Dogwoodgirl, you wrote: "I second that! You can also make a great "oven" using a metal jello mold and a metal lid- I make brownies, bisquits, cornbread, etc that are almost foolproof using this method."

Please give me details on both the stove and the recipies PLEASE.

Or come up to Island Lake and cook me a batch of cornbread, that would be even better!

Ron

It's easy! You'll need a metal jello mold and a metal cake pan that fits over the top of it. The plainest jello mold possible, so you have the fewest nooks and crannies for your baked goods to get stuck to. Grease the jello mold well, and pour in your brownies, or whatever. Set it on a not-too-hot area of the grate and put on the lid. Check it periodically to see how it's coming. Bring along a pliers to act as your hot pad. You'll be checking it fairly frequently and turning it so one side doesn't get burnt.
The hole in the middle of the jello mold allows heat to rise and the cake pan traps it, so the top of your baked goods get cooked. And, the finished item will be mostly "edge", so you don't have the dastardly problem of burnt edges and gooey raw center.
One jello mold will work for a pouch of brownies or cornbread/bisquits/etc- for maybe 4 people. I use 2 for larger groups....I'm of the opinion that it's probably impossible to have too many brownies!
I confess that I just use the mixes from the grocery store- even ones that ask for eggs. I do bring eggs, although you could substitute dried eggs(ugh!) There is a pretty wide variety of "just add water" stuff at a big supermarket like Super One.

You're at Island Lake?!! I'm in Duluth- we should meet for coffee sometime.

Thanks, I'll give it a try. If we are going to have coffee, I would prefer Starbucks over Carabou. Just so you know. I'll drop you an Email some time soon.

Thanks again

Ron

I've been using my Jello Mold oven for a number of years now for canoe tripping as well as backpacking. I was first introduced to it by Beth Buckley either at a canoe symposium or in her book.

Two facts about this type of baking: 1. You can bake almost anything that you can do at home—it just takes a little longer. Muffin mixes, cornbread, biscuits, casseroles, scalloped potatoes, etc. I traditionally start most canoe trip mornings off by firing up the stove with a commercial (Jiffy brand) muffin mix in the oven. Turn the simmer control down as low as possible (to avoid burning) and go fishing for 20-25 minutes. When I return from fishing it's ready to cool and eat. Fact 2.—Fact #1 will only work if you have a stove that can SIMMER. My Coleman Apex II is the BEST when it comes to this feature and I recommend it highly. A lot of the new "canned gas" stoves should do well but it's impossible for instance with a blow torch like an older MSR Whisperlite.

I have a number of other details on making your own oven that I can pass on if anyone's interested.

CanoeFly

I think iam going to stick with my outback oven. Last year coffee cake tasted great on brent. I think its a very cool idea to use the jello pan though. A+ for creativity!

Alex

I just completed a successful experiment for my upcoming July Quetico trip. I made a blueberry pie in the batter-ring baker oven. The blueberries of course were from the grocery store. I used my plastic food box lid (a big Tupperware Super Storer) to roll out a Jiffy Mix pie crust. The makeshift rolling pin was my Nalgene bottle. The crust was rolled to about 6" wide and carefully laid into the baker with some Pam for a non-stick barrier. The cooked blueberry mix was poured into the crust, the crust folded over the berries and a bunch of slits were poked into the crust top. One hour later I had a real tasty pie. Now that I know it will work I just need to have a good berry crop in late July.

Can't wait

What a great idea! I'll have to give that pie a shot this year- we'll be up in late July so I think we'll have berries.

Hey Dogwoodgirl - the day before we left for EP30 I stopped at the Goodwill store in Portage, WI and bought an aluminum jello mold and an aluminum pie plate. Then bought a box of brownie mix. The mold fit perfectly in the bottom of my blue food barrel and I even put the ketchup, mustard, mayo packets in the mold for storage.

I forgot to print out your directions though and baked brownies over what I now know to be a hanging fire (Bannock taught me that on how to make bannock). It was much, much too hot but 3/4 of the brownie mix actually baked pretty well while the other quarter was pure mush but I like it.

I am going to experiment more here at home in my backyard fire pit and grate that closely resembled a US Forest Service Fire Grate. Living in the country allows me to do that. I was going to make blueberry muffins but didn't feel like cleaning the mold again.

Well, experiments are ok! I heard a great quote yesterday that kinda fits that theme...."Good decisions come from experience, and experience comes from bad decisions".

You really want a fire that is more coal than flame, similar to what you would cook pancakes on.

I use to have a jello mold oven. This is how I set it up and used it.

I drilled a series of holes around (just below) the rims of the mold - both inside and outside rims. The holes were perhaps 3/8". I think these holes help with even baking -- ie more top heat.

Oil the inside with oil and a paper towel. Pour in your batter. I found muffin mix to work the best, but either brownies or cake batter is OK.

Cover with an inverted cake pan (I think it was a 9"). When done you can simply flip it and remove the mold. The baked goods are sitting on the cake pan ready to be served. The cake pan also diverts the heat when baking.

Now one of the key components ... a heat defuser for the bottom. What I used was a ... I don't know what you call them. It's metal. It's for the burner for your household stove -- a burner liner? Any way, it is bowl shaped and has a hole in the center for the burner element to come up through.

So the set up from top to bottom is: 1) Heat defusser, on top of that is 2) the jello mold with holes drilled around the rim; and on top of that is 3) an inverted cake pan.

The bottom heat is defused from direct contact with the jello mold ( and so the product). The center heat goes up the chimney then is diverted by the cake pan through the holes and over the top of the baked product.

However, after all that, I had my best success with it on a stove with good simmer control. It was a crap shoot using it on a campfire.

Thanks for the comments. Before I throw the jello mold away and never pack it again I will try that stuff on my backyard fire pit. I'm thinking about trying to get the plans for a US Forest Service Fire Grate and have the kids in welding class at school or my welding buddy make one for me and set it up here at home. Of course, I'll then have to go to the BWCA and carry out lots of basalt rocks to set up on three sides of the grate to be more authentic.

