Milo Camp Cocoa
Malted cocoa powder built into a hot drink with powdered milk and custard powder for body.
- calories
- 330
- weight
- 2.6 oz
- cal / oz
- 127
- protein
- 9 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 6 min
- total time
- 8 min
- water
- 350 ml boiled
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Drink
- Dessert
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Campfire coals
- Alcohol / Esbit
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Winter / snow
- Backpacking
- Vegetarian
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Milo malted drink powder | 200 g | about 1 1/2 cups; Ovaltine works |
|---|---|---|
| Sugar | 100 g | any kind, cut from the original 200 g |
| Full-fat powdered milk | 200 g | replaces the 2 L of fresh milk |
| Instant custard powder | 3 tbsp | the thickener; vanilla pudding mix also works |
| Salt | a pinch |
Method
- Bring 1.4 L of water close to a boil, then pull the pot off the heat before it rolls.
- Pour in the premixed powder a bit at a time, whisking or stirring hard with a spoon.
- Put it back over low heat for two or three minutes, stirring the whole time. Do not let it boil or the milk powder scorches on the pot bottom and the custard goes grainy.
- Once it coats the spoon, split it four ways and drink it hot.
This started as an Australian Scout drink made with two liters of fresh milk and a liter of prepared custard. Neither travels. Full-fat milk powder and instant custard powder do the same two jobs dry: fat and protein from one, thickening starch from the other. You carry powder and add water at camp.
The rule is no boiling. Milk powder solids stick and burn to a thin pot fast, and custard starch that gets too hot breaks instead of setting. Heat to just under a simmer, stir, and pull it. The sugar is halved from the original because Milo already brings its own.
Packing
Mix the Milo, sugar, milk powder, custard powder, and salt at home and bag it as one dry premix. Single servings are 125 g of powder to 350 ml of water if you'd rather not carry the pot mix.
Variations
- Drop the custard powder for a thinner mug you can drink faster.
- A spoonful of oil or butter powder per mug pushes it past 400 calories for cold nights.
- Half a shot of instant coffee turns it into a mocha for morning.
https://camprecipes.com/classic-recipes/kruiza-milo-2