I Got…"Just Desserts"

The Camp Cook Forum is having a little competition making dutch oven desserts (see the thread here).  I haven’t made a dessert in the Dutch ovens yet so I thought I’d toss my hat in the ring.  It seems pretty obvious that I don’t stand a chance though.

I also thought this would be a great time to break in the newest member in my iron collection.  My Dad gave me a Camp Chef 5″ Lewis & Clark Commemorative edition Dutch Oven.  It is really cute (pictured below).

Today is the first time I have made desserts & made three dishes in a single day.  Senior Management wanted something for lunches this week so we repeated  the Chicken & Wild rice that we made earlier (see my post “Curves” to see this dish).  The other two dishes are desserts:

Dessert # 1: Caramel Apple Pudding Cake (THIS IS A KILLER RECIPE!)

1 tsp Vanilla
2 sliced apples
3 tbs Lemon juice
1 C flour (for Gluten free substitute Bette Hagman’s flour recipes)
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 C brown sugar (packed)
1 t baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
1/2 C milk
2 tbs butter
3/4 C Caramel ice Cream topping
1/2 C Water

1. Combine the caramel topping, water & 1 tbs of butter in a glass bowl.  Microwave or heat on the stove top until the mixture is fluid.
2. Cut the apples and then sprinkle the cinnamon & nutmeg on them.  Mix until it looks like the apples are relatively even with spices.
3. Mix the batter: In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, & baking powder.  Mix until even.  Then add the milk, 2 tbs of butter (melted), and the vanilla while whisking.
4. Pre-warm the Dutch Oven to about 375 degrees (later it will bake at 350 but 375 will give you more working time while the oven is off of the coals).  When the oven is warm, dump in the apples.  Then pour the batter over the apples trying to keep it evenly distributed.  Lastly, combine the caramel mixture over the top.  As it bakes, the caramel will sink to the bottom & the batter will rise to the top.  Bake for about 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees.  When it is done, top with vanilla ice cream and eat it while it is still warm.

Below these pictures is the next dessert.

Dessert # 2: Peach Clafoutis (hard to make but good to eat)

A clafouti is a custard-like baked French dessert that is typically made by baking fresh fruit and a batter, similar to pancake batter, in a baking dish.

This recipe is designed to work in a 10″ DO.  For this recipe, I used some peaches that Senior Management canned last summer (pictured below).

Ingredients:

Shortening or butter
1 pint of canned peaches
1/4 C flour (for Gluten free substitute Bette Hagman’s flour recipes)
1/2 C sugar
More sugar for dusting the DO
1/4 tsp of salt
3 eggs
1 C half & half

1. Combine all of the dry ingredients (flour, salt, & 1/2 C Sugar) in a small bowl & mix thoroughly.
2. While whisking the flour, add the three eggs.  Whisk until smooth.
3. Slowly pour in the half & half, whisking the whole time.
4. Cut the peaches into bite sized chunks.  Stir in the peaches.
5. Grease the inside of your dutch oven with butter or shortening.
6. Dust the inside of the Dutch Oven with extra sugar.
7. Pour the batter into the dutch oven.
8. Bake at 375 degrees (F) for 30 minutes.

The Clafoutis will puff up quite a lot.  You will need to check your temperatures to make sure the sugar coating the inside of the pan doesn’t burn.  If this dish is made correctly, the sugar will melt and make a nice gooey layer on the outside of the Clafoutis.  This dish is usually served hot & puffed up.  However, as it cools, it will deflate.  But it still tastes good.  Here are the pictures:

That’s it. Thanks for reading more on the life of Dutch Ovens. FYI: I have made progress on the jPod & will post in the next couple of days.