Corn Dog Cake

This is it. The best thing since Bacon Wrapped Smores. Corndog cake.

I guess this recipe came about around the same time I started obsessing about the Snackster I found in my kitchen. I realized the appliance had very similar effects to the pie irons we received last Christmas, and decided it was time we finally started experimenting with the things. (I know what you’re thinking- “bacon wrapped smores? snackster? pie irons!? What are these things!?” so its a good thing I put links to them all).

My first genius move was a spaghetti sandwich- leftover spaghetti and mozzarella stuffed inside parmesan garlic bread. The bread is sealed on the edges and the rest of it basically turns into a pie crust. It is so great. I submitted this recipe to the monthly contest on pieiron.com, but haven’t yet heard back. I wanted to post that one first, or maybe Mai-yan’s pie-ironed puff pastry Caprese Sandwich. But then we figured this one out, and it had to be first.

Anyway, make your cornbread batter at home, and expect to add a little extra moisture to it just before baking. We lined our pie irons with foil, but you could just spray yours with cooking oil. (By the way, cooking spray is the secret to camping- why did it take us until this weekend to figure that one out?!) Start with a generous heap of cornbread batter, and then nestle slices of hot dog into it. Try to get as many dog slices in there as you can. Pour on the BBQ sauce, cover the whole thing with more batter, close up the pie iron, and bake over marshmallow-perfect embers. The whole thing should come out as a handy enclosed hand pie package, and it should taste like your favorite corn dog. These also make great cold leftovers for breakfast.

If you don’t have a pie iron, it’s a worthy investment, but I can imagine this working as a full cake cooked in a dutch oven or cast iron skillet as well. We also made traditional corn dogs on a stick, and that worked just fine. We wrapped them in foil while roasting.

A quick note: We camped in Joshua Tree this weekend. Before we left, we were told it would be 30 mph winds and under 55 degrees during the day. That always makes it hard to stay motivated to want to leave your snuggly home, but push through it. You’ll never regret it, and the coldest, miserablest camping trips usually turn out to be the most memorable and positive experiences of your life.

In reality, it snowed a few flakes this weekend, which was a friend’s first experience with falling snow, there was no wind at all, and I can’t remember the last time I saw so many stars.