This post was originally published on September 1, 2011.
This recipe is one from my great aunt. Though I never got the chance to meet her, she had a whole mess of children and when you’re poor and have lots of mouths to feed, you just have to do what you have to do to make ends meet. This was an easy, inexpensive treat for her family.
Mom pulled this recipe out of her recipe box for me and it was dated 1976. I love old recipes. And y’all also know how I love simple recipes – not only because they are easy, but also because I love simple flavors. This is a real favorite of mine because of that. The way the sugar caramelizes against that cast iron skillet gives the crust a crunchy texture that I really like. It’s great served with some fresh fruit and whipped cream or perhaps even a little bit of chocolate gravy.
Aunt Betty's Old Fashioned Skillet Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups self-rising flour
- 1 1/4 cup milk
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 12-inch cast iron skillet.
- Combine ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Pour the batter into the prepared skillet.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown and set. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 to 20 minutes before turning the cake out.
I am trying to NOT rush to the kitchen to make this — yes I have self-rising flour on hand but, sad to say, it is Gold Medal and not White Lily. When I married my southern raised husband at age 40 and he started taking me to visit his family I certainly learned a lot about cooking that was not mid-western. but I won’t make the cake today — because I have a peach cobbler to finish, made using a method (not a recipe — did she even have a recipe?) from his sister taught to me 30 plus years ago. So enjoy your site — and, oh, yes, when I do make this cake I will stir up the batter in my ‘so fun!’ bowls I won. Thanks once again.
Wonderful! Practice some restraint and just put this on the list for next! Do glad you’re enjoying the bowls.
WOW! I never had heard about not cutting cornbread before! Gotta remember that piece of Southern charm! That’s the best ‘something new’ I learned today! I’ll have to try this recipe soon. A friend bought be a BIG bottle of Watkins double-strength vanilla and I’ll bet that would be great used in this cake! Thank you!
My Bigmama used to make a simple cake like this and pour warm fudge sauce made with Hershey’s Cocoa over it. She never measured and she baked it in a single layer cake pan. But I’m thinking this is gonna be just similar enough to work. I had never heard of the not cutting the cornbread thing either. Maybe that’s why it always tears up on me before I can get it out of the pan. LOL. Love your blog. Thank You for sharing this recipe.
Thanks for sharing, Kim. I hope this recipe brings a little bit of her back to you.
I found this recipe (and then your blog) on Pinterest. I made this cake tonight and love it! The texture is great and it’s not too, too sweet – even with the two cups of sugar. I didn’t have a 12 inch cast iron skillet so I used my 10 inch and just increased the cooking time a little. I will definitely be getting a larger skillet. I love cooking in cast iron. I’ve saved your blog to my Favorites list. We Southerners have the best food in the world! Keep the recipes coming!
Thanks so much, Shannon! I’m so glad you enjoyed the cake. Come back and visit often!
I use to make this cake a lot with my grandmother and when I first get married, but over the years I had forgotten about it. I’m so glad you reminded me and I plan on making it sometime this week. But I have never heard of not cutting corn bread before , I’m born and raised in the South, by parents born and raised in the South, by their parents born and raised in South, by the appearance that was born and raised in the South,by their parents who where slaves in the south and we always use the knife on the corn bread, except for fried corn bread.
Great! Isn’t that funny!?!? You know the saying is “Let’s break bread together,” but I’m not sure if that’s where my grandfather got it or not. Regardless, we certainly don’t use a knife in our house. 🙂
I was born and raised in the south by southern parents. My mom always cut the cornbread and because she did, so do I. I don’t think I have ever seen anyone just break a piece off!
Thanks for sharing the recipe!
How funny! It’s amazing how the tradition varies so much between families. 🙂
What is fried cornbread?
Here’s a great recipe: http://www.southernplate.com/2013/04/2-ingredient-hot-water-cornbread.html
I am from Tennessee, born and raised, and we always broke our cornbread too! My Mom always baked hers in an iron skillet and I love the crispy bottom and sides!
