What do you do when you are having a dinner party and do not have a dessert to serve? Do what I did: serve up some of this super easy Lemon Berry Skillet Cake.
One of my favorite things to do EVER is to share food with the people that I love. I’m a tribal person. I like to have my people around. Life is busy and not always easy, so having a good support system is important to me.
How many of you find the nuclear family a bit isolating? I do! Unfortunately I do not live anywhere near my birth family. My parents and sister live all the way across the country on the East Coast. My dear brother lives in Mallorca, Spain. He’s an internationally- trained chef living in Europe. I miss him! So I have had to create a family for myself here in California.
How many of you have had to do this as well? My California family is my community. It is full of wonderful and special friends who have become part of my family. And the kids keep coming and growing. It’s very special to me. And I want my kids to grow up having a sense of community and belonging.
So this past weekend, when Alexei and I decided to gather our friends for a little impromptu potluck, I needed a quick dessert. There is really nothing like berry season here in California. Sweet strawberries, juicy blueberries, and beautiful raspberries everywhere you look. My little one walks around with a berry-stained face most days. This is my ode to lovely berries: Lemon Berry Skillet Cake.
It’s super easy to throw together. It’s gluten, grain, and dairy free. And it’s moist and delicious. I would almost describe it as “buttery perfection.” Something about the way full fat coconut milk and coconut oil taste together. It’s perfectly sweet with a hint of lemon. I’m smitten! This dessert turned out better than I expected.
My quest to understand coconut flour continues. I’m learning that it is a breed of it’s own. I recently ordered 3 pounds of coconut flour 
The skillet cake was a hit. Every last crumb was devoured by our fiends and family. It makes me happy to see the people that I love gathered, eating good food. I guess I like to show my love through things like skillet cake. Here’s to many more gathering to come!
Here’s a shot of the little ones at our dinner party the other night:
ENJOY!
P.S. As you can probably tell, the photos were as impromptu as the dessert itself. I actually snapped these 2 photos, standing on my coffee table, just minutes before my guests arrived. That’s real life for ya!
Lemon Berry Skillet Cake (gluten, grain, and dairy free)
- Yield: one 10" skillet 1x
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup coconut flour (like this)
- 1/4 tsp unrefined sea salt (I use this one)
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 6 eggs
- 6 TBS real maple syrup (like this) or raw honey (I use this one)
- 1/2 cup coconut oil (like this) or ghee (like this), melted
- 6 TBS full fat coconut milk (where to find BPA and additive free coconut milk)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 TBS fresh lemon juice
- zest from 1 lemon
- 1 cup of mixed berries (I used strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries. I chopped the strawberries into small pieces)
- coconut oil or ghee for oiling skillet
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350’F and LIBERALLY oil skillet with fat of choice.
- Sift together coconut flour, sea salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
- Whisk eggs until nice and foamy. Then add sweetener of choice, coconut oil/ghee, coconut milk, vanilla, lemon juice, and zest. Mix again to thoroughly combine.
- Slowly add dry to wet. Mix until combined. Allow to sit for 2-3 minutes to allow coconut flour to absorb.
- Pour into greased skillet. Gently spread evenly across bottom of skillet. Pour berries on top.
- Bake for 28-30 minutes, or until cake is firm in center and lightly golden.
Click HERE to PIN THIS!
I love skillet recipes. Do you have a favorite? Please share in the comments below!
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
We made this last night with some blackberries we had just picked. SO SCRUMPTIOUS! Oh my, thank you so much for sharing this recipe! We order coconut flour 25 pounds at a time (so much cheaper that way)…and just keep the majority in the freezer until we need it! So thankful for coconut flour while all 7 of us are on GAPS right now!
Yay! I’m so glad that you like it. 25 pounds of coconut flour is ALOT! And it’s also a lot to feed 7 people on GAPS. Lots of meal prep. Good job! 🙂
I need to try this! I loved the SAD versions of this kind of treat!
This one is WAY better, I promise! 🙂
Would this work in a regular glass baking pan if I don’t have an oven safe skillet?
Yes, that will work too. You may have to adjust the baking time a bit depending on the thickness of your glass pan. I would just keep an eye on it. Let me know how it turns out. 🙂
Would this work with almond flour? I have quite a bit that I need to use up. I’ve got so many flours in the house right now that I hate to add another. (By the way, our Trader Joes carries coconut flour these days!)
