Cooking on Wood: Chocolate Cake

Calling all chocoholics! We have the most beautiful chocolate cake recipe you can make on the firepit or campfire in just five steps. One scorching summer's day, we thought, why don't we push the boundaries of outdoor cooking and see if cake baking is possible. Well, we're glad to inform you that it certainly is possible, take a look for yourself!

Here's what you'll need:

• 400g golden caster sugar
• 400g unsalted butter
• Eight large eggs
• 400g self-raising flour
• 4tbsp cocoa powder
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 tbsp milk
• A big pinch of salt
• Dutch Oven
• Kiln dried logs
• Flamers natural firelighters + kindling or KindleFlamers
• Firepit

Step One: Lighting your firepit

We used Grill & Chill logs,  kiln dried kindling, and Flamers with the recommended top-down method to light our firepit. We placed two logs at the bottom of the firepit and proceeded to stack six sticks of kindling in a Jenga shape on top of these logs. We then put one Flamer firelighter in the middle of the formation lit it and within a few minutes, we had a roaring fire in front of us. 

Step Two: Prepare the mixture.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together golden caster sugar, butter, eggs, self-raising flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, vanilla extract, milk, and salt, creating a smooth batter.

Step Three: Baking

Pour the mixture into the parchment-lined Dutch oven. Make sure the wood has burnt through so that you have no large pieces left as you don't want the hot fire to burn your cake. Spread the hot coals in your firepit using a long tool like a shovel or a poker to create a space for your oven. You want enough coals so that the Dutch oven is evenly surrounded. Place the Dutch oven in the center, scoop up some wood coals with a shovel, and put them carefully on the Dutch oven lid. Leave to cook for roughly 20 minutes but check it every now and then to prevent burning.

Step Four: Removing from Oven

Using heat resistant gloves, carefully lift the lid off the Dutch oven. Check if cooked by sticking a skewer in the center of the cake. If the skewer comes out dry, it's cooked, otherwise, return back to the firepit for a bit longer.  When cooked, carefully remove the cake from the Dutch oven. Let cool for 10 minutes. 

Step Five: Decorating

Once you have let your masterpiece cool, it is time for the fancy part, decorating. On this particular step, you have free reign of what you do. We decorated our chocolate cake with icing sugar, chocolate sauce, and berries and served it with a scoop of ice cream. 

Want to learn more about cooking on wood? Check out our Cooking on Wood Page!