Need a grown-up version of marshmallows when craving to satisfy your sweet tooth when camping? And an excuse to bring liqueur to camping? Move over, marshmallows unless you plan to make a marshmallow brownie version, campfire style. (I would like to try that next time: add a small handful of mini-marshmallows to the brownie batter, so that the marshmallows would melt nicely on top of the campfire brownies.)
The secret to getting a successful gourmet campfire dessert dish is to understand your environment and being able to adapt your recipes accordingly: is it windy, is it cold? Is it sweltering hot? Is it humid or is it dry? I made this cast-iron skillet brownie in the windiest of conditions in the dry and biting 4°C weather. Camping in the Rocky Mountains this past weekend in April was a fun adventure; bring low pressure and high altitudes to the mix, you have got a challenge of keeping your baking as moist as possible — think the opposite of a pressure cooker: you might have to spend extra time baking.
When it’s that windy, you want to be able to whip up a dessert in no time.. and enjoy sitting by the campfire, with a mug of coffee in hand.
Luckily, we’ve got some campfire brownies stored in a Tupperware, to help refresh memories of my taste test. Moist – with the help of butter and O’ Darby’s Irish Cream, decadent, and crispy on the bottom, with fond recent smells of campfire baking. I really am trying NOT to devour our leftover brownies. Every bite brings me back to the fun Mister and I have had this past weekend, camping in BC.
Campfire Brownies
Equipment you would need:
Cast iron pan (square or round does not matter)
Tin foil, to cover the pan
Parchment paper (or you can choose to grease your pan)
Wooden spoon, to stir the dough
Campfire grill (usually optional, but it will come in handy to help provide an even surface)
Rolling pin (optional; I chose the more dainty way of doing it. You can use a hammer if you want to let yourself run wild in the great outdoors)
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
½ tsp sea salt
2 square pieces of baking chocolate, grated/chopped/shaved
2 eggs, unbeaten
1 tsp vanilla
3 tbsp Irish Cream liqueur
¼ tsp baking powder
½ cup flour
½ cup walnuts, chopped
Ad:
Cocoa versus Baker’s chocolate.. versus chocolate chips?
It can be chalked up to personal preference. I like the decadence of Baker’s chocolate. I don’t even bother with tempering the chocolate for campfire brownies, because slicing the chocolate into smaller flakes and pieces, with a mere paring knife, would work just as fine. Plus, remember.. we’re cooking in the wild outdoors. There is no easy dial for the campfire grill. It would be too easy to burn your chocolate if we were to attempt to temper the chocolate.
Update on Apr 27, 2020: If you wanted to read more about my camping trip in Valemount, BC, read about my camping experience. Since most of us can’t camp at national or provincial parks during the pandemic, set up tents in your backyard and glamp away! Use your barbecue grill if you don’t have a legal fire pit.
Campfire pancakes for breakfast? Try this low fat cocoa pancakes recipe.
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 12 bars | 8 minutes |
| Cook Time | Passive Time |
| 40 minutes | 5 minutes |
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Moist – with the help of butter and O’ Darby’s Irish Cream, decadent, and crispy on the bottom. If you can't escape to a fire pit, try use a 350°F oven to cook the "campfire brownies" and reduce the time from 40 minutes to 25 to 30 minutes.
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- ½ cup butter softened
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ tsp sea salt coarse
- 2 square piece chocolate Baker's
- 2 eggs unbeaten
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 3 tbsp Irish Cream liqueur
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ½ cup flour
- ½ cup walnuts chopped
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- In a Ziploc bag, use a rolling pin to roll and crush the walnuts with ease. (This is more fun than chopping)
- Mix the butter, sugar, salt, chocolate, eggs, vanilla, Irish Cream and walnuts together in the pan. Be careful not to over-mix. Then, slowly incorporate the flour and baking powder together.
- Spread the batter, gently and evenly, using a wooden spoon or a spatula. Cover with tin foil; cover twice if needed, especially if it is windy.
- Bake in the campfire until the top appears to be evenly cooked. Check at the 30 minute mark.
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This is a lovely recipe! I just want to try it. Thank you for your walnut crushing suggestion. I can imagine how delicious this brownie would taste around a campfire!
If the walnuts are toasted before crushing, you would have a lot more of that nice aroma!
This looks very glampy! We’ll definitely give it a go and would love to share it on our blog!
Happy glamping and camping!
Yes, feel free to share it! We weren’t exactly glamping, but we love cooking gourmet meals over a campfire. Some day though — the dream is to buy a motorcycle trailer that can also be towed by a car.
Yum what a great way to enjoy dessert over the fire!
What a super idea! Brownies are amazing anytime, anywhere. So on the campfire would be incredible! Thx for the recipe.
Yum. The brownie part sounds really good but adding the cream liqueur makes it even better. This is a must next time I go bush.
Yum! I love a good brownie, and your idea to add liqueur sounds delightful. While I haven’t gone camping since childhood, I think this dessert would be delicious at backyard bonfires during the summer.
These are awesome! I’ve been looking for a campfire cake recipe and this is so perfect and simple and delicious! Thanks
Thank you! It is pretty amazing. I am going to remake it when we camp in our backyard this summer!
Wow, I’m totally saving this recipe for when we can once again go camping. It’s perfect for dessert, and I love the boozy aspect, too.
Awesome! I’ve never made anything like this when I was camping! Can’t wait to try it and glad that it works in high altitude because I live near the mountains too 🙂
I do not like camping at all, but these look and sound delicious. ? So many great and delicious things to make in a cast iron skillet, I really need to invest in some!
I’ve only camped once since I had kids. It was fun, but it’s a lot of work with the really little ones. That being said, I feel a lot more tempted to give it another go with a recipe like this in my back pocket. I mean, who could say no to brownies on the campfire?! Cheers!
Yeah, I will be going camping this year in a tent with little ones. It will be a lot of work, but hopefully the memories will be worth it. 😀 Hope you will enjoy the brownies.
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