It would work but you will have to use much more almond flour. Coconut flour absorbs much more liquid. Noy sure how much more but my guess is 2-3 times more. Let me know if you try it! 🙂
Love this! Used it for the dairy-free factor – didn’t have coconut flour, so used wheat flour instead – again, as for almond flour, you have to use about 2 or 3 times more . Used vegetable oil – didn’t have coconut oil, and ghee is dairy. Long story short, it worked great, everyone loved it, and the kid who is allergic to dairy got some cake for a change. Thanks!
Would chia or flax seed egg replacements work?
My guess is the chia and flax seed eggs will not work as coconut flour really likes real eggs. Coconut flour is sort of a breed of its own when it comes to baking. I find that it’s really hard to go egg free with coconut flour. I don’t know much about egg replacements as I have never used them. Sorry I can’t be of more help.
I made this for my mom’s group and it was delish!!! We used frozen berries, coconut oil and honey as the sweetener. Everyone loved it. I had enough to bring home to my husband and kids and they all loved it too! What a crowd pleaser!
I am so glad that you liked it! Thanks for the feedback! 🙂
I have frozen fruit…do you think that will work…should I adjust the recipe at all?
I would defrost the berries and drain them so they don’t make the cake runny! 🙂
This looks sooooooo yummy! I am planning on making it tonight for my guests. 🙂 Do you serve it warm or at room temp.?
I serve it room temp! 🙂
I made this the other night for dessert and it was excellent! This morning, I decided to make it again for breakfast (instead of making muffins). I used 1/4 cup of coconut sugar instead of maple syrup, and I also added frozen berries at the end. It turned out perfect. I love that it’s grain free and uses so little sweetener. Thanks so much for such a great recipe!
Thanks so much for the awesome feedback. I haven’t made muffins with this recipe yet. Must try! 🙂
Made this for breakfast this morning…I used frozen berries. I just wanted to share that you need to make sure your eggs are thoroughly mixed in…apparently I didn’t do a good enough job and while baking they sank to the bottom of the pan. The texture was a little off because of this but the taste was still awesome! I will be making this again! My little one liked it too! Thanks for the recipe!
I’m wanting to make this to go with some freezer meals for a grieving family with small children. My thought was to bake it in a tin pan or as individual muffins. Any suggestions would be appreciated!
I haven’t made them as muffins but I bet that would work. Individual muffins would be the easiest way to freeze. Love and light to your friends!
cake looks good, I’m going to try it. How do you pronounce your name?
My name is pronounce kat-yah. The “j” is pronounce like a “y”. 🙂
Hi Katja!
After baking the cake, shall I keep it outside at room temp or does it go in the fridge?
Thanks
I store the leftover in the fridge. 🙂
Brilliant, thank you. I’m going to set about cooking this today and shall let you know the outcome.
I have 12 inch skillet so I’m going to beef this recipe up to make more. Would you suggest doubling your recipe or just one and a half-ing it? I’d appreciate the advice…I’m not a baker and I’m trying out my skillet for the first time!
I would just make the recipe as it is and use the 12 inch skillet. It will be a bit thinner, but should be fine. You may need to watch the baking time though. Check it a bit earlier. Let me know how it goes. 🙂
Loved it,
I doubled the recipe, baked it in a 12″ skillet. I added another approx 12 minutes at 350 degrees, but then turned it down to 325 for additional 5-8 minutes.
IT WAS DELICIOUS, made it for a family party and it was a big hit!
Yay! I love hearing that. And it’s almost berry season again. My family loves this recipe.
I love it it was delicious very easy I have been put on a grain-free gluten-free dairy-free diet and I have a bad sweet tooth so I was really worried but I am no longer
Yay! I am glad that you found something to satisfy that sweet tooth. I can relate. It’s good to have options so we don’t feel deprived.
KID APPROVED! Me and my two kiddos are gluten free and eat low sugar. They LOVE this skillet cake, we even made it for breakfast with fresh berries from our CSA!! Thank you so much Katja!
Yay! That makes me so happy. 🙂
This recipe looks yummy and the feedback suggests it is. Would this recipe work with almond milk instead of coconut milk? Thanks for the advice.
I haven’t used any other milk besides coconut milk, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t. Let me know if you try it. 🙂
Hi! This looks so good! Wondering if I could substitute a different sweetener like monk fruit or Allulose since I can’t have honey or maple syrup? Thanks!
I haven’t used either of those in this recipe. You can definitely experiment. Please report back if you try it. 🙂