Campfire Strawberry Rhubarb Chamomile Slump
Summertime is just around the corner, and I was pleasantly surprised to find myself outside this week baking over the open flame. It has been slightly cooler out, even with the terrible air quality. I was happy to be cooking over the fire without the overbearing heat and humidity that we usually have in Iowa this time of year.
I thought that I would pair together some strawberries and rhubarb from our garden to create a delicious Colonial dessert… a slump!
an american history of the slump:
As the story goes, the slump was an invention of the American colonists. Having only primitive tools to cook with, this dessert was created out of a desire to mimic the English puddings from back home. This dessert is incredibly simplistic, being just a mixture of fruit and sugar (much like a pie filling) on the bottom and covered by a cake-like or even pancake-like topping. Everything is just dumped into the pan together and baked. There are so many variations of this dessert, it’s difficult to know which version is the original one.
The slump is synonymous with other desserts like the grunt, cobbler, or pandowdy. The name slump is regional to Vermont, Maine, and Rhode Island while the name grunt is from Massachusetts.
the method:
Cooking a slump over the fire is one of the easier desserts that you can make, as it does not require much effort nor does it have to look pretty. The name of this dish really says it all!
You will want a very hot fire, around 400 to 500° F. You can test the temperature of the fire by how long you are able to hold your hand over the flames. If it is only for about 4 to 5 seconds, the fire is plenty hot. To bake things in a dutch oven, you will have to cook them over hot coals, so the fire needs to have been burning for a bit, at least 30 minutes or more, before you can begin baking. The reason behind this is because you will be using hot coals to bake and not the direct flame.
One thing that I have learned with baking over the fire is that you really need to have a separate area where the hot coals are baking and a supply of new coals coming in. So you will have a fire on one side and the hot coals on the other, baking the dessert. I am still learning about campfire cooking, so my methods might not be traditional!
The slump is baked in a dutch oven, or two skillets, with hot coals on the bottom and on top. This takes about 40 to 50 minutes total to bake. The trick? Make sure that you rotate skillet and the lid every 10 minutes to prevent the slump from burning.
Strawberry Rhubarb Chamomile Slump
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar, divided
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup salted butter, melted
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 1/2 cups strawberries, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups rhubarb, chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh chamomile blossoms
- 1 cup honey
- 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1/4 cup coarse sugar, for dusting
Instructions
- Build a very hot fire, about 400-500° F, or preheat the oven to 425° F.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, 1/4 cup of the sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add in the egg, melted butter, and milk and whisk until the batter is smooth and no longer has lumps of flour in it, about 4 minutes. Set this aside.
- In a 12-inch cast iron skillet, toss together the remaining 2 cups of sugar, strawberries, rhubarb, chamomile, honey, 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 skillet flipped upside down. Top the lid with more hot coals, about 8 to 10 of them. Alternately, place the skillet into the oven and back the slump for about 40 to 50 minutes.
- If you are cooking over the fire, rotate the skillet over the hot coals every 10 minutes to prevent burning. 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.
- The slump is finished when the cake topping is golden brown and the fruit underneath is thickened and bubbling.
- Serve the slump with vanilla bean ice cream or whipped cream and more fresh strawberries.