Bannock:

You don't really need the drilled holes. The top cover fits loosely enough to let the heat out. I believe Beth Buckley listed this mod in one of her recent articles.

On a recent Quetico trip I packed Pillsbury blueberry muffin mix—no egg or water needed. It was a great product. When I finally found a patch of wild berries and added a handful to the mix it was TO DIE FOR!

I'm going to experiment with a heat deflector to fit my new toy—the MSR Pocket Rocket which simmers real well. Unfortunately it's got a real narrow flame spread unlike my Coleman Apex II so I don't know how well it will work. I'll report at a later date.

Another success of this trip was Zatarain's Jambalaya mix with a couple of small walleye filleted, cut into small chunks and thrown in. A great one-pot meal.

How do I add a photo to this message?

CanoeFly

We just got back from our Knife through Kekekebac back to Sag trip and I've got to say what an awesome idea! Not only did we do Banana nut muffins for breakfast, but the bisquets and gravy for dinner the night before was great. For a first timer using the mold,(which I bought at the helping hand in Wyoming MN for .50), the breads turned out perfect. I would like to add another cheap way to top the mold. Just pick up a stove top burner insert and flatten it out by driving over it. It has the hole in the center already and the only thing left to do is take a pair of pliers and bend the edges slightly all the way around so it stays on. You can even look at the progress of the breads. It works great. Thanks for the fantastic idea!
Rangerdad

That's an interesting idea, to use a stove burner insert! The way I had the whole deal explained to me, the cake pan trapped the hot air that flowed up through the hole in the jello mold, so the guy said you actually didn't want a hole in the lid. But, it sounds like it worked fine for you to have the hole there. Sure beats hauling a reflector oven!

here are pictures of my jello mold oven. Red stuff is silicone baking sheet cut up to fit. Insulates oven, cooks much more evenly, especially in cool/cold weather. Inside silicone ring stops food burning that is close to the flame. Thermometer for temp adjutments. Found about 160-175 on therm. is good range. Your mileage may vary! Bought metal pan and top at salv. army. $4 Therm and silicone maybe $18. Works great.

About three years ago, I bought an old stove top potato baker at a yard sale for 50cents. It is lightweight aluminum. I have taken it on two trips now, and I don't think I can go without it anymore. I have made pizzas, bisquits, bread, brownies and cakes, etc. with no problems, either using my stove, or cooking over coals.

I just picked up six Mirro brand Jello molds on eBay. They must have come from a commercial enterprise like a restuarant or something to have six of the same item. Anyway I got a good deal and I'd like to offer to pass them on to anyone with serious interest in making their own oven. One per customer until they're gone. Email me @rmseman@verizon.net for details.

CanoeFly

I have received a number of replies to the above offer and just want to clarify a few things so that folks don't think that a functional baker is going to drop into their laps—

I still have them. Understand the following based on questions from others who have replied to the offer:

It is a stove-only operation. Not for use over a campfire. The stove must be one that will SIMMER like the Coleman Apex or one of the canister gas stoves. A blowtorch like the MRS Whisperlite will not work.

There are three components to the stove. The Jello mold is only one of them but the hardest to find—therefore my offer to the group. The lid is something you need to find at a garage sale or thrift store. You can use heavy duty foil as a substitute. for the lid. The third component is the aluminum heat deflector which requires some metalworking with a saw and file to adapt it to your stove. it's another "found" item that you need to search for and find one that will fit the bottom of the Jello Mold.

In this age of instant gratification I just want to make everyone aware that there is some custom fabrication involved.

I paid $4.00 each including shipping on Ebay. I don't want to make money but I need to cover my costs so I'll ship to continental US addresses for $7.50 each. With the cost of gasoline you'll spend a lot more than that driving around to find one at a flea market.

CanoeFly

Unless there is something different about your jello molds, they work great over a campfire, that's the only way mine has ever been used.
When used over a fire, no heat deflector is needed, just a lid.And, like all campfire baking methods, you do want to make sure the fire has burned down to a deep bed of coals with just a moderate amount of flame left.

You heard it from DogwoodGirl—It will work on a campfire. I have never tried it that way.

$7.50 each to any continental US address and you can experiment away!

I'll also include some photos showing how to do the stovetop version for anyone capable of a little simple metalsmithing.

See a earlier post for my address

CanoeFly

and if using over coals, you can put some coals on top, like dutch oven style. Arrange the in a circle around where the food should be. Speeds up the cooking. Not too many, just small circle of nice coals.

Hmmm...I smell a patent application.

bringing it to the top for cornbread!

I found somthing like it:
Omnia Sweeden
You Tube

dsk

The $25.00 Primus stoves we got from Sierra Trading don't do simmer so we found a diffuser that helps with the jello mold baker and the thin walled pots we take. I think I finally got a picture of it transferred to the site. We found it at an old style hardware store. The handle is neat for moving things off the fire too.

Any thoughts on using a silicone bundt pan instead of the aluminum jello mold. We are going out for 9 days next week just two of us and will be traveling lean and mean. Not sure about packing extra hardware, but if we can roll it up and cram into a corner of the pack that might be more comfortable.

Not sure how that would work....can you use silcone on a flame? My daughter melted some of it off a fancy spatula, I think.

I just slide it inside the larger of my cookpots, roll my kitchen towel and hotpad into it, and we're good to go.

dogwoodgirl / buz -
do you place the jello mold directly on the coals or on the fire grate?

I have used the jello mold pan with a pie tin lid ( my husband cut half inch notches and folded them down so the "lid" stays on.) but.. I use a drip ring from an old electric stove to place on the stove and then put the jello mold on top. This deflects the flame and the heat enters the hole in the mold. Also the store bought packages are great and we do travel with eggs.

On the fire grate....

Freeleo, That is exactly what I use, but mine is steel, so I cut it apart and only use one side for weight savings.

So Sumi, Silicone may work on the fire grate only on BW sites. Imo, no way would it work over stove, can't handle direct flame, will melt. Try it on your barbeque grill at home and see. You also need a top, aluminum pie pan would work.

