our freezer is currently stocked full of blueberries, blackberries and wild black raspberries. Yesterday I decided that some blueberries would go perfectly with those lemons I got a while back. I settled on blueberry muffin cake, since it would pair perfectly with our morning coffee on a sub-zero Sunday morning.

I call it a cake because I don’t bake it in muffins tins (I have a strong aversion to all things non-stick). I like baking in a cast iron skillet, so all of my muffins are made in one batch in this cast iron skillet that’s probably twice as old as I am. I find that they bake wonderfully, it takes a little longer, but it’s well worth the extra time. Not to mention there are no muffin tins to wash, which is a big plus in my book!

I prefer my breakfast to be a little less sweet so I have developed this recipe to suit our tastes. It’s a lower sugar recipe, so if you’re looking for those sweet as candy muffins you can buy at the local coffee shop, double the sugar in this recipe. You could also sweeten them up with a crumble topping, sprinkled on top before baking or by drizzling them with some lemon juice mixed with powdered sugar after taking them out of the oven.

LEMON BLUEBERRY SKILLET CAKE

2 2/3 cup of flour (I use half whole wheat flour)
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup of sugar (double this for sweeter muffins)
zest and juice from 1 lemon *
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract *
2 eggs, room temperature
1 cup + 2 Tablespoons of room temperature buttermilk (use regular milk or cream here if desired)
3/4 cup melted coconut oil, unsalted butter,** or cooking oil of your choice (the coconut oil doesn’t impart a “coconut” taste to the muffins, but it seems to add another layer of flavor)
1 1/2 – 2 cups berries (fresh or frozen, allow to thaw a bit if using frozen)

Heat oven to 400. Put cast iron skillet in oven. In large mixing bowl combine: flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and lemon zest. Stir to combine.

In another bowl crack eggs and whisk. Add vanilla extract, buttermilk and lemon juice to eggs and stir to combine. Remove cast iron skillet from oven and melt coconut oil in skillet, swirl oil around to coat skillet. **If using butter make sure to oil skillet with shortening or oil, not butter.

Pour wet ingredients (including coconut oil) into dry ingredients and lightly fold until almost combined. When almost combined add berries and stir to incorporate. If batter is too thick add a little more buttermilk or milk. You want this batter to be too thick to pour, but not too thick to smooth into edges of pan.

Spoon batter into cast iron skillet and put in oven. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until knife inserted in middle comes out clean. Baking time will be longer if eggs/milk were not at room temperature and if berries were not slightly thawed. Keep checking every 5 minutes until done. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack for 5-10 minutes. Slice and enjoy with coffee.

If baking in muffin tins bake for 20 minutes checking after 15.

*Optional flavor combination: cranberry & orange, cranberry & almond, strawberry & lemon, strawberry & vanilla, blackberry & lemon, black raspberry & lemon.


You can use any kind of berry in the muffins. I have used: blackberries, raspberries, blueberries and even cranberries. Strawberries would also be delicious, I think I’ll try those next time, or tomorrow depending on how long this batch lasts. Change the extract or citrus flavor depending on berries used. Cranberries and oranges are a wonderful combination. Almonds compliment cranberries or cherries beautifully and lemon pairs perfectly with blackberries, blueberries and raspberries. Strawberries would be heavenly with lots of vanilla.


So grab some berries from your freezer (or the grocery store freezer) and let you imagination run wild. Heat up that oven and bake up a batch of sunny muffins. Enjoy a delicious taste of summer in the middle of this cold winter weather.

What’s your favorite kind of muffin?

29 Comments to “Homemade Blueberry Skillet Cake”
  1. Diane@Peaceful Acres on January 11, 2010 at 7:45 am

    Oh YUM! I was just thinking yesterday about pulling some blackberries out for a cobbler/cake. Well, I’m thinking this must be a sign!!!
    .-= Diane@Peaceful Acres´s last blog ..Peaceful Weekend =-.

