Drop Camp Cheesecake Pudding
Powdered milk and instant pudding, shaken cold in a bag. Dessert for people who quit carrying oatmeal.
- calories
- 420
- weight
- 3.2 oz
- cal / oz
- 131
- protein
- 11 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 0 min
- total time
- 5 min
- water
- 180 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
- Cold soak
- Backpacking
- Basecamp
- Bikepacking
- Canoe / raft
- Vegetarian
- Nut free
- Eat in the bag
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Instant cheesecake pudding mix | 1/3 cup | instant only, the cook-and-serve kind will not set |
|---|---|---|
| Whole milk powder | 1/3 cup | whole, not nonfat, for the fat that thickens it |
| Graham cracker crumbs | 2 tbsp | crushed at home, they travel as dust anyway |
| Dried berries | 2 tbsp | blueberries or cranberries |
| Salt | a pinch |
Method
- Drop the dried berries into the bag and add about 30 ml of cold water. Let them sit while you deal with camp chores.
- Add the pudding mix, milk powder, and salt to the same bag.
- Pour in 150 ml of cold water, press the air out, and seal.
- Knead the bag from the outside for a full minute. Any dry pockets left now stay dry.
- Stand it upright against a rock for ten minutes. It sets while you eat dinner.
- Scatter the graham crumbs on top and eat straight from the bag.
Instant pudding sets by chemistry, not cold. The modified starch and phosphate salts in the mix grab calcium from the milk and thicken it at ambient temperature, which is why this works with cold creek water and no cooler. Whole milk powder matters more than it looks: nonfat sets thin and chalky, and the fat is also where half the calories live.
The berries go in first with a splash of water because dried fruit dropped into pudding stays leathery and pulls moisture out of the set. Kneading through the bag instead of stirring keeps the whole thing to one dish you can burn or pack out. Skip the graham crumbs until the end or they turn to paste.
Packing
Pudding mix, milk powder, and salt go into one freezer bag at home; use a sturdy one, because it doubles as the mixing bowl and the dish. Crumbs and berries ride in a small separate bag so the crumbs stay crisp.
Variations
- Swap in chocolate or banana instant pudding. Same ratios, same set time.
- Wild berries picked in camp go on top instead of the dried ones.
- Cut the water to 120 ml and it firms up thick enough to eat with a spoon standing in it.
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