Plquinn, I use mine more or less exclusively on a stove. The flame goes up the middle on low with diffuser like the one shown. I will occasionally put coals on top of the oven if they are handy, especially starting off.

I notice that the jello mold pan that canoefly is offering has holes in the sides? How does that effect the cooking? The setup I use doesn't have any holes.

Farmer,

The idea of the holes is to allow heat to move around into the oven on top of the baking goods. If you look closely at the pic of mine, I have holes drilled on the inside of mine. I use mine on a stove, and the inner ring is the same height as the outer ring, so when I put a lid on it, it fits tight to the top, limiting heat movement, and the heat is all coming from the inside, so it needs to move. The holes simply improve that. On the outside, I am not so sure, as to why.

Thanks Buz -
My lid leaves room for the heat to circulate, no holes needed! I do like your use of the silicone. I have used the bubble foil wrap and found it works well but as with silicone it too can not stand direct flames.

Quick question - does it have to be a jello mold? Could it be an angel food pan or other pan with a hole in the middle?

This thread title sounds like an exciting adventure novel. :)

From the series of "The Continuing Adventures of Dogwoodgirl".

Sorry, carry on.

tokenchic,

I tried a bundt pan before I got the real thing. The problem with a bundt pan or something like that is the center hole is too small and too high (at least on the one I tried). The jello mold I have has a nice big hole and it is low. This allows the heat to flow and circulate so that it cooks the top of your loaf or whatever.

Ahh, that makes sense. Thanks!

Very excited...just scored a metal Jello mold at the half price sale at a church rummage sale. ;-) I don't know exactly what I paid for it, but I bought 2 bags of stuff for 5.50, so I think it was a deal. Woo.

Buz-

How did you connect the ends of your silicone rings for the inside cone and the outside of the jello mold? It looks like you've sewn it somehow with something? What did you use so it doesn't burn/melt?

Buz-Never mind. I found your answer on another site - - stitch with wire or put a rubber band around it.

I just checked out the Omnia Recreation Oven video. This looks to have a Teflon or other non-stick coating inside the baking ring. This is a HUGE PLUS. There is a UK seller on ebay who offers one and will ship to the US. Just put Omnia Recreation Oven in the ebay search field.

Canoefly

PS: The blueberries were abundant this year on my BWCAW trip and made for some great baking in the Jello Mold Oven.

Canoefly, Thanks. I go again next week and thought I'd figure out the jello mold oven thingy. I was hoping for fresh berries. What did you do with them in the JMO? Did you make the pie like you talked about previously in this thread?

I used a blueberry muffin mix and added half a cup of fresh picked fruit. I also made blueberry pancakes which were fantastic. Good luck next week.

CanoeFly

Meb,

Wire stiched thru if you look at the picture blown up. The top and bottom are crimped over the doubled section of fabric. No rubber bands, would have very short life. Enjoy.

I tried staples but I ended up tearing the silicone ring as I slid it over the center. I'll have to get some wire and try that.

We had a good JMO cobbler. I premeasured the ingredients into Ziplocs. for the filling 4-6 Tbs reg or brown sugar, 3/4tsp cinnamon, 1 Tbs cornstarch, add to fruit with a small amt of water ,mix & put in jello mold. Topping: 1/2 C flour, 1/2 C light brown sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 C chopped pecans. Add 1/4 cup butter or marg. to the bag when preparing and mash around till mixed then cut a small hole in bag and squish all over the top of the fruit. Not sure how long it cooked, we kept checking till it seemed like the topping was crusty and fruit was bubbling. Some of the fruit we used was dried apricots we chopped up and rehydrated for a while, that's why I'm not sure how much water to add to the fruit. You can add nutmeg to either part too, if you like nutmeg.

Thanks, FreeLeo,
That cobbler recipe is just what I was looking for.

I tried a jello mold oven for the first time on our recent canoe trip and we liked the results very much. There are only two of us, but I was fortunate to have a very old mold that I had inherited from my grandmother. It is small in size, aluminum, and sturdy, about 6 1/2 or 7 inches in outside diameter. We cooked over a slow fire right on the grill, put the flat cake pan from our cook kit over the top, and rotated it several times during baking. I was amazed at how quickly my foods baked and how evenly they baked, also!

The first couple of times I greased the mold too much with liquid margarine and it browned too much, making the food stick to the sides a bit. Then I got smarter and wiped it off with a paper towel so that there was just a good film of the oil and that one (a chocolate cake) slid out perfectly. It was yummy!

Seems to me that a non-stick spray like Crisco spray or Pam would be good, too. I may take one next time.

With there only being two of us, I took half size amounts of Jiffy cake, or corn bread mix, and it worked out very well. I baked corn bread first, then a chewy chocolate chip/nut bar recipe that ended up more like a cake, and finally the chocolate cake. We ate some for our dessert at supper and saved some for lunch the next day. (Spartan1 can only have so many carbs at one time. :-)

I think I may look for a diffuser so that we could try it on the stove as well. I don't think it would work on our stove unless we had something to set it on.

This was a fun addition to our cooking. I am not one to fuss much with cooking on a canoe trip, but it didn't take a lot of extra time and the treats were nice to have. Thanks dogwoodgirl, for the good idea.

Here is a photo of our little chocolate cake.

Nice job for your first try. Nice job for any level!

One problem I've had over the years is food sometimes sticking to the aluminum mold surface. I've tried Pam, canola oil sprays and others with no better luck than vegetable or olive oil. If you read the ingredients on those convenience products they are nothing more than oil, propellant a preservative and a fragrance to make you think you are getting something special.

I'm leaving tomorrow for a short trip to Algonquin Provincial Park, north of Toronto and I'm going to experiment with dusting the oil with flour before pouring in the mix. Someone said that would help.

I'll report next week.

CanoeFly

When I went in August, I used my JMO for a blueberry cobbler and for brownies. They both tasted really great. However, they both stuck to the bottom somewhat. . .but especially the blueberry cobbler. I wondered if any of you have tried to line the jello mold with foil, quick-release foil or parchment paper and what the results were.

