I made this delicious plum cake with fresh plums my parents brought us when they came. They were given a ton of plums from a friend’s tree and they are delicious.  And, I used a cast iron skillet for the first time!

This skillet was Kenny’s grandmother’s, Lucile Weatherly, so is a special treasure to have. Anna’s middle name, Lucile, was given in honor of Lucile, too.  And, many of you know that I love The Pioneer Woman who adores cast iron skillets, so I was excited to finally try one.

This was a super easy recipe and very tasty.  The orange zest and almond extract was a great flavor combination with the plums.  Enjoy!

30-Minute Skillet Plum Cake

**I think this recipe would work well without a cast iron skillet.  Melt butter in a skillet on the stove as instructed, then transfer mixed batter to a greased square pan or casserole dish and bake.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar (I used light brown sugar)
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 stick plus 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2/3 cup milk
2 tsp. orange zest
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tsp. pure almond extract
3 ripe but firm black plums, seed discarded, thinly sliced into wedges
2 tsp. granulated sugar

1.  Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Whisk flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl; set aside.
2. Heat butter in a 10-inch round cast iron skillet over medium heat.  Cook, swirling pan occasionally, until beginning to foam.  Remove skillet from heat when foam settles and butter smells nutty, 5-7 minutes.  Immediately remove from heat and transfer to medium bowl.  Stir in orange zest.  Whisk in milk, eggs, and almond extract.
3. Whisk brown butter/milk mixture into dry ingredients, stirring only until batter is smooth.
4. Grease skillet with remaining 1 Tbsp. butter, then scrape batter into skillet.  Top with sliced plums, skin side up, pressing gently into batter.  Sprinkle with granulated sugar and bake until cake tester (or toothpick) inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 25-30 minutes.
5. Transfer skillet to cooling rack and cool cake about 15 minutes; serve warm.  Cake may be served at room temperature.  (I made the cake well before I wanted to serve it, then warmed it again later in the oven on warm and served with vanilla ice cream.)