Grilled Chocolate Cake

I prefer cakes that can be made way in advance and frozen. Olive oil cake (p.225) freezes very well; so does crumb mixture (p.276) and cookie dough (p.279). I usually have an assortment of such frozen goods in my freezer, ready to be taken out for an unexpected guests or last minute catering job. 

This chocolate cake also freezes very well and can be thrown directly on the grill from the freezer, so how easy is that? 

Once it is grilled, drizzle with brown sugar caramel, dust with salt, and top with whipped cream. Yum, yum.

Print Recipe

Grilled Chocolate Cake

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time50 mins

Servings: 7 people

Ingredients

For caramel sauce:

• 2 cups brown sugar
• ½ cup corn syrup (optional)
• Touch of water
• 2 cups heavy cream
• ½ cup butter

For chocolate cake:

• 3 ½ cups flour
• 3 ½ cups sugar
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 ½ cup kefir
• 1 ½ cup canola oil
• 4 eggs
• For grilling: powdered sugar
• For garnish: whipped cream

Instructions

To make the caramel sauce:

• Combine the brown sugar and the corn syrup with a touch of water in a heavy bottom skillet, and cook over low heat for about 12 minutes or until the sugar starts to reduce and thicken, and large bubbles form. If you prefer to not use the corn syrup, you can omit it and add just the water.
• While the sugar is cooking, combine the cream and the butter, and melt in a microwave or stove top.
• When the caramel is ready, pour in the cream-and-butter mixture and stir until combined. Set aside.

To make the cake:

• Combine the flour, sugar, coco powder, salt, and baking soda in a bowl.
• Combine the kefir, canola oil, and eggs in a separate bowl.
• Now add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and stir until well blended.
• Pour into a buttered and floured cake pan, and bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 30 minutes or until just done. (once cool, wrap and freeze, if you are doing that.)
• To grill, dust the cake with powdered sugar and grill on the barbecue.
• To serve the cake, top it with brown sugar caramel salt, salt, and whipped cream.

Notes

TIP: This recipes makes a lot of caramel sauce (4 - 5 cups), but if lasts for a few weeks in the fridge, so make a large batch and keep. You can pop it in the microwave for a few seconds before serving, as it gets super thick when it is cold.

Reprinted with permission from Malibu Farm Cookbook: Recipes from the California Coast by Helen Henderson, copyright© 2016. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Penguin Random House.”Photography credit: Martin Lof © 2016 For online, a link to the book’s page on PenguinRandomHouse.com or an online retailer is required (e.g. Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Powells.com, IndieBound.org or any online bookseller of your choice).