I used the blueberry cobbler recipe from this board and I found a brownie mix for an 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 pan that didn't need eggs. The blueberry cobbler really tasted so good, but it almost caramelized to the bottom of the pan; we could only eat the top half. It took lots of scrubbing and working with a hard plastic scrubber. Finally, I packed it up in my garbage bag and put it in my blue barrel over night while damp. The heat and moisture then did most of the work. I wasn't too sure I was going to be able to use it to make brownies at first.

We recently tried the jello mold and I have to say it works pretty good. Picked up an extra one from CanoeFly... thanks again CanoeFly! My wife found a stove top burner ring to try to use for a heat deflector. CanoeFly also sent some plans that included using 3 metal fasteners for a riser. It ended up being very sturdy, although the 3 bolts I used are probably heavier then needed.

Sorry, Mebersviller. My husband finds a can of cooking spray indispensable when we go, so I'm pretty sure we sprayed it pretty thoroughly and we used the diffuser I showed above for most of the cooking. We didn't have any more problem with clean up than you'd expect for that sort of thing so I didn't really think about it. A foil liner would probably be a pretty easy way to help clean up. I'll have to practice with it to see if it works. At least it's a good excuse to make another cobbler.

Thanks, freeleo1.

I found and used the diffuser as well. The brownies were fine to clean out. Maybe I left the cobbler too long but I waited until it was bubbly all through and the top crust was brown and a little crunchy. Don't get me wrong--it was absolutely delicious!!! The best ever. We just couldn't eat it all; it actually bent the tines on my titanium fork. :)

So I think I'd try the foil. At least that way, I can clean the pan. Do you think the stove burner insert would work better than the diffuser? It seems like the diffuser would be better . . .

Thanks again.

The diffuser does sometimes cut the heat too much. We tend to use a combination of diffuser then direct heat for browning. The stove burner insert could be a compromise but I haven't tried it. My husband drilled a few extra small holes in one of the diffusers when we got back but we haven't tried it yet. We had some stove issues and had to order some new parts but I think they're back in order.

meber,

I use mine a lot for scout outings for the "dad patrol" who eat waaaaaaaaaaaaay better than the scout patrols, lol. This is always used on a stove for that purpose. My .02 is blueberries are very sensitive to temp, and too high = welded on mix to pan. All of the other recipes I use have not had issues with bad sticking. If you get blueberries too hot, that is a mess. If you are using a stove, I think a diverter is necessary. Whatever style you have handy will help. It is for sure a trial and error deal, and in general, starting with too low a heat source is preferable to too much.

Thanks, buz. That helps. I did use a diffuser, but it helps to know that blueberries are "special". I tried brownies first at home and there I think I had the heat too low because they took 45 minutes and were still gooey. The brownies I made in the BWCA turned out really well. But your description of blueberries being welded to the pan is pretty accurate. However, that top layer was excellent.

I will keep using it. I still really amazed my co-worker who came along for her first BW trip with the food.

Ok dogwoodgirl,

Had a chance to use the jello mold a few times on our trip last week. It was great to have along, and easily made the highlight of the menu. We had cornbread, and a muffin and biscuit mix. Have to see what other food items we can manage with it. The apple cinnamon 'muffins' went great with coffee before making pancakes!

Thank-you Dogwood Girl!

I scored a perfect little Jello mold at the Goodwill store for $1, made a diffuser from an old Baker's Secret pie pan, and found an old cake pan from the pantry that fit tightly around the rim.

I was astonished that my MSR Pocket Rocket cooked a batch of Betty Crocker brownies to perfection (at home). However, it took about 1.5 hours at 50 degrees and winds of about 18MPH. The Pocket Rocket has a good reputation for being capable of slow simmering in adverse condidtions. I slow cooked it for about 1.5 hours unitil I got tired of waiting. So I cranked-up the heat a little (the distictive aroma appeared), and then the pan carmelized to perfection right before my eyes. Perhaps this "simmer to a crescendo" style of heating is the best way to cook Betty Crocker brownies. (I did have to use a fresh egg.) (Coated the pan with canola oil, and white flour.)

I'm now confident that this method can't go wrong in the field.

This is so cool! Lightweight, compact, and inexpensive baked goods are now on the menu. (Cobbler, cakes, muffins, cookie bars, pizza, casseroles) It's almost too good to be true.

IMHO the big drawback to the Pocket Rocket for Jello Mold baking is the small diameter of its burner. The heat tends to go vertical instead of spreading out horizontally as with stoves like the Coleman Apex II. I tried baking with my Pocket Rocket and although it worked, baking times were greatly extended and I also had to bump up the heat a bit from the low simmer setting. You might want to try making a small (2.5" diameter) diffuser to go above the burner which will spread the heat toward the inner cone of the mold instead of allowing it to go straight up through the chimney.

Keep on experimenting folks. One of us will hit on the perfect combination of stove and oven design.

You mentioned the wind issue. I assume you were using some sort of windscreen. If not, I highly recommend one.

CanoeFly

I wonder if this thread would get the award for longest-lasting post. It's 3.5 years old! And very useful.

Brown Trout,

Did you weld that thermometer into your lid? if so, what temp works well for the oven? I need to do something better with my thermometer.

Buz,

The thermometer is just set upon the lid, but that is a good idea.

My wife did all of the cooking on the trip. I think she started off around 275-300, On the last batch she tells me she would let the temp rise to 350, open the vents on the lid, and turn the pan. When the temp went back down to 300 she closed the vent and repeated.

Everything was great, but I would like to see if I can get the top to brown a little more... might be nice if we try something like pizza. Perhaps drilling holes in the pan or using silicone as you have done might help?

