Campfire Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler
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The time for cooking over the open fire has returned! Just as sweet as a patch of strawberries, I love this time of year. Instead of warming up the kitchen indoors, it can be a lot of fun to cook some of our meals outside to beat the heat. Sweet strawberries are paired with tart rhubarb to make this delicious gooey Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler that's incredibly fun to cook over the campfire! This easy camping recipe is the perfect summer dessert to cook in a cast iron skillet. Serve this easy campfire dessert recipe on your next summer camping trip.
what is a cobbler?
There are several names used to describe a cobbler, and the one that you use says a lot about where you come from! Cobblers, slumps, grunts, buckles, pandowdies, and bird’s nest pudding are all names used for the same or similar desserts. Generally, they all have a mixture of fruit and sugar at the bottom to create a jammy filling, and are then covered in a sweet batter, biscuit, or dumpling topping. For this cobbler, I used a batter that’s similar to a pancake batter! A cobbler, however, is different from a crumble or crisp which uses oats as the main ingredient for the topping.
Wearing No. 35 Maxi Linen Dress in Voltaire Check by Pyne & Smith Clothiers; Amy Pinafore in Denim Blue by Little Women Atelier; Whispering Sands Lotus Pink Scarf by Fable England; Leather Belt by Frost & Ember Creations
gathering ingredients to make strawberry rhubarb cobbler:
To make this lovely Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler over the campfire, you will need to gather a few key ingredients. You can, of course, make this recipe at home in your stove as well. If you can’t make your way out to the strawberry patch, try finding some locally grown strawberries at your grocery store. The sweet summer flavor is undeniable!
Strawberries. Fresh strawberries make this recipe incredibly sweet and juicy! If strawberries are not in season where you live, you can use frozen strawberries that have been thawed and drained.
Rhubarb. Rhubarb is difficult to find depending on where you live. If you do not have rhubarb available to you, you can simply substitute the measurement for more strawberries or another type of berry such as blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries.
Lemon. You will need 1 lemon for this recipe to help bring out the flavor and colors in the fruit!
Sugar. Granulated is used in the fruit filling and the batter topping.
Flour. All-purpose flour works best for this recipe.
Baking Powder.
Butter. I prefer to use salted butter, but you can substitute unsalted butter in if you prefer.
Buttermilk. I like using buttermilk for this recipe, but you can use whole milk instead if that is what you have. Use 1 1/4 cups (300 ml) milk instead of the 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) buttermilk.
Egg.
equipment for cooking over the fire:
Cooking over the campfire requires some special equipment compared to cooking over the stove top at home. Because fire is incredibly hot and unpredictable, you will want a few special pieces of cookware built for outdoor cooking. Of course, you do not have to have all of the equipment to cook a cobbler, as this recipe is pretty basic! Here are my favorite campfire cooking tools:
8-inch Cast Iron Skillet (great for melting butter or making sauce)
how to measure the temperature of the fire:
How do you possibly measure the temperature of a campfire? There is actually a common rule to this! You must perform the Hand Test, or placing your hand over the fire and gauging the temperature by how long you can hold your hand over the flames. Seems logical, right? Perhaps a bit dangerous…
Less than 1 second: 600° F (315° C)
1 to 2 seconds: 400 to 500° F (204° to 260° C)
3 to 4 seconds: 350 to 375° F (177° to 191° C)
5 to 7 seconds: 325 to 350° F (163° to 177° C)
how to make campfire strawberry rhubarb cobbler:
Step One: Begin by building up a very hot fire, about 400° to 500° F (204° to 260° C). You will be using the coals from your fire to bake the cobbler, mimicking the inside of your oven at home with the heat from the coals. The heat from a direct flame will be too hot and burn the cobbler. You will want to make sure that you have space to place your dutch oven or skillet that is nearby your fire. You will have to keep the fire going alongside the cobbler in case you need to replace any coals.
Step Two: In the dutch oven or skillet, stir together the strawberries, rhubarb, lemon juice, lemon zest, and sugar. Then, in a medium bowl whisk together the batter ingredients. Pour the batter over the top of the fruit as evenly as possible.
Step Three: Drag some hot coals from the fire to the area where you will be cooking the cobbler. You will want about 8 to 10 hot coals for underneath your skillet. Place the skillet directly on top of the hot coals and then cover with a cast iron lid or a second 12-inch cast iron skillet flipped upside down. Place 8 to 10 more hot coals on top of the lid.
Step Four: Cook the cobbler until the batter has become golden brown and the fruit filling is thick and bubbly. Depending on the heat of your coals, this can take anywhere from 35 to 55 minutes. You will want to rotate the bottom skillet clockwise and the lid or top skillet counterclockwise every 10 to 15 minutes to evenly distribute the heat and prevent the cobbler from burning.
Step Five: Check your cobbler occasionally, checking to make sure that nothing has overcooked in one area and not in another. Be careful when you are checking that you do not let any ashes fall into the cobbler, though this isn’t the end of the world if it happens. As you can see, it happened to mine on this particular day! It’s easier to lift the lid of your cast iron dutch oven with a lid lifter.
recipes to serve with campfire cobbler:
This campfire cobbler is best when served with something cold and creamy, like vanilla ice cream! Here are a few recipe suggestions to serve alongside your sweet summertime camping dessert.
final thoughts:
Isn’t summer the sweetest? There is nothing better than a hot gooey fruit cobbler served with runny vanilla ice cream after a day of playing at the lake or hiking the trails. If you love the great outdoors like I do, then you will absolutely adore this easy strawberry rhubarb cobbler recipe for your next camping trip. When you can make everything in one pan, then you know it’s a good recipe! This cobbler is sweet, simple, and perfect with vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!
xoxo Kayla
Campfire Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 1/4 cups (450 g) granulated sugar, divided
- 4 tsp (20 g) baking powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup (116 g) salted butter, melted
- 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) milk
- 1 1/2 cups (250 g) strawberries, green tops removed and chopped
- 1 1/2 cups (250 g) rhubarb, chopped
- 2 tsp (10 ml) fresh lemon juice
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1/4 cup (50 g) coarse sugar, for dusting
- Ice cream, for serving
- Fresh strawberries, for serving
Instructions
- Build a very hot fire, about 400° to 500° F (204 to 260° C), or preheat the oven to 425° F (218° C).
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, 1/4 cup (50 g) of the sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add in the egg, melted butter, and milk. Whisk everything together until the batter is smooth and no longer has lumps of flour in it, about 2 minutes. Set this aside for now.
- In a 12-inch (30-cm) cast iron skillet, toss together the remaining 2 cups (400 g) of sugar, strawberries, rhubarb, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Stir until the fruit is well coated, about 2 minutes.
- Spread the batter over the top of the fruit as evenly as possible. Sprinkle the top of the batter with the coarse sugar.
- Bring out some hot coals from the fire and rest the skillet over the top of the hot coals. Cover the skillet with a cast iron pot lid or another 12-inch (30-cm) skillet flipped upside down. Top the lid with more hot coals, about 8 to 10 of them. Rotate the skillet over the hot coals every 10 minutes to prevent burning and to evenly heat the cobbler. You may also choose to rotate the lid in the opposite direction. Replace the hot coals as necessary to ensure that the temperature remains consistent.
- Alternately, if you are cooking indoors, place the skillet into the preheated oven and bake the cobbler for about 40 to 50 minutes.
- Thecobbler is finished when the cake topping is golden brown and the fruit underneath is thick and bubbly.
- Serve the cobbler with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream and more fresh strawberries.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
507Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
