I’m not a fan of oatmeal, which makes breakfasts in the backcountry a little tricky. In fact I’m not really a breakfast person: sometimes I’ll just make do with coffee and trail mix.
Recently I went on a kayak camping trip with some friends, and after multiple trips where I didn’t really eat breakfast, I was itching to try something different. This trip seemed like the perfect opportunity: we weren’t backpacking, so we weren’t as limited by weight or space. We also had some free time for breakfasts, so something a little elaborate would not hurt.
With a little research, I found a pancake recipe by Tasty which was easy to adapt for the backcountry. As it turns out, it wasn’t very heavy or bulky, so if you have the time, this would be great for a little treat in the wild.
Easy Vegan Chocolate Pancake
Ingredients
- 60 g all purpose flour approx ½ cup
- ½ tbsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp cocoa powder
- 2 tbsp coconut oil1
- 1 cup water2
Instructions
At Home
- Put all the dry ingredients together in a container. Keep the coconut oil in a separate tight-lidded container. The water doesn’t need to be carried in if you have access to water at camp.
At Camp
- First things first, let’s make the pancake batter. To do this, you’ll add water slowly to the dry ingredients. Make sure you mix as you go, as you may not need all of the water. Stop when you get a slurry-like consistency.
- A small pan works best, but it can also work if all you have is a camping pot. Put whatever you have, on the stove and add just a bit of coconut oil. It should melt to cover the entire surface.
- Once the oil is hot, pour in some of the batter, making sure to leave a little gap between that and the pot/pan walls.
- When the pancake starts bubbling, flip and cook the other side. Remove when golden.
Notes
- Coconut oil is great for backpacking; unless it’s very hot, it stays solid and minimizes chances of spillage. Use refined coconut oil if you don’t want a coconut flavour.
- If space and weight is not an issue, you can use ½ cup soy/oat/almond milk instead, adding some water if that doesn’t get the right batter consistency.
- You can switch things up a bit with mix-ins or toppings such as maple syrup, peanut butter, nuts from your trail mix, chocolate chips, freeze-dried fruit and berries, especially if there are wild bushes near your camp.
- Add up to 2 tsp of flaxmeal in the pancake mix for some extra fibre and omega-3, but entirely optional!
Hehe! I was certainly not expecting a pancake recipe. Very nice!
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