Camp Caramel Coffee Cheesecake Cups
A no-bake coffee cheesecake built from powder and a crushed cookie base, set in a mug at camp.
- calories
- 520
- weight
- 3.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 149
- protein
- 7 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 0 min
- total time
- 10 min
- water
- 120 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.
- Dessert
- No cook
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Vegetarian
- Nut free
- Real dishes
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Chocolate graham crackers | 3/4 cup crushed | crush at home into a bag |
|---|---|---|
| Butter powder | 2 tbsp | stands in for melted butter in the crust |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp + 1/2 cup | 1 tbsp for the crust, the rest for the filling |
| Cream cheese powder | 3/4 cup | replaces 12 oz of block cream cheese |
| Instant vanilla pudding mix | 2 tbsp | does the setting job the eggs and oven did |
| Instant coffee | 2 tsp | |
| Salt | 1/4 tsp | |
| Caramel sauce | 1/2 cup | squeeze bottle, shelf-stable |
| Cold water | 120 ml |
Method
- Shake the crust bag: crushed grahams, 1 tbsp sugar, and 1 tbsp of the butter powder. Add a splash of water, a teaspoon at a time, until the crumbs clump.
- Press the crumbs into the bottom of two mugs or wide cups. Pack them down hard with the back of a spoon.
- In a bowl, whisk the cream cheese powder, remaining sugar, pudding mix, instant coffee, salt, and the rest of the butter powder with 120 ml of cold water. Whisk longer than feels necessary; lumps do not dissolve later.
- Spoon the filling over the crusts. Let it stand 15 minutes to firm up. Cold weather does this faster.
- Pour caramel over the top and eat with a spoon.
The original was baked in a slow cooker with eggs, block cream cheese, and a bottled iced coffee drink. None of that travels. Cream cheese powder and butter powder carry the same fat and tang dry, instant coffee replaces the coffee milk, and instant pudding mix does the structural work the eggs did in the heat.
Water is the variable to respect. Too much and it never sets, and there is no oven to save it. Start at 120 ml for two servings and add a teaspoon at a time only if the powder refuses to hydrate. The crust is pressed rather than baked, so pack it hard or it stays loose crumbs under the filling.
Packing
Crust crumbs in one bag, filling powders premixed in another. Both stay dry, so they ride anywhere in the pack. Caramel goes in a squeeze bottle inside a second bag.
Variations
- Skip the pudding mix and eat it soft, more mousse than cheesecake.
- A spoonful of cocoa powder in the filling turns it mocha.
- Sink the mugs in a cold creek for twenty minutes if you want it properly set.
https://domesticsuperhero.com/slow-cooker-caramel-macchiato-cheesecake