This autumnal favourite is one of our regular recipes for bushcraft cookery with the local youth group, mainly because I get to sit down and drink a cup of tea while they forage the back field for blackberries in the hedgerow and collect windfalls from the orchard.
We use a cast iron iron dutch oven, but an iron skillet covered in tin foil will work just as well, or even an old lidded metal casserole dish (just remember the thinner the receptacle, the greater the chance of the pudding burning, so keep it higher away from the flames). Lining the cooking pot makes cleaning up much easier as well; cut a large square of grease proof paper and fold it into quarters, and then fold again twice to make a pointy triangle. Unfold it and then you will find it pushes into the sides of the oven much more easily!
Another trick which makes washing-up easier is to rub a little washing-up liquid over the bottom of your pan before cooking over an open fire, as it will make the soot much easier to wipe off.
Ingredients
- 1 cup self-raising flour
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup oil
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup sugar, plus 1 extra tablespoon
- At least 2 cups chopped apples
- One cup of blackberries
Method
- Light your campfire and sit and drink tea until the flames have died down.
- Line the dutch oven with greaseproof paper.
- Spread the apples evenly over the bottom of the pan and then sprinkle over the blackberries, tablespoon of sugar and mixed spice.
- Beat together the eggs, milk, flour and oil until smooth, then pour over the fruit and pop the lid on top.
- Place on a grill above the flames and cook, turning it every couple of minutes so it doesn’t burn.
- The cooking time will depend on the heat of your fire, and could be anything from fifteen minutes to half an hour, so keep an eye on it; when the top is dry and bounces back slightly when pressed you should be good to go! It will be paler than a traditional sponge so don’t panic if it is not as golden brown as you were expecting 🙂