LOL!! Glad we weren’t the only ones! It’s hard to beat hot cornbread right out of the skillet!
My parents were from Arkansas. We cut the cornbread from the plate, but then, crumbled it up when we had beans, onto our plates, and poured the beans over it. Sometimes, when I make cornbread and beans, and the breads too hot to crumble by hand, I’ll cut it into pieces, then put the beans on top, and believe it or not, it doesn’t taste the same that way! Our minds are powerful things!
My mother was from the south. My grandmother cooked on a old wood burning stove.
How she didn’t burn things is beyond me. She used to make this cake and put a meringue
icing on it.
You haven’t eaten until you’ve had cornbread, pinto beans, and blackberry cobbler (made from fresh picked blackberries) cooked on a wood burning stove!
Amen! Sounds delish! Thanks so much for sharing, Yvonne!
Am looking for a old fashion syrup cake also baked in a iron frying pan if you have one please send it to me ======= Thanks Connie
I will certainly keep my eyes open for one! 🙂
My grandmother used to make this and we called it cornbread cake. She passed away many years ago. I have thought about this cake many times and regreted no one in our family had the recipe. I am glad to see it on your site. Can’t wait to make it.
I’m so glad you found this recipe! Maybe this will bring a little bit of her back to you. I hope y’all enjoy!
I made this but I added a half teaspoon of cinnamon. Wow! It’s amazing!
Sounds like a great addition! So glad you liked it!
Got my Southern Bite cookbook in the mail today and the skillet cake is in the oven in my cast iron skillet my mother gave me 48 years ago. A lot of fried chicken has been cooked in that skillet.
I hope you enjoy it! Cherish that skillet! I sure love my old ones.
Today is my son’s 20th birthday and I had planned to make him a yellow cake (boxed) with homemade frosting. Of course, was completely out of cake mix. My daughter told me “to just make a homemade cake”. That got me started looking for a plain cake. Found your reciepe and Oh My Word! It was so easy and the cake was wonderful! I topped it with a homemade chocolate frosting. So good! Thanks for the idea!! Love your cookbook and website!
Thanks, Gayle! So glad y’all enjoyed the cake!
Stacey, this reminds me of my Mother’s depression era recipe for “something sweet”. She called it
SWEETENED CORNBREAD
1 C. Self Rising flour
1 C. Plain Cornmeal
1 egg
3/4 ro 1 C. Milk
1 C. Sugar, or less
2 or 3 T. Oil (butter might be better, but she said oil, so I use oil)
Nutmeg to taste
Mix and bake in cast iron skillet.
Southern by the Grace of God
Just discovered your site searching for a recipe and this cake reminds me of my grandmother. My southern memaw would bake a simple cake in her cast iron skillet. She would put the skillet over the heat and melt a few spoons of butter, then throw in some chopped pecans and pour a simple little cake batter over that and bake it. When it came out of the oven she would turn the cake upside down on a clean kitchen towel in the middle of the table and cut wedges from it and tell us to butter it while it was hot. The only place I ever ate hot buttered cake cooked in a cast iron skillet and it was really good. Will be checking out your other recipes. Thanks for sharing.
Wow, Fran! That sounds amazing!
Hi, Stacey. So glad that I found your site. I plan on making this cake very soon. 🙂 This may be the cake that my sister-in-law used to make when I was a kid. I remember the texture resembling cornbread and I remembered the color as being a rich yellow. I could be wrong about the color though. Can you substitute melted butter for the oil? If you do, would it change the texture or taste of this cake?
I think it would alter the texture and flavor a bit, but you might like it better that way. 🙂 Enjoy!
Thanks, Stacey!
Just one question, the oil in the recipe is just for greasing the pan and not for the batter, right? I’m a novice, but I want to make a simple cake for my friends’ birthday.