Brown,

Thanks,

IMO, forget about top browning, you will burn stuff around the inner ring trying to make that happen. That is why I added the inner silicone ring to mine, to stop the occasional burn there. If you look at my pics blown up, you will see holes in mine, but I think it depends how your ring and lid fit. If your inner ring is below the top, not snug to it, I think you don't need holes. Mine is about 1/2" below the top, but I put holes in anyway, did not notice any difference in performance. If your inner ring is real close to the lid, you might get some help with holes.

We do pizza all the time. You can use boboli bread cut horizontally, then cut to fit, or frozen bread dough, or fresh made package dough, again molded right. Put toppings on, cook. We find this works better over a fire/coals, because the whole mold gets heated up.

This thread is my favorite of all. I love all the ideas.

I spotted a jello mold in a thrift store that was black Teflon coated inside and out.
Doesn't black coating help it cook better?

Or do I have a really expensive $2.81 plain 'ol jello mold now?

Planning to try a jello mold oven myself next year. Found these two ring molds on an online kitchenware site (www.fantes.com). From reading the threads, these look like they'd work. Do you experienced jello mold oven users see any reason that they wouldn't?

7.5" ring mold, $11.99:


8.5: ring mold, $12.99:

They look fine, just as long as you can fit a cover on top from MPOV.
Boppa

Thanks Dogwoodgirl

I just dug out the wifes old jello mold and tried bakeing
some muffins on the stove.It worked great so much better
than my reflector oven

sdebol,

Mine is 9" diameter, and good for 4 big, generous servings, or really 5, of whatever is cooking. So I think it would depend on your group size, but I would go bigger, you can always cook less in it.

I just picked up 2 JMOs from eBay, so we will eat very well on our trip next June.

What other dishes has anyone tried other than the muffins, cakes and cobblers that have been mentioned? Has anyone tried making casseroles, omelets or rice based dishes? What limitations have you found with this cooking method? I assume that the sky is actually the limit here.

Wait, what about Saganaga Lasagna?

SE

SE,

Excellent idea, start practicing and post some recipes. In general, I only use the oven for baked goods, because it is so good at that, and other pots/pans are fine for our other dishes. I would suggest maybe things like stews that have bisquick dumpings involved would be great for this. But bring it on, variety is the spice of life.

In fit of cabin fever I tried this idea last weekend. My wife thinks that I am now "certifiable". Under my post asking what were some of the best things that a person has tried form this site, the Jello mold oven was cited. I tried a chocolate chip muffin mix over my Coleman one burner. It turned out great.

My wife thinks I'm obsessed every time I go out into the garage to cook something in my jello mold oven. She doesn't turn down any goodies , tho.
Pikehunter

Yea, I could keep mine working 24/7 on our boy scout campouts it goes on. But it is only for the "dad patrol," lol.

I could not find a jello mold before my trip in two years ago; not at Goodwill and not at any of the garage sales I checked out. After reading a lot about how make-shift camping ovens worked, this is what I did:

I took my largest pot and put a stove drip ring upside down in the bottom of it, to act as a heat diffuser. I set a smaller pot that was wider than it was tall on top of the diffuser. I put whatever I was making into the smaller pot. I put the cover for the big pot over the big pot. I set the whole thing on my MSR whisperlite and tried to simmer it. That was the most challenging part.

The whole thing worked beautifully. I baked brownies (of course!). I also made garlic bread sticks, pizza, cinnamon rolls, and perhaps most unique, our own hot dog buns.

I am going in again this year and am about to start the hunt for a jello mold again. My Mom found an extra large bundt cake pan, but it is huge and the center post is as tall as the outside. It's size is the biggest problem.

If anyone happens to have an extra jello mold, please let me know. I'll also check fantes.com

Nasus

If anyone happens to have an extra jello mold, please let me know. I'll also check fantes.com


Nasus"

I will look for you- I see them all the time at goodwill and garage sales...

I ordered one from fantes.com.

Thank you for offering to look for one for me.

Nasus

I've got several avid garage sale shoppers looking for one for me now, so I should probably have one (or several!) within a short time.


The main thing I don't understand is how to apply the heat to this, with direct heat on the bottom, like if you put it on a camp stove doesn't it burn? if it's up on a fire grate, I could see that since it'd be more like a real oven.


also, how low does the campstove have to be? my stove doesn't go that low.

See my post from 9-22-08.

I still have a number of heavy-gauge Jello Molds available to anyone who wants them.

CanoeFly

Brad,

There are a couple of ways to work the oven, heat wise. The most common is using a camp stove. The heat goes in the middle of the ring, rising up to the top, and dispersing to the rest of the oven, not over the ring itself. That is why a tight fitting cover is needed. You can also use various diffusers to spread out the heat from the concentrated source. Practice makes perfect, and do so at home a few times. Different recipes = different heat, generally lower is better, you can always turn it up after like 15 minutes if progress is slow.

Over a fire grate, you need coals and your hand. If you can't hold your hand directly over the coal bed where your oven will be sitting for maybe 4 seconds, it is likely too hot. You can also pile coals from the fire on top of the oven, that works really well.

For me, 95% of the time, I use the stove. My .02 is practice makes perfect, and a diffuser is a very good tool for the best oven temps.

Tried it in the backyard tonight and made perfect brownies in 24 minutes. I'm sold after one try! I set the oven on a charcoal grill grate about 12 inches over my fire pit and kept a small flame going with pencil sized twigs. I let the flames just touch the bottom of the pan and moved it around on the grate every 3 minutes to avoid hot spots. After loosening it with a knife it fell out whole from the jello mold and was done as uniformly as if it was in a conventional oven.

Yah so Williams & Sonoma to our complete surprise has them. We looked all over antique stores and no luck. Months later there it was at W & S.

We lucked out and now have 2 as we found at Grandma's House several weeks ago..sweet for large groups. I am going to try out mine this week over the campfire. Yippee.