    Reply to Diane@Peaceful Acres's comment

  2. Kelly on January 11, 2010 at 9:42 am

    I haaaaate washing muffin tins (but hate how rusty they get so easily when put in the dishwasher) and we have muffins frequently. They tend to be pretty basic – chocolate chip or raspberry. I’d never thought about baking them in a skillet. New try for this weekend!
    .-= Kelly´s last blog ..*Yarn Package Dance* =-.

    Reply to Kelly's comment

  3. Tree on January 11, 2010 at 10:13 am

    This sounds yummy and I like the idea of baking one giant muffing instead of muffin tins. I have stoneware muffing tins and I just made Banana muffins (using up an old mix) this morning. They are pretty easy to clean, but a cast iron skillet would be easier. I have those on my wants list, and hopefully this summer at garage sales I will find me some.

    In the meantime I have a large round stone pan I could bake this cake in. I think this is Sunday Breakfast this week. I have everything on hand already so why not.
    .-= Tree´s last blog ..Results =-.

    Reply to Tree's comment

  4. Michelle on January 11, 2010 at 11:44 am

    This looks SO GOOD. I have yet to use my cast-iron skillet…I’m so afraid to ruin it! I need to just get a grip and USE the thing. Maybe this is the recipe to break it in…christen it….and then if it did get ruined, it would be worth it! :)

    I wanted to say also…your photo collages of this process would be really pretty on a calendar…
    .-= Michelle´s last blog ..and now… =-.

    Reply to Michelle's comment

    • Susy on January 11, 2010 at 11:56 am

      Thanks, perhaps a recipe calendar.

      I don’t think you can ruin a cast iron skillet, I use mine for everything. It’s used several times a day in our house. I could use a few more.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  5. Maureen on January 11, 2010 at 1:46 pm

    I LOVE the idea of making this in the cast iron skillet (I share your aversion to non-stick anything) and we still have 3 bags of berries in the freezer. Plus it’s nice to find a recipe where I don’t need to halve the sugar….yea!
    .-= Maureen´s last blog ..Television Rant….Proceed with Caution =-.

    Reply to Maureen's comment

    • Susy on January 11, 2010 at 1:51 pm

      Yes, I find myself halving or quartering the sugar in just about everything I make. I like my muffins to be more like a lightly sweetened biscuit than a sweet dessert cake.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  6. Hailey on January 11, 2010 at 2:15 pm

    Thanks for the inspiring post! My huckleberry version is in the oven and can’t wait to try it out with my afternoon tea!!

    Reply to Hailey's comment

  7. Sylvie on January 11, 2010 at 5:55 pm

    Good tasting, uncomplicated to make and not too sweet… sound like something I should really try!

    Reply to Sylvie's comment

  8. stefaneener on January 11, 2010 at 8:49 pm

    Ah, a fine solution to the muffin tin washing dilemma. I didn’t get enough huckleberries or blueberries this summer, and I don’t much like blackberries in muffins, but we should probably eat them anyhow. The recipe sounds good. Lemon just makes blueberries sing.

    Reply to stefaneener's comment

  9. Jennifer on January 11, 2010 at 10:06 pm

    You must be psychic. I just purchased my first bunch of meyer lemons today and have been debating what to prepare with them. This is perfect.
    .-= Jennifer´s last blog ..Recipe Mondays; A confession =-.

    Reply to Jennifer's comment

  10. MAYBELLINE on January 12, 2010 at 12:49 am

    This looks great. I’m with you. Never. Never. Never use non stick junk. That stuff peels off and goes somewhere. I think newlyweds should register at a local hardware store to get great, useful items like cast iron skillets and the like.

    When you juice lemons, freeze the juice in ice cube trays. Store the cubes in a freezer bag for quick access when cooking.
    .-= MAYBELLINE´s last blog ..Food Storage =-.

    Reply to MAYBELLINE's comment

  11. Chicago Mike on January 12, 2010 at 12:55 am

    Only one word could describe that dish. Scrumtrulecent.
    .-= Chicago Mike´s last blog ..Why Garden? =-.