No, the oil in the recipe goes in the cake. You’ll need a little more to grease the pan. Enjoy!
Can i use canola oil in the batter? And what should I use to grease the pan?
Sure! Carole oil will work just fine in the cake. I use vegetable shortening to grease skillet.
Hi, I found your web site by reading a cooking magazine, but what stopped me in my tracks was this recipe. When I was a little girl and surrounded by cousins my grandmother would make a cake like this. I believe she called it “Puddin’ Cake”. Off and on I have searched for this recipe. The cousins and I could hardly wait for the cake to come out of the skillet. Your recipe seems very much the same as my grandmother’s.
Welcome, Tricia! That is certainly a prized recipe for my family. I hope that you’ll try it and that it will bring a little of your sweet grandmother back to you!
I’m making this tomorrow! I’m so glad I found your website (thanks, Christy Jordan!) Have already made many of your recipes and more to try. Love your website!
Love me some Christy Jordan! So glad you’ve found lots you like!
do you have a simple chocolate sauce recipe to pour over this cake recipe? My granma used to keep a cake recipe very similar to yours in the cabinet for all the grandchildren to eat at any time of the day or night. Thank you!
My chocolate gravy would be perfect!
EXCELLENT cake. made it for a friend’s brunch. Thought it may be too simple to take to someone’s home, but they ate it all! thank you
Awesome! So glad everyone enjoyed it!!
Well, GREAT recipe. I don’t use cast iron–simply too heavy for me to lift. I have really nice stainless steel pans. This baked up great in my stainless steel 10 inch fry pan. I reduced sugar by 1/2 cup and four by 1/4 cup. All fine beautifully into pan. Now I have an easy go-to vanilla cake. Thanks so much. Love the blog–great recipes.
So glad it turned out great for you!
I so love your site and recipes, Stacey. (Found you a long time ago through your “sister” Christy.) I found your story of breaking the bread sweet and endearing. Interestingly, I’m a full on southerner (mama is from Alabama and dad from NC.) We cook our cornbread in an iron skillet with the addition if extra cornmeal in the pan for an amazing extra crunch. We, however have always cut ours just like your cake picture. I just found it interesting how each family has it’s own southern traditions. While I have a lemon pound cake in the oven for a friends birthday (don’t we southerners live those pound cakes?) I look forward to trying your skillet cake soon.
Isn’t that funny!? Each of our families have such interesting traditions. Thanks for following along the journey. I’ll send thanks to Christy for sending you my way.
I’m from Alabama and my grandparents on both sides of my family broke the cornbread. But when we kids were small my mother had so many kids (cousins and neighbor kids) she would not let them touch the bread. So when she had grandkids that had snotty hands she started using a knife. But before she passed she went back to breaking again. I just have always used a knife.
But will defiantly will make the cake. Thank you for your southern recipes.
Love hearing that, Janice. Hope you’ll enjoy the cake!
Love your site! Can you provide a gluten free recipe for this cake? Would like to see more gluten free recipes also. THX!
I’m from almost as far south in Mississippi as you can go without getting wet (about 100 miles from the coast). We broke our cornbread unless we planned to butter it. If it was to be buttered we cut a wedge, cut that open and applied the butter like buttering a biscuit. Mmmmm. Now I may have to make some in the next day or so.
I wonder if this is the cake my husband’s grandmother used to make. After it came out of the skillet and cooled she punched it full of holes with a fork and poured chocolate sauce all over it.
That sounds amazing!!!
Hi Stacey, I’ve lived all over the South and have never heard of breaking cornbread. So, how would you go about breaking hot cornbread to put into a plate and butter it? If I’d been at your families’ home, I would surely have also committed the same faux pas that your poor wife nearly did! LOL
Your skillet cake looks really good!
Ha! It’s a delicate task for sure!
You had me at “caramelizes against the cast iron pan”! Thanks!
It’s the best part!