Camp Apple French Toast
Powdered eggs, dried apples, and a skillet. Breakfast that tastes like a diner without a cooler.
- calories
- 520
- weight
- 5.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 95
- protein
- 18 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 12 min
- total time
- 22 min
- water
- 300 ml cold
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Breakfast
- Campfire coals
- Grill grate
- Canister stove
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Vegetarian
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Powdered whole egg | 6 tbsp | reconstitutes to about 4 eggs |
|---|---|---|
| Powdered whole milk | 3 tbsp | |
| Sugar | 3 tbsp | |
| Cinnamon | 1 tsp | |
| Nutmeg | 1/8 tsp | a pinch is plenty, it turns soapy fast |
| Vanilla extract | 1/2 tsp | carried in a dropper bottle |
| Salt | a pinch | |
| Dried apple slices | 1/2 cup | chopped small at home |
| Shredded coconut | 2 tbsp | optional |
| Sturdy bread | 6 thick slices | day-old is better, fresh sandwich bread falls apart |
| Oil or ghee | 2 tbsp | for the pan |
Method
- Put the chopped dried apples in a cup with 100 ml of cold water and leave them while you set up the stove. They should go from leathery to bendable.
- Dump the egg powder, milk powder, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt into the pot. Add 200 ml of cold water and the vanilla, then whisk with a fork until no dry lumps are left.
- Stir in the drained apples and the coconut if you brought it.
- Heat the skillet over a moderate flame and add a little oil. A screaming hot pan burns the sugar before the egg sets, so keep the heat down.
- Dip a slice of bread, flip it once, and get it into the pan before it soaks through. Cook two to three minutes a side until brown.
- Repeat, adding oil between batches, until the custard is gone. Pour any last of it over the final slice rather than dipping.
The original wanted fresh eggs, fresh milk, and a real apple. None of that keeps past the first warm afternoon, so this version runs on powdered egg, powdered milk, and dried apple slices that get soaked back to life in cold water while the stove warms up. The custard comes out about the same. Nothing here needs a cooler.
Two things decide whether this works. The bread has to be stale and thick, because fresh soft bread turns to mush the second it hits liquid. And the pan has to stay at medium, since the sugar in the mix will scorch well before the egg has set. Dip fast, flip once, keep moving.
Packing
Combine the egg powder, milk powder, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in one bag at home. Apples and coconut in a second bag, vanilla in a dropper bottle, oil in a leakproof bottle. Bread rides on top of the pack or it becomes crumbs.
Variations
- Dried pears or a handful of raisins in place of the apples.
- Skip the sugar in the mix and pour syrup or honey over the finished slices instead.
- Cut the bread into cubes, stir everything together, and cook it as a scramble if your slices have already gone to pieces.
https://camprecipes.com/classic-recipes/sweet-apple-french-toast