    Reply to Chicago Mike's comment

    • Susy on January 12, 2010 at 9:52 am

      Oh thank you James Lipton :)

      Too funny, we just watched that Sat evening.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  12. Mangochild on January 12, 2010 at 7:53 am

    A taste of blueberry when there is so much snow on the ground, what could be better on the table? Yum. I agree, your pictures of the process are beautiful.
    My favorite kind of muffin/cake is cranberry, hands down. I too prefer things less sweet, so I use less honey than called for, and add in the cranberries as-are for more of a tang. When they pop in the oven, there is that red burst on top that looks almost like fireworks.
    .-= Mangochild´s last blog ..Spotlight: 2009-2010 Dark Days Challenge Week Eight =-.

    Reply to Mangochild's comment

  13. Striving for a Simple Life on January 12, 2010 at 7:57 am

    This looks yummy!

    Stephanie
    .-= Striving for a Simple Life´s last blog ..Simply Sunday =-.

    Reply to Striving for a Simple Life's comment

  14. Nancy on January 12, 2010 at 4:21 pm

    Your photos came out so good, I could almost taste the cake!
    .-= Nancy´s last blog ..Oh My, This Should Get Us By =-.

    Reply to Nancy's comment

  15. Anne on January 12, 2010 at 5:44 pm

    Beautiful photography! Really lovely work. The cake looks delicious, and I totally agree about the muffin tins! My cast iron skillet hasn’t been getting enough love lately… maybe I’ll get it out and make this cake.
    .-= Anne´s last blog ..Starting off on the right foot =-.

    Reply to Anne's comment

  16. Andres Stell on January 16, 2010 at 11:18 pm

    I made your recipe today it was great! Thanks!!
    .-= Andres Stell´s last blog ..Lemon Blueberry Skillet Cake =-.

    Reply to Andres Stell's comment

  17. […] in part, by the recipe Ms. Chiot laid out (including beautiful pictures) I set about making something a little different from our normal eggs […]

    Reply to anotherkindofdrew blog » Blog Archive » Blueberry Wheat Skillet Cake's comment

  18. Sustainable Eats on January 18, 2010 at 8:58 pm

    What a great idea and stunning photo montage. You truly have an eye for beauty and stomach for flavor! Thanks for sharing the recipe. I’ve got it earmarked for breakfast this week…
    .-= Sustainable Eats´s last blog ..Dark Days Week 9 =-.

    Reply to Sustainable Eats's comment

  19. Blueberry Wheat Skillet Cakes | Small Town Living on February 13, 2010 at 3:19 pm

    […] in part, by the recipe Ms. Chiot laid out (including beautiful pictures) I set about making something a little different from our normal eggs […]

    Reply to Blueberry Wheat Skillet Cakes | Small Town Living's comment

  20. skillet pans on May 21, 2012 at 5:17 pm

    After looking at your Home Made Blue Berry Cake for awhile it gave me a connection sense to the past. The next thing I noticed was that I started reading the list of ingrediants, followed by searching around the kitchen writing down the ingrediants I had at home, shopping for the ingrediants I didn’t have. Finally baking and smelling the aroma fill the house. Thanks for sharing it was an absolute delight.

    Reply to skillet pans's comment

    • Susy on May 21, 2012 at 9:12 pm

      Glad you liked it!

      Reply to Susy's comment

  21. TheBritontheBeach on January 2, 2014 at 7:47 pm

    Having foodgasms….but I have to ask…what size skillet do you use? I have two, a wee one and a larger one…I do want to make this. I, too, abhor the non-stick muffin pan thingies.

    Reply to TheBritontheBeach's comment

  22. Maggy on February 5, 2014 at 7:43 pm

    I just made these into muffins using gluten free flour- so good! Thanks for sharing this recipe Susy!

    Reply to Maggy's comment

  23. griswold on March 20, 2015 at 12:21 pm

    What size skillet is this recipe for? Please hurry with your reply. I am wanting to make this right away!! By the way, your pictures are lovely!

    Reply to griswold's comment

  24. Cheyenne on October 8, 2017 at 8:12 pm

    Just made this… Thank you so much for posting! It is delicious! Love my cast iron pan.

    Reply to Cheyenne's comment

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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