This is one of those recipes that is as good for breakfast, lunch, or even as a desert, but we have often seen people (young and old) struggle with this simple dish while camping. All you have to do is watch Blue Peter (a long running BBC kids show, for those not in the UK) presenter’s attempts in a kitchen to know it can be much worse outside. We have, however, developed a recipe and a method that is quite forgiving, meaning that you can just get on with eating delicious pancakes on camp.

Ingredients

There are not many ingredients for this recipe. The mixture scales well and will work as well for one person as it will for 100. However, once you make the batter (due to the baking powder), it will only be good for a short period of time, so it is one to mix up just before you want pancakes (not in advance at home).

Core ingredients

The core ingredients are a simple pancake batter with a little added floof powder. This amount should serve 1.

Equivalent of 2 Eggs in Powdered Form - An ingredient that has a bad reputation in the UK, but we have found it brilliant for adventure cooking. It is a lot less messy than carrying fresh eggs, and in pancakes using powdered egg makes them even more fluffy than using fresh eggs.
2 Teaspoons Powdered Milk - Another ingredient that has a bad reputation in the UK, but is fantastic for bringing on expeditions.
4 Tablespoons Plain Flour - A hardy versatile ingredient to carry.
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder - This is the ingredient that helps not only make for some light fluffy pancakes but also helps with knowing when to flip them.
1 Teaspoon Vegetable Oil - We tend to use vegetable oil, but any oil suitable for frying will do. One word of warning - if you use a more flavourful oil, that flavour will be imparted into the final dish. We have had some interesting experiences with using olive oil, so recommend a neutral oil (or butter if you have any).

Optional Ingredients

Now this is where you can start experimenting. Some ingredients we have found that work well as toppings are:

Sugar - Simple granulated sugar works well here. You can also add this to your batter before cooking.
Lemon juice - This is possible to carry and use on more than just pancakes adding a zing to many dishes.
Cinnamon & Nutmeg - This can add a little flavour and make a nice change.
Other Dried Fruit - This is a nice way to add some variation into the pancake. We have had success with raisins, currants, and cranberries. All of which add a little something different when added to the batter itself before frying.
Black pepper - Now bear with us on this one, we tried it as pepper is a spice we carry with us so we thought one day let's give it a go, and surprisingly it works!

Core ingredients stored in the way we’ve found helps them survive in a barrel!

Cooking equipment

This is one that you can easily do in the wild.

Camping stove - Something that has a controllable heat is preferable. Although possible over a spirit burner it is a bit more of a challenge to not weld food to the bottom.
Frying pan - A well seasoned or nonstick pan will make this a lot easier.
Whisk or mixing spoon - something to mix the ingredients is needed, and a whisk makes it a lot easier to avoid a lumpy batter, but you can make do with a spoon or spork.
Mixing bowl or pan - something to mix the batter up in.
Fish slice or flippy stick - You will need a utensil to get under the pancakes while they are in the pan.

Method

This method is a simple one but there are two key parts: getting the consistency of the mix right, and the time in the frying pan. Once you get these two bits sorted, you can crank out as many of these hot little tasty morsels as you want or need.

Mix your dry ingredients (powdered egg, powdered milk, flour and baking powder) in your mixing bowl. You can add spices at this stage if you want the flavour through the pancakes, rather than on them.
Slowly add water and whisk to make a thick-ish batter and keep whisking to avoid lumps. You want the consistency to be that of slightly loose toothpaste. Making it thicker makes for more of a drop scone than crepe, but makes the whole flipping over in a small pan thing much easier. If you make it too runny then you end up with a thin pancake that is more likely to burn, or rip when you attempt to flip it.
Heat your frying pan up on the stove, add a teaspoon of oil. You want the pan hot enough to fry in, but not smoking.
Try a small drop of batter in the pan no more than the size of a penny. The batter should sizzle and the outside should seal (and you have a cooking snack). If the batter burns then the pan is too hot, and if the batter does not seal within a second or so, then the pan is too cold.
Once happy with the temperature of the pan then pour about enough in to make a pancake the size of a cup coaster (or a minidisc, if you’d like a more retro reference).
Wait for little bubbles to form on the surface of the pancake. This is a good sign that the bottom is sealed.
Nudge the sides of the pancake to see if it has sealed on the bottom (it should slide across the pan a little) and if a slight skin has formed on the surface.
Confidently flip the pancake. If you have timed it right then it should hold in one piece. If you are a bit early then you may get some distortion in the shape. If you are too late then your pancake will be burnt on one side. Just letting you in on what might happen. There is a bit of leeway here, so don’t panic.
Wait for a short amount of time for the top side (now on the bottom) to seal. Nudge slightly with your spatula until it moves as one.
Take out of the pan and consume while warm, toppings are optional, but add them now if you have them.
Repeat until you have used all the mix, and you’re comfortably full and ready for the day (or night, you really can eat pancakes whenever you like).

Trail tips

We would recommend practising cooking these at home on your expedition stove before you go on your trip (our neighbours have seen us practising these with new stoves in our garden on occasion). The method is relatively straight forward, but the 3 key variables that you will have to test for your for your ingredients and equipment are:

The consistency of the batter
Temperature of your stove and frying pan
Time the mixture is fried for

When the batter is first poured into the frying pan, we will occasionally add a few pieces of trail mix to the top. This sets into the pancake and adds not only a bit of a different taste but also texture. A quick word of warning, watch out for jelly sweets and chocolate trail mix items as they tend to just melt rather than seal into the pancake, making cleaning up a right pain.

If you are only going for a few days, the weather is not too warm, and/or you cannot get hold of powdered egg, then it is always possible to carry pre-cracked and whisked eggs in a small bottle.

Perfectly Practical Pancakes