Dutch Oven: GF Peach Cobbler
A Camp Classic & Crowd Favorite.
Peach Cobbler is the first dessert I learned to bake in a Dutch Oven. Over the years I burned many peach cobblers, but I’m finally perfecting my recipe.
Kitchen Prep
Every cookbook has slightly different instructions, but cake mix and canned peaches yield the best results for me. Quick and easy preparation in the kitchen avoids accumulating extra trash at camp. Combine dry cake mix ingredients in a plastic bag. Empty a can of peaches into Tupperware along with butter and vanilla.
Basic Ingredients:
Yellow Cake Mix (I prefer gluten-free, but any cheap cake mix works just fine)
Canned Peaches (If you use fresh peaches add sugar to create the syrup)
Butter (This helps the cobbler stay non-stick and creates the gooey filling)
Vanilla, Sugar, & Cinnamon (optional ingredients but great finishing touches)
Lazy Cobbler
At camp combine dry cake mix, peaches, and butter in the Dutch oven. I use canned peaches “in water” instead of “in syrup” because the syrup will crystalize to the bottom of the pan making the cast iron harder to clean after use. Mix the ingredients until the flour is evenly distributed, but leave chunks of butter alone to melt and make gooey goodness during baking.
Cast Iron is great for flavor, but I use a foil pan inside the oven to prevent burning and also serve as a container for leftovers without having to scrape the sides of my oven.
Create an Oven Effect
Now that you’re ready to start baking prepare a bed of hot coals to rest your oven on. An active fire with large flames adds too much intense heat for baking. Large white-hot coals give consistent heat you can better manage for baking. Add a pile of hot coals on the lid to create the “oven” effect.
If you don’t have a metal stand for the oven to sit on top of the coal bed use two logs as a base to create a large enough gap for air flow. As pictured above
Develop the Crust
Baking over a campfire makes following a recipe’s temperature time-tables challenging because of conditions like elevation, number, and size of coals, and if heat is being diminished by wind or ash. My rule of thumb is to rotate the pot and lid in opposite directions every 15 minutes. I visually check the cobbler at the 45-minute mark or sooner if I begin to smell it baking. Remove the pot from the coal bed when the sides are firm and a knife poked in the middle comes out clean. Replace the lid and add hot coals for 10 - 15 minutes to form a crust on top of the cobbler.
Before finishing the cobbler’s top crust I add sugar and cinnamon for that extra kick of flavor.
Gooey Goodness
When satisfied with the cobbler’s (firm or flaky) outer crust scoop and serve while warm. Be careful not to burn your tongue on gooey bites of peaches as they retain heat very well. Peach cobbler can be enjoyed alone or with vanilla ice cream a la mode. Perfection!
