Cinnamon Roll Camp Bake
Boxed cinnamon rolls baked over coals in a dutch oven, custard poured between the layers.
- calories
- 420
- weight
- 5 oz
- cal / oz
- 84
- protein
- 8 g
- serves
- 8, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 40 min
- total time
- 50 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.
- Breakfast
- Dutch oven
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Vegetarian
- Nut free
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Refrigerated cinnamon rolls | 2 cans | keep the icing lids, they ride in the cooler |
|---|---|---|
| Powdered whole milk | 1/3 cup | plus 1/2 cup cold water, replaces fresh milk |
| Powdered whole egg | 1/2 cup | plus water per the package, stands in for 4 eggs |
| Maple or pancake syrup | 3 tbsp | |
| Vanilla extract | 2 tsp | |
| Ground cinnamon | 1 tsp | |
| Cooking spray or oil | for the pot | |
| Parchment round | 1 | optional, but it saves the scrubbing |
Method
- Burn a fire down to coals well before you want breakfast. You need roughly 20 briquette-sized coals or their equivalent in hardwood embers.
- Grease the dutch oven, or line the bottom with parchment.
- Whisk the milk powder, egg powder, water, syrup, vanilla, and cinnamon in a mug or bottle until no lumps remain.
- Cut each cinnamon roll into quarters. Spread half of them across the bottom of the pot.
- Pour half the custard over, add the rest of the pieces, then the rest of the custard.
- Lid on. Put about a third of the coals under the pot and two thirds on the lid. Bake 35 to 45 minutes.
- Check at 35. The center should be set, not wet. Rotate the pot and lid a quarter turn every ten minutes so it does not scorch on one side.
- Pull it off the heat, warm the icing lids in your hands, and pour them over while it is hot.
The custard is the whole point. Cinnamon rolls baked straight out of the can go dry in a dutch oven because coal heat is dry heat, and the egg-and-milk mixture soaking between the pieces keeps the middle from turning into bread. Cutting the rolls into quarters matters too: more cut surface means the custard actually gets absorbed instead of pooling under an intact spiral.
The home version uses fresh milk and shell eggs. Powdered whole milk and powdered egg do the same job and are one less thing competing for cooler space, which is worth it when the dough already has to stay cold. Coal placement is the part people get wrong. Most of the heat goes on the lid; too much underneath and the bottom is charcoal before the center sets.
Packing
Both cans and the icing live in the cooler and need to stay under 45F or the dough starts working. Milk powder, egg powder, and cinnamon get premixed into one bag at home; syrup and vanilla go in small dropper bottles.
Variations
- Dried apple or cranberry between the layers cuts the sweetness.
- A pinch of salt in the custard does more for it than more cinnamon does.
- No dutch oven: build it in a foil pan, cover tight with foil, and set it on a grill grate over low coals.
https://mealswithmaria.site/cinnamon-roll-casserole-slow-cooker-recipe