Dutch Oven Apple Fluff
A cast-iron pancake baked over coals, with cinnamon apples on the bottom.
- calories
- 390
- weight
- 6 oz
- cal / oz
- 65
- protein
- 10 g
- serves
- 6, scales
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 30 min
- total time
- 45 min
- water
- 360 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
- Pre-mix at home
- Needs a cooler
- Actual cooking
Ingredients
| Eggs | 6 | carried in a rigid egg case in the cooler |
|---|---|---|
| All-purpose flour | 1 1/2 cups | |
| Milk | 1 1/2 cups | shelf-stable boxed milk works, or 6 tbsp powdered milk plus 1 1/2 cups water |
| Salt | 1 tsp | |
| Butter | 3/4 stick | |
| Granny Smith apples | 2 | firm and tart, they hold their shape |
| Cinnamon | 3 tbsp | |
| Sugar | 1/2 cup | |
| Syrup, jam, or powdered sugar | for the table |
Method
- Set the 12-inch dutch oven on a few coals to take the chill off while you mix.
- Beat the eggs in a bowl, then whisk in the milk, flour, and salt. Lumps are fine, overmixing is not.
- Shake the sugar and cinnamon together in a zip bag.
- Melt the butter in the warm oven and tilt it around so the sides and bottom are coated.
- Halve and core the apples, then slice them as thin as you can. Drop the slices into the bag a few at a time and shake to coat.
- Lay the apples across the bottom of the oven in one layer. Dump any leftover cinnamon sugar over them.
- Pour the batter over the apples. Lid on, then bake at 350F: roughly 8 coals under and 17 on top for a 12-inch oven.
- Give it 30 minutes, then cut into the middle. If batter runs, put the lid back on for another 5 to 10.
- Serve out of the oven with syrup, jam, or powdered sugar.
This is a thick baked pancake, and the eggs are the whole structure. Six of them in a cup and a half of flour means the batter puffs against the lid and sets into something closer to custard than cake. There is no leavening in it, so nothing goes stale in the pack and nothing needs measuring by teaspoon in the cold.
The apples go in first for a reason. Sitting in the butter on the bottom, they cook down and caramelize with the cinnamon sugar while the batter above them steams under the lid. Granny Smiths stay in slices instead of turning to sauce. Heat placement matters more than time here: most of the coals belong on the lid, or the bottom scorches before the center firms up.
Packing
Premix flour, salt, and powdered milk at home in one bag, and cinnamon and sugar in another. Eggs and butter live in the cooler. Apples ride loose in the food bin.
Variations
- Pears work the same way and cook a touch faster.
- A 10-inch oven takes about two-thirds of everything, same heat and same time.
- No cooler: swap the eggs for 6 tbsp powdered whole egg plus water and use ghee instead of butter.
https://www.boyscouttrail.com/content/recipe/apple_fluff-2097.asp