Pumpkin Spice Cornbread Cakes
Sweet cornbread with pumpkin and warm spice, baked in a dutch oven over coals.
- calories
- 330
- weight
- 3.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 94
- protein
- 6 g
- serves
- 7, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 25 min
- total time
- 35 min
- water
- 120 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
- Breakfast
- Dutch oven
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Nut free
- Real dishes
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Self-rising cornmeal mix | 2 cups | Martha White is the standard |
|---|---|---|
| Cinnamon | 1 tsp | |
| Ground ginger | 1 tsp | |
| Nutmeg | 1 tsp | |
| Ground cloves | 1/4 tsp | |
| Sugar | 2 tbsp | |
| Powdered whole egg | 2 tbsp | equals 2 eggs, rehydrated with 1/4 cup water |
| Powdered whole milk | 3 tbsp | mixed with 1/2 cup water |
| Canned pumpkin puree | 1/2 cup | a small can, no fridge needed until opened |
| Honey | 1/4 cup | |
| Brown sugar | 4 tbsp | |
| Salt | 1/4 tsp | |
| Butter | 2 tbsp | shelf-stable ghee or canned butter works |
| Oil | 1 tbsp | for greasing the pot |
Method
- Burn a fire down to coals, or start about 20 briquettes. You want steady heat, not flame.
- Combine the cornmeal mix, sugar, and three quarters of the spice blend in a bag or bowl.
- In a second container, whisk the egg powder and milk powder into 3/4 cup of cold water until smooth. Stir in the pumpkin and honey.
- Pour the wet into the dry and stir just until no dry cornmeal is left. Lumps are fine; overmixing makes it tough.
- Grease a 10-inch dutch oven with oil, pour in the batter, and set the lid on.
- Put about 8 coals under the oven and 16 on the lid. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, turning the pot and the lid a quarter turn every 5 minutes so nothing scorches.
- It is done when the top springs back and the edges pull away from the sides. Pull the coals off the lid before checking.
- Melt the butter in a cup at the edge of the fire, stir in the brown sugar, salt, and remaining spice, and pour it over the warm cornbread.
This started as an oven recipe for a mini cake pan, which is a thing nobody carries. A 10-inch dutch oven bakes the same batter in one round, and the coal count matters more than the clock: most of the heat goes on the lid, or the bottom burns before the middle sets.
The substitutions are the usual camp ones. Eggs and milk become powder and water. Butter becomes ghee, which keeps at ambient temperature for weeks. Canned pumpkin is the one heavy item and it stays, because it is what keeps the crumb moist; the self-rising cornmeal already carries the leavening, so nothing else has to go in the pot.
Packing
Premix the cornmeal, sugar, spices, egg powder, and milk powder into one bag at home. The topping sugar, salt, and spice go in a second small bag. Pumpkin, honey, and butter ride as-is.
Variations
- No pumpkin? Half a cup of unsweetened applesauce from a pouch behaves the same way.
- Cut the honey to 2 tbsp and add dried cranberries if you want it less sweet.
- Over a grill grate with a covered skillet, drop the heat and check at 15 minutes.
https://www.lodgecastiron.com/blogs/recipe/pumpkin-spice-cornbread-mini-cakes