Dutch Oven Strawberry Shortcake
A 9x13 shortcake rebuilt for a 12-inch dutch oven, with shortening in place of butter and dried berries in place of fresh.
- calories
- 470
- weight
- 3.8 oz
- cal / oz
- 124
- protein
- 7 g
- serves
- 8, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 25 min
- total time
- 35 min
- water
- 600 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
- Dutch oven
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Vegetarian
- Nut free
- Real dishes
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| All-purpose flour | 3 1/2 cups | |
|---|---|---|
| Sugar | 1/2 cup | plus 1/4 cup held back for the berries |
| Baking powder | 5 tsp | |
| Salt | 1/2 tsp | |
| Powdered whole milk | 1/3 cup | |
| Vegetable shortening | 1 cup | shelf-stable, stands in for the cold butter and the eggs |
| Water | 1 1/2 cups | for the dough |
| Freeze-dried strawberry slices | 2 cups | |
| Water | 1/2 cup | for the berries |
| Powdered whipped topping mix | 1 packet | |
| Powdered sugar | 2 tbsp | |
| Vanilla extract | 1 tsp |
Method
- Start a fire or a chimney of charcoal and let it burn down. You want coals, not flame.
- Put the strawberries in a bag or cup with the 1/4 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of water. Set it aside. Twenty minutes and they come back soft with syrup around them.
- Dump the dry premix into the dutch oven's lid or a bowl. Work the shortening in with your fingers until it looks like gravel.
- Add 1 1/2 cups of water and stir until it holds together as a shaggy dough. Do not keep stirring past that point.
- Grease the dutch oven, press the dough flat across the bottom, and put the lid on.
- Bake with coals underneath and on top, more on top than below, for about 20 to 25 minutes. It is done when the top is browned and a stick comes out clean.
- Whisk the topping mix, powdered sugar, and vanilla with 1/2 cup of cold water in a wide cup until it thickens. Cold water matters; warm water will not set.
- Let the cake cool enough to cut. Spoon berries and syrup over, then topping.
The original is a sheet cake that leans on cold butter, eggs, and four cups of heavy cream. None of that survives a weekend in a car. Shortening is the whole trick: it is shelf-stable at any temperature, it cuts into flour the same way cold butter does, and it carries enough fat to make up for dropping the eggs. The dough is stiffer than the original and bakes closer to a biscuit than a cake, which is what shortcake was to begin with.
Dried strawberries with sugar and a little water do the same job as macerating fresh ones, just from the other direction. Give them the full twenty minutes or you get chewy fruit and dry sugar. The powdered topping mix is the only fussy part: it needs cold water and a hard whisk, so mix it last, after the cake is off the coals and your hands are free.
Packing
Flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and milk powder go into one gallon bag at home, labeled with the water amount. Shortening travels in a screw-top jar. Berries, topping mix, and powdered sugar each get their own small bag.
Variations
- No dutch oven: cook the dough as thick pancakes in a greased skillet over low coals, five minutes a side.
- Dried blueberries or a bag of freeze-dried mixed fruit work the same way.
- Skip the topping mix and pour sweetened condensed milk from a squeeze tube over the top instead.
https://mealswithmaria.site/easy-strawberry-shortcake-recipe