Foil Pan Peach Cobbler
Canned peaches, dry cake mix, and butter on a fire grate. Ten minutes of resting does the actual baking.
- calories
- 460
- weight
- 9 oz
- cal / oz
- 51
- protein
- 4 g
- serves
- 8, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 15 min
- total time
- 25 min
- water
- none
- 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
- Grill grate
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Vegetarian
- Nut free
- Foil packet
- Grab and go
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Canned sliced peaches | 2 cans, 29 oz each | in juice or syrup, either works |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow cake mix | 1 box, 18 oz | dry, straight from the box |
| Sugar | 1/2 cup | |
| Cinnamon | 2 tbsp | |
| Butter | 1 stick | keeps a day or two out of a cooler in cool weather |
Method
- Drain one can of peaches into a cup or small bowl. Drain the second can and dump that juice out.
- Stir the sugar and cinnamon into the reserved juice until the sugar is gone.
- Put all the peaches in a 13x9 disposable foil pan and pour the spiced juice over them.
- Shake the dry cake mix across the top in an even layer. Do not stir it in.
- Cut the butter into tablespoon slabs and scatter them over the cake mix.
- Lay foil over the pan, loose, and set it on a grate over a bed of coals with steady heat.
- Give it about 15 minutes, until steam is pushing out at the edges.
- Pull the pan off the fire and leave the foil on for ten more minutes. The mix finishes soaking up juice and sets into a crumb topping while it sits.
This is a dump dessert with one real technique in it: the dry cake mix never gets mixed with liquid. It sits on top and pulls juice up from below, which is why the fruit needs to be swimming and why only one can’s juice goes back in. Two cans of juice and the topping turns to batter soup.
The ten-minute rest off the fire is not optional. That is when the mix finishes absorbing and firms into a crust. Pull the foil early and you get a pan of hot peaches with powder on them. Heat should be coals, not flame, since a fire pushing up under a thin foil pan scorches the bottom long before the top sets. Cooler required for the butter, so this stays a car-camping dessert.
Packing
Cans, boxed mix, and the foil pan all ride as-is. Premix the sugar and cinnamon in a small bag at home so you are not measuring spice in the dark. Butter goes in the cooler.
Variations
- Canned pears or a can of fruit cocktail works the same way. Drain half the juice either way.
- A dutch oven with coals on the lid browns the top instead of steaming it. Same 15 minutes, then rest.
- No butter, or none worth risking? Half a cup of neutral oil drizzled over the mix does the job, less flavor.
https://camprecipes.com/classic-recipes/campfire-peach-cobbler