I found my jello mold at a thrift store and tried Jiffy cornbread in it. Worked great on a Peak 1 but it won't simmer and burned bottom and side next to center. Heat diffuser on order.
Jello mold will surely go on August trip.

quote Pikehunter: "My wife thinks I'm obsessed every time I go out into the garage to cook something in my jello mold oven. She doesn't turn down any goodies , tho.
Pikehunter"

Good one Pikehunter, LOL, She understands.

quote Pikehunter: "My wife thinks I'm obsessed every time I go out into the garage to cook something in my jello mold oven. She doesn't turn down any goodies , tho.
Pikehunter"

Good one Pikehunter, LOL, She understands.

Started a fire in the driveway today and put my newly acquired jello mold to the test, excellent corn bread. Headed to the BWCA for the first time in August, Jello mold is definitely going with!

For those in the south metro (of Minneapolis) I noticed that ARC's Value Village in Richfield had 6 metal jello molds. The price ranged from $0.69 to $3.00. There were also a variety of pans for the covers. I didn't get one since I just started using my reflector oven and really like it.

6528 Penn Avenue South

Love VV... but I scored a JM at Good Will today for 1.99. I wanted to call the bwca.com hotline and ask what ELSE I was supposed to be looking for. Had only skimmed these threads before and was sure I needed something for top or bottom or both.

I found a pot lid that fits the BOTTOM of the JM... any chance that will work as a diffuser? Or does the bottom metal diffuser need to have the hole in the center?

Still looking for a top lid and hoping I have a pie pan somewhere that can work. Will be fun to try some things at home!

quote BWPaddler: "Still looking for a top lid and hoping I have a pie pan somewhere that can work."

I used a round 9 inch cake pan and it worked just fine. I also found that at Salvation Army.

OK, I know I probably need to take some pics and post to get an answer, but camera is not handy at the moment.

Turns out my jello mold is actually TWO pieces? Or two molds. There was one inside another... Fit perfectly so perhaps it is a set? If so, is that how they all are? I've never used a jello mold for jello let alone baking, so I've no clue. The outer mold is stamped with something about high grade aluminum and 5 1/2 cup capacity. The inner mold appears identical in shape, a different color metal and no stamp on it.

Did I get two for one? or is there some purpose to nesting molds?

quote BWPaddler: "Did I get two for one? or is there some purpose to nesting molds?"

I suspect that you got two for one.

I have my cobbler ingredients and my brownie ingredients all bagged up for this week's trip. Can't wait.

Curious as to what size molds people feel work best. I got a 3 1/2 cup and it's snug for Jiffy cake or cornbread mix. Just got two more and they look bigger but I don't see marking. Will be experimenting.

I chuckle every time I see this posting title. I think of the old Tom Swift book titles, like "Tom Swift and His Electric Runabout."

Two for one, wahoo!

While there, I also saw a 6 cup bundt pan that looked like it would work.

Also curious about sizes - didn't know there was a smaller one. Cool!

mebersviller,
care to share your cobbler recipe?

Bill and BW,

Experimenting at home for proper recipe size is a smart idea before using in the woods. Too much batter = mess on lid and long cook times, too little = burn possibilities and not enough food. Practice makes perfect. My mold holds 2 Jiffy mixes perfectly, for example.

Bw, attached is a pic of my diffuser. It is 1/2 of a real diffuser, and it didn't origially have those big holes in the center, but again, practice makes perfect and I figured out that when using a stove, more center heat was good, and drilled them into it.

Thanks buz! Hoping to test it out sometime after the next grocery run. Kids are looking forward to it.

quote gacoleman: "mebersviller,
care to share your cobbler recipe?"

Sure. . . except I got it from Freeleo in this very thread last summer. Here's what Freeleo said:

"We had a good JMO cobbler. I premeasured the ingredients into Ziplocs. for the filling 4-6 Tbs reg or brown sugar, 3/4tsp cinnamon, 1 Tbs cornstarch, add to fruit with a small amt of water ,mix & put in jello mold. Topping: 1/2 C flour, 1/2 C light brown sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 C chopped pecans. Add 1/4 cup butter or marg. to the bag when preparing and mash around till mixed then cut a small hole in bag and squish all over the top of the fruit. Not sure how long it cooked, we kept checking till it seemed like the topping was crusty and fruit was bubbling. Some of the fruit we used was dried apricots we chopped up and rehydrated for a while, that's why I'm not sure how much water to add to the fruit. You can add nutmeg to either part too, if you like nutmeg."

I skipped the pecans and nutmeg and used white sugar with the berries but brown sugar on top. Grease your pan and keep the heat low.

MMMMM.

mmmm- drooling! raspberry cobbler anyone?

i have another option for the diffuser. for $2.59 at Mill's Fleet Farm, i bought one of those camp toasters

i've always thought these were ridiculous. who craves toast so desperately that they need a specialized contraption when they are in the woods?

but when i saw it last night, the diffuser looked like it might just do the trick for my new JMO. you can sort of see in the picture the pattern of holes in the center. maybe it won't let enough heat through? we'll find out. the toast support arms remove easily, leaving just the diffuser pan.

the JMO pieces are coming together (just a lid to secure now), so the whole set up will get tested after the weekend. i'll report back.

i'm proud -- by the way -- to be the 100th contributor to this thread! it's more than 4 years old!

Ooooh mogos, gonna check that out after you let us know how it worked!

Made my FIRST cornbread today. Greased pan, set on curved frypan on gas stove to get hot while I added water to Marth White's buttermilk cornbread. Poured batter into hot JM pan, covered with lid and turned down heat a bit. Seemed like in no time I had cornbread! That burning smell was a drop of batter I got into the frypan instead of the JM.

It worked perfectly - no black spots, no gooey spots. The mix? Pretty bland actually. Barely a C in my book. Next test will be on my camping stove, with a different diffuser.

back from my first experimental batch of brownies. the brownies were an "epic fail" as the kids say these days. but the jello mold oven was great.

the camp toaster diffuser (see above) gets high marks. inverted, it was very stable on the stove. and it seemed to send plenty of heat up the chimney. i have an old peak one feather 442 dual fuel stove (practically identical to the current exponent model) that simmers very well. so i was able to bake the brownies for a full 75 minutes before they started to burn on the inside of the jello mold cone/chimney.

why, you might ask, would i need to bake my brownies for over an hour? well, two things:

1) i used the entire box of brownie mix, even though people on this thread recommended using more like half. if you bake an entire box of brownie mix in an 8"x 8" pan in your home oven, you'll need 55 minutes to bake because they are so thick. the jmo is not as efficient or steady, and the volume of the pan makes them even thicker, so it took even longer. i used too much batter. i'm going to try again with half of the mix, hoping we can get closer to a 25 - 30 minute baking time.

