Strickland Springs Skillet Peach Cake

It's the perfect time to bake with beautiful fresh peaches, or, you can use frozen or canned in this recipe if fresh ones are out of season.  I make this in my good old trusty 10 inch Lodge iron skillet. This is a very simple recipe using few ingredients.  It may be summer, but pair this warm cake up with some really good vanilla ice cream, and you won't care how hot it is outside! 
I know... the name is a little long... I could have just called it "Peach Cake", but, hey.... I decided to name it after the East Texas country oasis I will someday call home.

Here's how you make it:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and then melt 1/2 stick of butter and spray your skillet with a little non-stick spray before you pour that butter into your skillet.  My skillet is well seasoned, but I do this anyway.  Don't have an iron skillet? Just use what you do have.  A baking dish of any sort will work, you want something smaller than a 9 x 13, such as a 8 x 8.   If you use a dark pan, the baking time may be shorter, so keep an eye on it, and even if you use a non-stick pan, spray it anyway with some non-stick spray.  You'll thank me when it's time to clean the pan.

Cut 5 or 6 fresh peaches into bite sized pieces and set aside. 
In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/2 cup chopped pecans and set aside.

Now, into a medium bowl, put:

1  cup all-purpose flour
3/4  cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt (if using unsalted butter, add 1/4 teaspoon salt)
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Whisk all that together, then pour in 2/3 cup of whole milk and whisk just until well mixed.

Pour the batter into the skillet, directly over the melted butter.  Drop the peaches into the batter.  I do this by hand, picking the peaches up and covering the entire surface of the batter with them.  Use a spoon if you don't want to do it my way!  Don't stir... the batter will rise up slightly around the fruit.
Bake for 20 minutes, then remove from the oven and sprinkle the cinnamon, sugar, pecan mixture all over the top and return to the oven for another 15 to 20 minutes, depending on your oven. 

When you see nice browning all around the edge and the batter has risen in the center, it's done.  You should be able to see nice bubbles happening throughout it.  Remove from the oven and allow to sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes before serving.  Next time I make this, I think I will add about a half cup of good peach butter to the batter, just for extra flavor.

You can always use other fillings with this recipe if you want - apples or berries would be good, to name a few, and you can also double it and bake in a 9 x 13.  Now, excuse me... but I've gotta go see if there's any vanilla ice cream in my freezer!!!