Campfire Vegan Cake
Vegan cake baked in a skillet over campfire coals. Replaces the oven with an open fire.
- calories
- 530
- weight
- 4.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 118
- protein
- 6 g
- serves
- 6, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 30 min
- total time
- 35 min
- water
- 500 ml boiled
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dessert
- Campfire coals
- Dutch oven
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Actual cooking
Ingredients
| All-purpose flour | 3 cups | |
|---|---|---|
| Unrefined sugar | 1 1/3 cup | |
| Soy margarine | 1/2 cup | |
| Baking powder | 3 tsp | |
| Vanilla extract | 1 tbsp | |
| Salt | 3/4 tsp | |
| Water | 2 cups | heated at camp |
Method
- Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a bag at home.
- At camp, grease a cast-iron skillet with a thin coat of margarine and set it over medium coals on a grill grate.
- Heat water in a separate pot. Add margarine and vanilla to the hot water and stir until the margarine dissolves.
- Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Carefully pour the batter into the hot skillet and cover tightly with foil.
- Bake for 20–30 minutes over steady coals. The cake is done when a stick poked into the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs.
- Let cool for 5 minutes before serving directly from the skillet.
This is a vegan birthday cake adapted for the trail by eliminating the oven and using water instead of fresh soy milk. The batter mixes like a home cake would—margarine and water replace dairy and eggs, baking powder does the rising—but it bakes in a cast-iron skillet over campfire coals rather than in an electric oven. At camp, everything combines in one mixing bowl and cooks in one vessel.
The skillet method browns the bottom and sides while coals heat the top, creating a drier crust than an oven would. Heat management matters: too hot and the outside burns before the inside sets; too cool and you stand around waiting. Aim for steady coals and 25 minutes, but check doneness with a stick rather than trusting time alone. The cake will keep overnight in its skillet if covered, though it’s best eaten warm.
Packing
Premix the dry ingredients in a quart freezer bag at home. Pack margarine in a small sealed container, keeping it cool until camp. Vanilla can be carried in a small dropper bottle.
Variations
- Stir 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder into the dry mix for a chocolate cake.
- Add 1/2 cup of dried fruit (raisins, cranberries, or chopped dates) or vegan chocolate chips to the batter just before baking.
- Use a Dutch oven instead of a skillet: place it on coals, with more coals piled on the lid to create an oven effect. Bake for 25–35 minutes, rotating the Dutch oven every 10 minutes for even cooking.
https://www.cookingbites.com/threads/favorite-vegan-cake-recipes.735