2) i tried to use flax seed as an egg substitute since i was trying to avoid freighting eggs. i don't think that the flax seed is very effective at emulsification. the oil rose and sat on top of the batter where it boiled for more than an hour. when i finally gave up on the experiment, i poured off close to a quarter cup of hot oil. the top of the brownies around the cone/chimney was more deep fried than baked. i realize that it really isn't that much of a hassle to haul fresh eggs. i'm going to try again using a real egg, hoping that the oil won't separate.

so, the brownies were a hot mess -- quite literally. a couple of spots were worth nibbling as i scooped the molten mass out of the pan. after 75 minutes, i stubbornly let it go for another 15, which is when the batter started to scorch/burn. so it had to soak over night and and i had to apply much elbow grease to chip off the burnt part. eventually, the jello mold did clean up quite nicely.

one other note: when hot, the light aluminum of the jello mold is quite malleable. just picking it up with my lid lifter put dents around the rim. and tapping the bottom with the rubber pliers handle to loosen the contents also put some dents in. nothing that affects performance, but be aware that the metal get very soft and impressionable when it's hot! people have described some aluminum that is heavier that will probably hold up better. i have to remind myself that jello molds were designed for the refrigerator not for camp stoves!

onto the next experiment!

a better report the second time.

used 1/2 of the brownie mix. 1 real egg. 1/3 C oil. 1/8 C. water.

set the stove on a low simmer. 45 minutes cook time got the brownies cooked through. no hot oil bath sitting on top of the brownies.

just the slightest amount of carmelizing around the cone/chimney.

warm out of the pan, the brownies were delicious. i didn't need to eat 3/4 of the batch, but i did.

the only downside is that i had to sort of mangle them to get them out. they didn't drop out in a nice, tidy ring.

i gave my 6-year-old son a sample this morning (BEFORE breakfast -- i'm the coolest dad) and his faith has been restored. before his inaugural bwca trip, he's been expressing his anxiety to people: "Dad hasn't practiced making brownies yet. I'm worried that he won't practice before we go to the Boundary Waters."

i am now restored as his jello mold oven hero.

Thanks for the tips mogos... we had JMO cornbread today at home. Used my thrift store pan lid as diffuser and it worked OK (except the price tag burned off and smelled). Used a glass lid and it was fun to watch it bake!

No matter how much butter I use to grease the pan, it does take work to get the product out. Good thing no one cares what it looks like!

I just donated my "pot lifter" a month ago... hadn't used it in YEARS. Gonna go with pot holders I guess.

Pliers work great as pot lifters for the JMO

quote mogos: "i have another option for the diffuser. for $2.59 at Mill's Fleet Farm, i bought one of those camp toasters

i've always thought these were ridiculous. who craves toast so desperately that they need a specialized contraption when they are in the woods?

I have 2 of those things and love them. They work GREAT!

I only have used them for car camping, though they don't have any weight and don't take up any space, so I'd take one to bwca if my menu required it.

One of my more annoying injuries on my last trip was due to the fact that I DIDNT have one along. I brought pop tarts, which I love for a quick easy breakfast, and since it was cold, I wanted to warm them. Without the toaster, I just put them on the campstove for a few seconds on each side.

didn't warm them, but did burn the edges and melt the frosting... which I discovered by burning my hand badly on the melted frosting.

oops!


I'd be much more worried about trying to bring bread, and the space it requires than bringing that toaster.

I had posted before about my "twofer" involving two molds with different types of aluminum. I had been practicing always with the more sturdy "quality" aluminum, but today's cornbread was made before the pan was clean from yesterday's batch...

So I made today's in the less sturdy mold. WOW, what a difference. It cooked faster and more evenly I think (zero squishy spots) and it all came out of the mold in one piece!!

Everything else was the same as yesterday's batch - same butter to grease pan, same diffuser, same lid... same burner on gas stove.

I know I'd have to be a bit more careful with this mold as that metal will definitely bend inside a pack - but surprisingly the lesser quality mold turned out a better product!!

bwp-

i wonder if that heavier mold is steel -- not as even at conducting heat as aluminum.

i'm glad the lighter mold worked so well!

mine has plenty of small dings from being out, but i store it inside the round cake pan on top of the blue barrel and it enjoys reasonable protection.

back from sawbill, we had a great batch of brownies one night and cornbread on another. of course, the two boys -- for whom i was so desperate to feed comfort food -- hardly touched the cornbread. even with honey! ingrates!

i think i have a tendency to keep my stove turned down too low. the brownies took more than an hour to bake. but the corn bread was quick -- 25 minutes. but i think that the jmo can handle more head than i give it.

brad, i didn't mean to knock the camp toaster too hard...and i had never considered pop tarts in camp...tempting...

I am afraid of usung aluminum for cooking, I heard it is a leading suspect of Alzheimer's Disease.

Aluminum is pretty stable and does not leach into food. Maybe if you are cooking high acid foods like tomato sauce, but baked goods are fine. I wouldn't worry about it.

mogos, the sturdier mold is stamped Mirro and the grade of aluminum... Apparently Mirro has been around for over 100 years:
Mirro. I would experiment with the firepower - I've been practicing over a gas stove in my kitchen and turn that sucker up pretty high compared to a camp stove. So far, no burning.

CornDog, I'm with you man. Not worth the risk IMO. Watched my grandma with that disease - not pretty. My kitchenware is mostly stainless or cast iron for that reason, and the day I find a stainless JMO, these will go away. For now, my approach is that the camping nights are (relatively) few and far between, so I will use aluminum for camping with caution when no other reasonable alternative is available. If it turns out there is no connection, will not have lost much.

