Fruity sweetness in a pot.

I made black forest cake.  It was at the request of my visiting mother in law (we get along famously).  I was set to copy a previously experienced cherry, but after a brief conversation in which she mentioned loving raspberries, I changed direction.  So I got 2 cans of raspberries in syrup, one can of blackberries in syrup, and a basic chocolate cake mix.  I used the 12" 6QT and lined it with parchment paper.  I dumped the three cans of fruit into the bottom of the pan.  There was considerable panic initially that I already ruined the process.  Unlike pie filling, the fruit is absolutely swimming in watery syrup.  So the bottom of the pot looked like dark fruit soup.  I had a choice at this point of either dumping everything or rolling on.  I chose to perservere.  From this point, I mixed the cake mix according to the directions.  Once prepared, I poured it directly into the center of the dutch, spreading it out from the middle.  It made a nice round circle, but didn't quite reach the edges, leaving about a 2" ring of juice surrounding the mix.  I had no way of telling if it had pushed down in to the fruiy soup or was lying on the top.  From this point, I headed out to the cooking platform on the deck.  Unlike the Lodge cooking directions of 14 on top and 10 on bottom, I used an extra 2 on top.  I had done this before and felt like it gave me the most accurate temperature level.  According to the box directions there are several pan size options, so I went with the 9" pie pan, 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes, with the typical lid rotations, I checked and it looked marvelous.  After the toothpick test, though, there were spots that were still moist.  I also prodded the surface a little, and it wavered like the surface of a waterbed.  I added a couple of coals to the bottom and top, and kept it on for another 10-15 minutes.  When I pulled the lid off tis time it had started to get the familiar cracks in the surface, indicating the desired level of doneness.  Pulled and placed in the kitchen, I made a  quick decision to run out and grab some coolwhip as well.  Good idea, because it was literally the icing on the cake.  Dished up warm with the coolwhip, we mowed on it and it was tasty.

This is one of the easier things I've made, with little cleanup.  I reccomend trying it.  Love and iron, Del