View Full Version : Let Them Eat Cake
Read about baking n the back country in a pot over a stove, and had to Google that. I found several videos, including an excellent one produced by Mike Clelland for NOLS on "steam baking." I had to give it a try, and I wrote it up on my blog at www.laughingdog.com
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bgood360
02-15-2012, 07:25
Very cool.
get wayaway
02-15-2012, 08:41
I did a little different version of this many years ago on a river canoe trip. I had one of those cook kits with multiple pots and pans. Put about 1 inch of water in the large cook pot. Put the smaller pot lid upside down in the large pot. Put biscuit dough on top of the pot lid and put the large pot lid on top. About 15 minutes later over a hot fire, and we had great biscuits.
I do this all the time on the trail, but found a great item that eliminates the need for the stones. It's kind of difficult to clean out on the trail since the cake/muffin sticks in the groves of the silicone, but it gives me something to do at night :) I mostly use the Betty Crocker mini-delights, but I've made biscuits in them as well.
http://www.amazon.com/Wilton-Silly-Silicone-Baking-Count/dp/B000NBQFKU
kayak karl
02-15-2012, 09:37
“let them eat cake” which was supposedly uttered by Marie Antoinette was talking about the crumbs on the ground. when bread was made the edges that went over the pan were trimmed off (called cake) and thrown in yard for animals. :)
i never found a way to do this with an alcohol stove setup (used too much fuel), but i've seen scouts do it over a fire.
CrumbSnatcher
02-15-2012, 10:00
thanks for sharing, i use a bakepacker with my whisper-lite
usually on section hikes, blue berry muffins,cake,pancakes and pizza is all i have made to date. i use onion, greenpepper,real cheese and real dough(just add water) the pizza is really good, but what isn't after walking a few miles :-)
I do this all the time on the trail, but found a great item that eliminates the need for the stones. ...
http://www.amazon.com/Wilton-Silly-Silicone-Baking-Count/dp/B000NBQFKU
ROTFL - I saw these in a Freezer Bag Cooking video on youtube:
http://blog.trailcooking.com/2009/03/09/trail-baking-steamed-brownies-with-video/
The feet don't melt to the pan?
“let them eat cake” which was supposedly uttered by Marie Antoinette was talking about the crumbs on the ground. when bread was made the edges that went over the pan were trimmed off (called cake) and thrown in yard for animals. :)
Thanks for the history lesson!
i never found a way to do this with an alcohol stove setup (used too much fuel), but i've seen scouts do it over a fire.
Tinny did a video in which he didn't use water, and baked over an alcohol stove.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zS3A8etI-9U&feature=youtu.be
The water in the pot insulates the silicone in the feet :)
I'm really not interested in packing a silicone bundt pan or muffin cup that I'll use infrequently. If I could find something that could be used as a bowl to eat from, to mix stuff in, and to steam bake in, I might consider it. Certainly not UL, but arguably multi-use. Still looking ...
Big Dawg
02-16-2012, 02:23
:) I mostly use the Betty Crocker mini-delights,
Thank you thank you thank you. I was trying to think of these yesterday. I figured it'd be an easy alternative. I was also thinking you could use the little plastic bowl that comes with it. It seems like they'd cook pretty quick b/c they're not that big. I'm going to test it later today. I'll report back.
You can fry cake or muffin mix too. Just put about 1/2 inch of oil in the bottom of your pot and get it really hot before pouring batter in there. Fried cornbread is an awesome treat on the trail. You can also use cake or muffin mix...just omit the oil from the instructions on the package because it will soak up the oil as it cooks. I've done this using an alcohol stove by burning 1 ounce of fuel to heat up the oil and then relighting the stove to cook it. You'll want to turn it once while it cooks to avoid burning it but make sure that it is cooked enough to be solid before you try and flip it...also, you don't want to make a cake that is more than about an inch thick otherwise it won't cook all the way through.
Thank you thank you thank you. I was trying to think of these yesterday. I figured it'd be an easy alternative. I was also thinking you could use the little plastic bowl that comes with it. It seems like they'd cook pretty quick b/c they're not that big. I'm going to test it later today. I'll report back.
Cool. I'd like to know what the diameter of the bowl is, and what happens to that bowl in boiling water/steam.
I'm really not interested in packing a silicone bundt pan or muffin cup that I'll use infrequently. If I could find something that could be used as a bowl to eat from, to mix stuff in, and to steam bake in, I might consider it. Certainly not UL, but arguably multi-use. Still looking ...
You can do it with bags.
http://www.trailcooking.com/thefauxbaker
You can do it with bags.
Cool! Just follow the links from the first page to see all kinds of concepts and ideas. Love the chocolate cake in a baggie! Thanks Sarah.
You can fry cake or muffin mix too. Just put about 1/2 inch of oil in the bottom of your pot and get it really hot before pouring batter in there. Fried cornbread is an awesome treat on the trail.
Fried corn bread does sound good. This is a Trailcooking.com recipe for pan biscuits using something like Bisquick: http://www.trailcooking.com/recipes/cranberry-pan-biscuits
Anything - from brownies to cookie dough to biscuits tastes awesome when fried in oil :D Hehheh!!
farmer.ron.99
02-18-2012, 12:42
I have a .75 L pasta pot and a 400 mL Ti mug I use to bake in over an alcohol stove. I have made a little stand out of hardware that fits in the pot and raises the mug off the bottom about a half an inch and weighs almost nothing. I then use parchment paper inside the mug to prevent sticking.
dzierzak
02-20-2012, 11:58
Thank you thank you thank you. I was trying to think of these yesterday. I figured it'd be an easy alternative. I was also thinking you could use the little plastic bowl that comes with it. It seems like they'd cook pretty quick b/c they're not that big. I'm going to test it later today. I'll report back.
