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Friday, May 19, 2017

Camp Sunset: Dutch Oven Double Chocolate Cake

I love Sunset Celebration Weekend! This year it will be held once more at Cornerstone in Sonoma, May 20-21. There is so much planned to make your weekend exciting, educational, and fun, including Camp Sunset: DIY interactive Retro crafts activities with a modern twist, food demos showing off the ins and outs of backcountry cooking, and Western Spirit: Exploring locally influenced whiskies! Of course, there's much more at Sunset Celebration: Food and Wine with celebrity Chefs, Live Fire Cooking Stage, and Wine & Spirit Seminars. Don't forget to stop by the Sunset Smart Cottage. I loved it. High-tech meets high-style at the Sunset Smart Cottage. There's also a Smart Trailer (special-edition Tommy Bahama Airstream). Be still my heart!

Here's a great recipe for a Dutch Oven Double Chocolate Cake that you can make on your next camping trip. Everyone will love you and this cake! Recipe from Sunset, of course.

Dutch Oven Double Chocolate Cake
Tip: use charcoal briquets instead of wood to better control the heat.

Ingredients 
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup dried buttermilk
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips, divided
About 1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Sweetened whipped cream (whisk whipping cream in a bowl with a little sugar or use canned)

AT HOME 
Combine flour, sugar, dried buttermilk, cocoa, baking soda, salt, and 1/2 cup chocolate chips in lidded container or resealable plastic bag.
Pour 1/3 cup oil and the vanilla into second container with snug lid.
Cut circle of parchment paper to fit bottom of 4-qt. camp dutch oven.

IN CAMP
Fill charcoal chimney starter one-third with briquets, set in irepit, ignite, and let burn until briquets are spotted gray, about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, generously oil dutch oven, line with parchment paper circle, and oil paper.
Pour flour mixture into medium bowl.
When fire is ready, add oil mixture and 1 cup water to flour mixture and stir until blended.
Scrape into dutch oven and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chips.
Using tongs, space 8 coals in firepit in circle a little smaller than dutch oven.
Set dutch oven on coals, checking that it's level. Set lid on top, then arrange 14 coals on lid around the lip and 2 coals in center of lid. Set any extra coals aside.
Bake cake until skewer inserted into center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes; to check, lift lid by sliding tongs through lid's center handle and bracing them against side of lid closest to you, then tilting lid up.
Remove lid and let cake cool at least 15 minutes before cutting into wedges.

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