Jordan River Mud Cake

Here is the perfect dessert for you chocoholics out there. Its chocolate on chocolate on chocolate. This cake is so easy it just takes minutes to get it cookin'. The best part of this cake is that its baked in a dutch oven.

     

The dutch oven offers you the opportunity to cook outside with charcoal. If you are comfortable with this type of cooking 15 minutes before you are ready to bake the cake you need to start your charcoal. The best charcoal out there by far is Kingsford Charcoal. Its easy and fast to light and burns longer than any other brand I've seen. I use a 14" dutch oven for this cake so you will need 30-40 pieces of charcoal. You can use lighter fluid or crinkled up newspaper under a heavy wire basket to light the charcoal. I'll come back to the charcoal later.

If you prefer not to use charcoal or you do not have a dutch oven you can easily use a conventional oven and a pan at least 14" diameter and 4" deep. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees at this point.

Ingredients needed:

1- Chocolate cake mix(German or Devils Food) and items for cake mix.

• Water
• Vegetable oil
• Eggs

2- Chocolate instant pudding Mix and items for pudding mix.

• Milk

3- 1 cup water and 1/2 cup brown sugar(added to pudding).

4- Semi-sweet chocolate chips.

5- Nuts(Optional)

6- Mint leafs for garnish.

Prepare your cake mix according to the directions on the box. I used German chocolate but devils food cake or any chocolate cake will do just fine. When mixed pour the batter into the dutch oven.

Using the same bowl you used to mix the cake, prepare your pudding mix with some alteration to the directions on the box. Of the two cups milk required only use one cup. To substitute the other cup dissolve 1/2 of brown sugar in 1 cup hot water. Add dissolved brown sugar to pudding mix with milk. Pour pudding mixer into the center of the cake mixer.

Find a nice area free of debris that could catch fire. I use a metal sheet to protect the ground from heat. With charcoal fired place 11 charcoal briquets down in a circular pattern. Place oven on charcoal. Now place a solid ring a charcoal along the rim of the lid. This should give you 350 degrees of heat. Use extra charcoal if it is a windy or cold day. Bake for 40 minutes.

If you chose to use a conventional oven place pan in center of oven. 

Check your cake near the end. The top should have the normal consistency of cake. The underside will have the consistency of the pudding. 5 minutes before the cake is done spread as many chocolate chips and nuts on top of the cake as you like. I chose not to use nuts. Remove charcoal from dutch oven when done. After letting the cake cool for a time serve into bowls with a mint leaf for garnish. You may like to serve with whip topping and/or ice-cream. Enjoy.