I've used the Betty Crocker mini-delights bowls and just floated them on the boiling water. These were the small "mini" bowls. I've trimmed the larger bowls to fit my pot and they worked ok too.
I've used the Betty Crocker mini-delights bowls and just floated them on the boiling water. These were the small "mini" bowls. I've trimmed the larger bowls to fit my pot and they worked ok too.
I tried one of these yesterday. The mini verison's bowl fit in my MSR Titan Tea Kettle perfectly. The heat of the steam and water did not melt or distort the plastic bowl at all. The bowl did shift a bit, and where the edge touched the pan, it melted a little ... But these are certainly an easy and tasty treat.
Baking with an alcohol stove - I tried this several years ago and it works:
http://www.trailquest.net/baking.html
here you go MrWilly. throw this in your pot, let it bake and eat it straight from the bowl. reuse the bowl for non baked dishes
http://www.chefsresource.com/flexible-silicone-prep-bowl-set-isi.html?siorigin=pla
I'm really not interested in packing a silicone bundt pan or muffin cup that I'll use infrequently. If I could find something that could be used as a bowl to eat from, to mix stuff in, and to steam bake in, I might consider it. Certainly not UL, but arguably multi-use. Still looking ...
That's what I'm looking for. Kinda hard to tell what size they are. I sent them an email to ask. To fit in my pot, they need to be 4-4.25" outside diameter, and 2-2.5" tall.
One of these Le Creuset bowls look promising, except you have to buy the whole set, and I still don't know about sizes. But something that holds a cup or less is probably about right.
http://www.amazon.com/Creuset-Silicone-Prep-Bowls-Cherry/dp/B000UGTL0E/ref=sr_1_2?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1329772731&sr=1-2
Riverdance
02-21-2012, 00:08
This may be closer to the size you are looking for.
http://www.rei.com/product/752844/guyot-designs-squishy-bowl-and-cup-set
I actually have a set of these. The big one is too big, and the smaller one is a little small, and the shape would prevent me from turning a finished piece out. But, i could mix in it, eat out of it, drink coffee out of it, dip water out of a spring with it and pinch it to pour the water into my bottles ... So, I am considering leaving my ti cup behind and taking the Guyot cup instead.
Big Dawg
02-21-2012, 01:11
I was finally able to test out the warm delights mini, and as others stated, it works perfectly. I used a .9 Evernew pot, a Supercat stove, and a strip of windscreen material 1 inch wide by 18 inches long bent into a spiral. I put the spiral at the bottom, filled water up to the top of the spiral, put the small plastic cup of warm delight on top of it, covered w/ lid, and lit the stove. Seven minutes later... presto!!! Looks like I'm adding the mini's to my upcoming section hike!!!!
Riverdance
02-21-2012, 14:21
You carry a Ti cup in addition to your pot? Just cook your muffins in it, why would you need a silicone cup?
The cup is too tall for the pot. If I put the cup in the pot, I can't get the pot's top on much less put something under the cup to hold it off the bottom ...
Riverdance
02-22-2012, 05:37
The bottom pot doesn't need a lid. Just add more water and be sure not to boil it dry. It may not be the ideal set up, but it should still work.
greginmi
02-22-2012, 07:59
Check out King Arthur Flour (http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/mini-silicone-pans-set-of-6).
I bought a set and tried one out. The cup did fine, but the silicone insulator I was using between the cup and the pot didn't...
I just picked up some carbon felt for another try.
In fact, I have 4 of the King Arthur cups I'd be glad to sell if anyone wants to try them out.
Regards,
Greg
Those look really good. As close to perfect as I've seen.
I got an email back from Le Creuset on the sizes of their Silicone Prep Bowls. http://www.amazon.com/Creuset-Silico...9772731&sr=1-2 (http://www.amazon.com/Creuset-Silicone-Prep-Bowls-Cherry/dp/B000UGTL0E/ref=sr_1_2?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1329772731&sr=1-2)
The measurements are:
2 ¾ x 1 ¼
3 x 1 ½
3 3/16 x 1 ¾
4 ¼ x 2
That big one would be about the max that would fit in my MSR Titan. It is 1 cup capacity. I knew better, but asked anyway, and no, they have no way to sell em separately.
The bottom pot doesn't need a lid. Just add more water and be sure not to boil it dry. It may not be the ideal set up, but it should still work.
I'll have to give it a try. I assumed putting a lid on the outer pot assured the whole mess was enveloped in steam, and provided a little pressure to raise the temp.
I'm really not interested in packing a silicone bundt pan or muffin cup that I'll use infrequently. If I could find something that could be used as a bowl to eat from, to mix stuff in, and to steam bake in, I might consider it. Certainly not UL, but arguably multi-use. Still looking ...
I use a stainless steel dog bowl. Thin, quite lightweight. Perfect size for nesting in my MSR pot. Perfect for baking, nice rounded corners, and fairly non-stick) with easy cleanup. Doubles as a soup/meal/dessert/salad bowl. I use a length of stainless steel bicycle spoke bent into a tripod form to space the inner bowl from the pot bottom and prevent burning.
http://blogericious.blogspot.com/2012/02/backpacking-baking-attachment.html
There's a few of my alcohol stove creations on the blog too. Just click the blog title and start scrolling down.