Cast Iron Desserts
Baking and cast iron: skillet-cornbread is a given, but are you overlooking cast iron's wider baking potential? Read on for baking tips to get the most out of your favorite pan.
Wash it with soap. I'm not sure where the idea came from that you need one pan for dinner and a separate one for desserts. Wash your cast iron with soap in between savory and sweet cooking and unwelcome flavors will not transfer. (A stinky skillet may need a little more daily washing.)
Preheat your pan. A crunchy crust is what makes cast iron cornbread so good. This is achieved by preheating your skillet before adding batter. The same principles can improve all kinds of desserts. A little caramelization will impart a complex flavor to cookies, brownies and fruit crumbles.
... or don't! Usually pre-heating cast iron is a good way to prevent food from sticking to its cook surface. However, with baking, this isn't alway practical. Even with my desensitized foundry hands, I wasn't about to nestle pie crust into a hot 9" Round Roaster. By first greasing the roaster with butter, and then dusting it with flour, I made a pie that popped right out after cooling.
What's more, baking with butter provides excellent passive seasoning.
Start or finish on the stovetop. Unlike other common bakeware materials, cast iron can take a lot of direct heat. Adapt your cooking style to start or finish a dish on the stovetop to achieve what you want. For fruit dishes, maybe this means softening the fruit on a burner before finishing it under the broiler for a crisp.
My pie came out great, but if it had come out with a soggy bottom, I would have finished the crust on a stove eye to crisp it up without over-browning the top.
Use the best pan for the job. While any of our cast iron skillets will impart the crucial heat needed for crusty results, pan shape matters too! Our steep-walled bakeware maximizes surface area, ideal for creating beautifully browned casseroles and desserts.
In honor of pi day, my favorite pie!
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