Recipe(tried): Black Forest Cake in Dutch Oven (using cake mix)

Here is an alternative recipe for Black Forest Cake in a small to medium sized dutch oven. Can be doubled for medium or larger (i.e. 12 or 14-inch) Dutch ovens.

Black Forest Cake in Dutch Oven

Need for each recipe:
1 stick of butter or margerine
1 box of cake mix, mixed according to directions (i.e. you need the egg, oil, etc.)
1 can of cherry pie filling
If doubling, DOUBLE EVERYTHING.

Place empty Dutch oven* on about 10-12 charcoal coals, or on scattered wood burning embers. Put stick of butter in dutch oven. When butter is sizzling, pour in - all at once, the cake batter. Then, pour right into the center, the pie filling. Do not stir the pie filling around in the batter.

Close the dutch oven. Some people put a small stick at the lid, so steam will vent. It seems to make no difference as far as I can tell. Put 12-14 coals on the top of the oven. More if it's a windy or cold day. Less if it is hot and sunny.

Check cake in about 40 minutes. Sometimes when we use a really big dutch oven, the outside cooks faster than the inside. When this happens, we just eat the outside of the cake when done, and put it back on the coals to cook the rest.

When testing to see if cake is done, don't be misled by the pie filling into thinking it's still too wet. It's not done if you see wet chocolate cake batter, but the pie filling will make this a pretty moist cake, even when cooked.

Serve with WHIPPED CREAM! Yum.

*For a recipe like this, some cooks line the entire bottom of the dutch oven with heavy duty foil first. This is your call. It certainly makes for easier clean-up.