Dutch Oven Chocolate Coma Cake
Cake mix over a cocoa pudding layer, baked in coals until the bottom turns to sauce.
- calories
- 720
- weight
- 7 oz
- cal / oz
- 103
- protein
- 7 g
- serves
- 8, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 60 min
- total time
- 70 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dessert
- Dutch oven
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Vegetarian
- Nut free
- Foil packet
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Vegetable oil | 1 cup total | half for the bottom layer, half for the batter |
|---|---|---|
| Water | 2 3/4 cups total | 1 1/2 cups below, 1 1/3 cups in the batter |
| Cocoa powder | 1/2 cup | |
| Brown sugar | 1 cup | |
| Mini marshmallows | 10.5 oz bag | |
| Chocolate fudge cake mix | 1 box, about 18 oz | |
| Eggs | 3 | carry in a hard egg case, or use 3 tbsp powdered egg plus 6 tbsp water |
| Chocolate chips | 1 cup |
Method
- Light 25 coals. Line a 12-inch Dutch oven with heavy foil, up and over the rim.
- Stir the cocoa powder, brown sugar, 1/2 cup oil, and 1 1/2 cups water in a bowl until no dry cocoa is left. Pour it into the lined oven.
- Scatter the marshmallows evenly over the cocoa mixture.
- Mix the cake mix with 1 1/3 cups water, the remaining 1/2 cup oil, and the eggs. Pour it slowly over the marshmallows so they stay put.
- Scatter the chocolate chips across the top.
- Set 17 coals on the lid and 8 underneath. Bake one hour, turning the oven a quarter turn one way and the lid a quarter turn the other way every 15 minutes. Add fresh coals as the old ones grey out.
- Check at 50 minutes. The top should be set and springy; the bottom stays loose on purpose. Lift the foil out to serve, or spoon straight from the oven.
The bottom layer is not batter. Cocoa, sugar, oil, and water go in loose and stay loose, so as the cake sets above it the liquid sinks and turns into a fudge sauce under the crumb. That is why the batter gets poured on top and never stirred in.
The marshmallows are a barrier. They keep the wet layer and the batter from mixing during the first ten minutes of heat, then melt into the sauce. Coal placement matters more than time here: heavy on the lid, light underneath, or the bottom scorches before the top sets. The quarter turns every 15 minutes are what keep one side from burning.
Packing
Premeasure the cocoa and brown sugar into one bag at home. Marshmallows, chips, cake mix, and oil ride as they came. Eggs are the only fragile item; powdered egg removes that problem entirely.
Variations
- Swap the chips for dark, milk, or white chocolate, or use a mix.
- Powdered egg and a shaker bottle turns this into a fully shelf-stable pack.
- Cut the marshmallows to half a bag if you want the bottom layer closer to sauce than to fluff.
https://chuckwagoneer.wordpress.com/2014/08/20/death-by-chocolate-cake