Let’s be honest, behind great views and fun activities, quality food can make a camping trip go from bleak and boring, to exciting and memorable. Campfire songs are great, but they are even better when your face is stuffed full of sugar. Below is my favorite dessert to have around the campfire, and I hope it adds to your experience of making memories that last on your next camping trip. So read on and imagine yourself enjoying a delicious desert, looking up at the stars, and being grateful you got away from the hustle and bustle of every day life and are enjoying some of God’s creations.
DIY Eclairs
My all time favorite dessert to have around the campfire is more than a step above the ordinary marshmallow s’more. Eclairs bought from the store are good, but personally roasted and built eclairs blow store-bought eclairs out of the water.
Ingredients/Items You Will Need
Here is what you need:
- Croissant Dough
- Chocolate Frosting
- Pudding (Vanilla or Chocolate – this can be homemade, or it can be the classic pudding cup)
- Roasting Sticks with Two Skewers
- Tin Foil
- Cooking Spray
- Spoons or Knifes to insert pudding and spread frosting
The Prepping
First, start by wrapping your tinfoil around the top of the roasting sticks. It is important to wrap both skewers fully, and make the wrapping round. This may take some trial and error, but you’ll figure it out. Leaving it round will allow the eclair to have an opening to insert the pudding after it is roasted.
Second, spray the tinfoil with cooking spray to ensure the eclair can slide off easily. Avoid overspraying so the croissant dough can slide off or unravel during the roasting process. I tend to not spray the tinfoil every time I start the process over, but do what you feel is best.
Next, open the can of croissant dough and carefully take off one triangle of dough. I have found that works best for me might not work best for everybody else, so experiment a little. However, I start by putting the corner of the triangle with the largest angle draped over the very top of the tin-foil-wrapped-skewers. I then wrap the excess dough around, closing all of the holes or gaps and pressing the dough together.
The Roasting
Finally, once the dough is wrapped securely around the roasting stick, you can begin roasting your eclair. It is important to keep it flat or parallel to the ground, and that your fire has enough heat that you don’t need to put the eclair directly in the flame, but just close to it or some hot coals. Rotate the eclair slowly and seek to achieve a golden brown on all sides. If you need to life the stick up and shine a light on it to see if it is done, then go for it! The process is more fun if you experiment a little.
Once the eclair is done, carefully slide it off of the tin-foil. It is likely warm, but not warm enough to burn yourself. That being said, let it cool if you would like. Once it is pulled off, pull out and open up that pudding and frosting (my personal favorite parts)! Scoop the pudding into the the eclair (feel free to be generous), and spread the frosting on the top of the eclair. Bon appetit!
Go Make Memories!
I still remember the first time I made these eclairs with my family, and they instantly become a hit. We were in Southern Utah. That day we hiked through the beautiful creations in Moab, UT, drove back to the campsite as the stars were coming out, and ended the day stuffing our faces full of DIY Eclairs – I hope you do the same!
Written by Brandon