Chris Ainsworth’s Camporee-winning Dutch Oven Carrot Cake
(makes a 12-in, six-pound cake with icing)
(usually enough for a dozen servings — with no seconds)
(Adapted from “The Mr. Food Cookbook,” by Art Ginsburg)
[print-me]
This is the “four bag” method for campout:
Bag #1 (wet ingredients):
2 sticks of butter, softened (8 oz.)
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
4 eggs
1 can (20 oz.) crushed pineapple, drained well
1 pound fresh carrots, peeled and shredded
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
A day or two before the campout, mix the butter, sugars, vanilla extract and eggs in a mixing bowl with a whisk (or electric mixer) until smooth and creamy. Then scrape this mixture into a 2-gallon Ziplock freezer bag. Add the drained pineapple and shredded carrots. Remove most of the air from the
bag and seal. Place this bag inside another bag to prevent the possibility of leakage. Refrigerate.
Bag #2 (dry ingredients):
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon of ground ginger
½ teaspoon of salt
1 dash of nutmeg
Put all these ingredients in a second 2-gallon Ziplock freezer bag, seal and shake to mix well, then remove most of the air. No need to double-bag this dry mixture. Refrigerate.
Bag #3 (frosting):
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1 stick of butter (4 oz.), softened
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon peel
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
In a mixing bowl, mix the cream cheese, butter, grated lemon peel and lemon juice until smooth, then add the powdered sugar a half-cup at a time, beating until very smooth. Put all this into a fairly heavy Ziplock sandwich-size bag, and double-bag it to prevent leakage. Refrigerate.
Bag #4 (pecan pieces):
1 bag of pecan pieces (8 oz.)
Don’t open this bag until you are ready to cook the cake. You’ll dump half of the pecan pieces into the cake batter, and save the other half to sprinkle over the top of the frosted cake, just before serving. Keep it with the other bags.
(Note: There are always two or three people who say they like raisins in carrot cake. Well maybe they do, but nobody else does. If you put raisins in the cake batter they will soak up enough liquid to become fully round and then they’ll look like huge rabbit droppings that were baked inside the cake. So, don’t add any raisins and you won’t have to answer any silly questions!)
Dutch oven preparation:
On level ground, light three 13-oz. coffee cans or two big Charcoal chimneys that have been filled with charcoal. It will take about 20 minutes for the coals to turn gray.
In a well-seasoned 12-inch Dutch oven, dump in the “wet” ingredients and mix well. Add the “dry” ingredients and half the pecan pieces. Mix well, then cover the Dutch oven.
Dump one coffee can of hot coals on the ground and spread them around in an area that’s about a foot in diameter. Place the Dutch oven over these coals. Dump the remaining two coffee cans of hot coals on the lid of the oven and spread evenly.
Hang around for 40 minutes and don’t let anyone peek inside the Dutch oven. After 40 minutes remove the lid very carefully with an approved hook, so as not to let any of the ashes from the lid fall onto the top of the cake. Test with a toothpick. It should be done. If not, give it another 10-15 minutes and test again.
Remove the Dutch oven from the coals and let it cool, uncovered.
Now, here’s the really hard part:
Until the cake cools completely, it will be nearly impossible to remove neatly cut pieces from the Dutch oven. That’s because it’s such a moist cake. But, it smells so good when it’s warm that people won’t care how neat the pieces look — they’ll want some right away. So, scoop out individual servings with a big spoon or spatula. Cut a VERY SMALL corner off the frosting bag and squeeze some frosting on each serving, then sprinkle some of the remaining pecan pieces on top of the frosting (that is, if you didn’t eat them all while the cake was baking).