Oh hell yes, I have – and once you bake a dessert over live charcoal, you’ll never look at your Weber the same way again. There’s something primal and ridiculously good about that kiss of smoke winding its way through chocolate or browned butter that an indoor oven simply can’t touch.
Here are three that will ruin you for “normal” desserts forever:
- Cast-Iron Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie
- Mix your favorite dough (extra chips, a little flakey salt on top).
- Bank the coals to one side (indirect heat, ~350–375 °F).
- Put a 10- or 12-inch cast-iron skillet on the grate, lid on, vents open. 20–25 minutes later you have a gooey-centered, lightly smoky cookie the size of a manhole cover. Serve with vanilla ice cream that melts into the crevices. People lose their minds.
- Grilled Peach Cobbler in a Dutch Oven
- Halve peaches, toss in brown sugar/butter/cinnamon, throw them straight on the grill grates for a few minutes to caramelize.
- Dump them in a 10-inch camp Dutch oven, top with biscuit dough or even store-bought cinnamon roll dough for cheating-level glory.
- 20–25 coals on top, 8–10 underneath. 30–40 minutes later the whole campsite smells like heaven and everyone fights over the burnt crunchy edges.
- Smoked Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
- Add a handful of apple or guava wood chunks for gentle smoke.
- Classic pineapple ring + cherry situation in a cast-iron skillet with the brown-sugar butter glaze. Pour box-made yellow cake batter (or homemade if you’re fancy) right on top.
- Indirect, 350 °F, about 45 minutes. The smoke clings to the caramelized pineapple in the most obscene way. Flip it out and watch grown adults moan.
Pro tips that make the difference:
- Always set up two-zone fire. You’re baking, not incinerating.
- Lid down, top and bottom vents cracked – treat it exactly like an oven.
- If you’re paranoid about soot on the bottom, put the cast iron/Dutch oven on a pizza stone or cheap thrift-store cookie sheet as a heat deflector.
- Rotate 180° halfway through for even browning.
- A cheap oven thermometer hanging from the grate tells you the real story – dome thermometers lie.
I’ve done lava cakes in orange halves, bourbon banana foster grilled in foil boats, even cheesecake in a springform on the Weber when I was feeling unhinged. Once you go charcoal dessert, gas-grill folks just sound cute when they talk about “grilled pound cake with berries.”
