Salted Caramel Skillet Cake
Skillet cakes became popular during the Great Depression when many homes couldn’t afford proper heating, so families would gather in the kitchen around the stove to stay warm. The cast-iron skillet would retain heat long after it’d been removed from the oven to help keep the cake warm until it could be served.
- coconut oil for coating the skillet
- 2 cups cake flour
- 1 cup, plus 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup vegan margarine
- 2 tablespoons applesauce
- 2 teaspoons ground flaxseed
- 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup coconut milk from a carton, not a can
- 2 tablespoons coarse sea salt for sprinkling
Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Coat a cast-iron skillet with coconut oil.
In a large bowl, blend all the cake ingredients except the coarse sea salt with an electric handheld mixer for 2 to 3 minutes, or until creamy.
Pour the cake batter into the coated skillet, then use a rubber spatula to smooth the cake into an even layer.
Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the cake begins to look dry around the edges and a bamboo skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
Sprinkle the sea salt evenly over the top and serve warm in the skillet.
Coconut Milk
These days, it’s not hard to find coconut milk in most grocery stores. In fact, you can find it in most dairy cases by the carton, or by the can in the Asian food aisle. If you haven’t figured it out yet, be warned: Coconut milk in a carton is not the same as the stuff in a can.
Canned coconut milk has a higher fat content (yes, even the low-fat versions). You’ve probably noticed that thick white foam at the top of the can when you open it—that’s the fat that’ll make it thicker when mixed in. While that might seem like a bad thing, it does make canned coconut milk the perfect substitution for heavy cream, and with only half the calories. Coconut milk in the carton is more processed, but it’s intended to be a beverage, so it’s thinner and (normally) has a lot less fat than its canned brethren.
Thank you to Meet the Shannons for this recipe & content. Visit their website for other delicious dishes. 
