Mason Jar French Toast Batter
Custard mixed at home in a jar, bread dipped and fried at camp.
- calories
- 480
- weight
- 8 oz
- cal / oz
- 60
- protein
- 14 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 12 min
- total time
- 17 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.
- Breakfast
- Campfire coals
- Grill grate
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Vegetarian
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Eggs | 6 large | |
|---|---|---|
| Whole milk or heavy cream | 1 cup | cream browns faster and holds up better in a cooler |
| Pure vanilla extract | 2 tsp | |
| Ground cinnamon | 1 tsp | |
| Salt | 1/4 tsp | |
| Thick-sliced bread | 8 slices | brioche or a day-old French loaf |
| Butter | 3 tbsp | for the pan |
| Maple syrup | to taste |
Method
- At home, crack the eggs into a quart mason jar. Add the milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt.
- Lid on tight. Shake for twenty seconds, until there are no streaks of yolk left.
- Keep the jar cold in the cooler, buried under ice, not sitting on top. Use it within two days.
- At camp, set a skillet on the grate over a bed of coals and melt a tablespoon of butter.
- Shake the jar again, pour some into a shallow bowl or pie plate, and dip each slice for a few seconds a side. Thick bread wants longer than you think.
- Fry two or three slices at a time, three to four minutes a side, until the surface is set and browned. Add butter between batches.
- Pour syrup over and eat straight off the pan.
This is car-camping cooking, so it keeps the eggs and dairy the original recipe called for. Doing the mixing at home is the whole point: cracking six eggs at a picnic table means a bowl, a whisk, shells, and a wash-up. In a jar it is one shake and one thing to rinse.
The cinnamon and vanilla need time in the liquid, which they get overnight in the cooler. Thick bread matters more than the type — thin sandwich slices go to mush before the center takes on any custard. If you have no cooler, swap in powdered eggs and powdered milk and mix in the same jar with water at camp; the texture is a step down but the method is identical.
Packing
The jar goes in the cooler upright, wedged so it cannot tip. Bread rides on top of the food bin or it gets crushed. Butter and syrup in the same bin as the bread.
Variations
- Powdered whole milk and powdered eggs, mixed with water at camp, make the same batter without a cooler.
- Cook it in a pie iron instead: batter-dipped bread, one slice each side, closed and turned over the coals.
- A spoon of brown sugar in the jar gives a darker crust.
https://campfirefoodie.com/camping-french-toast-recipe-hack