Well thanks to Canoefly my JMO is ready with a week to test. Where I work we have a shop of alum. fabricators so I gave them some drawings and they made me a lid and base. I'll be it is little heavy 3mm 6061 alum is thick, but for free I'm not complaining. So tonight I fired up the peak1 400a and gave it a whirl with some just-add-water betty crocker blue muffin mix. I set up in my kitchen. and preheated the whole rig while I mixed the batter. Poured it in and 21 minutes later I had a clean toothpick. Which match the long time listed on the packaging (16-21 mins). My only complaint is that it reflected a lot of heat back at the stove itself. That puppy was very warm to the touch, verging on hot. I might make a tin foil reflector to knock that down. Tomorrow I'll do a full outside on the ground away from the house.

Holry,

I would be cautious with that set up and a cannister stove. Nice aluminum work, but IMO, the #5 picture is all you need to look at to understand why your stove is getting hot. To me, the top is all good, the bottom could use improving. I use 1/2 of a steel diffuser to hold my oven on the stove, you need way more holes in yours, or something different, IMO. Heavy hardware cloth would work, or just get the drill out and make a lot of holes in your bottom plate. A reflector might help, but IMO, fixing the bottom reflector is the issue.

good luck,

Well I tried it with an angel food cake batter. Other than being able to make 3 cakes from one little baggy it turned out pretty good. Though don't follow the box grease the pan! The oven works perfectly! Light brown sides all around the pan and moist top. Cooked up in the long time listed on the box (45 mins). My only problem was that since I only divided it in half it rose and adhered to the lid. Otherwise it turn out as nice as the one I did in the oven as a comparison.

quote buz: "I would be cautious with that set up and a canister stove."

I tired a couple of pieces of heavy tin foil to see if it was refracted heat that caused it to warm up. It did little. I did boil a pot of water on it as well. and notice the results were similar. But since baking takes from 20-40 mins the stove had more time to absorb the heat. Since it was still easily handlable and not unbearable I know I'm still well below any severe problems. But to be safe for the trip I'm taking faster cooking mixes. around the 12-15min range.

The reason my design doesn't use a diffuser is the size of the hole on the bottom. It is about the diameter of the flame when at about 1/2 throttle. So 90% of the heat goes right up the middle over the top then down the sides. The left over runs along the bottom and up the sides of the lid. Which is why I have such a deep lid that is about 1/2" wider that the Jello Mold. This allows my oven to have a pretty even temp on all sides much like your oven at home.

I'll give another report when I get off the trail.

Batter size and type is for sure practice makes perfect. I don't know any other way, however I do know for mine, filling it any more than half full is asking to scrape stuff off the top, not a good thing. So practice at home and eat the practice stuff, sounds like a good plan.

Success!

Tried out my JMO at home a couple of weeks ago and, because I got distracted during baking, burned the blueberry muffin mix I was making pretty bad.

This week my son and I were on Flame Lake and I tried a chocolate chip muffin mix. His exact words were "this is really good." High praise from a 16 year old!

So inspired was I that I went to goodwill and picked up a plain jello mold for a buck. I am now testing it on the backyard camp pit in preparation for our fall trip. So far I made a huckleberry buckle. Similar to a white cake with berries on top.

Taking others tips, I baked it a few inches above hot ash and coals. I checked it periodically; it baked the same amount of time it would have in the oven. It turned out great. The cake came out of the pan without any sticking (I had coated with Crisco). Didn't like the flavor of the huckleberries, but the cake part went just fine. Gonna try brownies next.

Thanks for the posts. This has been a fun activity that we're going to enjoy on our trip.

try dragging a line of PB through the top of your brownies before baking....yum!

Just found this on line.....
Hmmm???

sleepnbag, what is that called and where did you get it?

quote HughM: "sleepnbag, what is that called and where did you get it?"

Brownie Pan
I don't have one - just seen this on line.
SB

I just returned from a group solo loop out of Brule Lake. I did Crescent Rolls, Gingerbread, Apple-Cinnamon and Wildberry Muffins in the JMO. Everyone loved them!

On the advice of another contributor I took a film container of Crisco to grease the mold. It worked like a charm.

I almost forgot to post this! We were in Grand Marais over July 4th, went to the thrift store to buy books for our trip, and found a jello mold & the cake pan cover for our oven (yeah, we were pretty excited!). It was less than $2 for both. They had 2 or 3 more if anybody else is looking. The Goodwill in Rice City had 4 on the shelf.

quote jjjds1999: "I almost forgot to post this! We were in Grand Marais over July 4th, went to the thrift store to buy books for our trip, and found a jello mold & the cake pan cover for our oven (yeah, we were pretty excited!). It was less than $2 for both. They had 2 or 3 more if anybody else is looking. The Goodwill in Rice City had 4 on the shelf."

Great store - I've gotten several there. Another thrift store just at next light opposite Norske Nook. I'm having trouble keeping my flat bottomed jmo on dragonfly grill though so still depend on fancy one to grip.

Success!
I just returned from Thunder and Fourtown (EP 23 Mudro). We found enough blueberries on our campsite on Thunder to make a cobbler and pancakes. This time the cobbler did not weld to the bottom. It was perfect. I think the key was starting with low heat and gradually increasing it. The brownies on Fourtown were great as well although we might have taken them off too soon. I just halved my usual brownie recipe and used Egg Beaters. No one complained and my nieces are now Jello Mold Oven Fans. I used a diffuser like buz recommended.

Hey, u stole my oven :-). Glad it worked for you, the heat thing is exactly how you want to do it, slow then faster. It is a patience/practice thing to get perfect, but man is it worth it.

I'm working on a calzone/pizza thing for next trip.

I just returned from my 1st Boundary Water trip with husband, 2 sons, wives, brother and sister-in-law(2 experienced and 6 rookies). My son had discovered the jello mold thread and the two of us put our heads together.

Over the 6 days we baked scones, blueberry muffins, fry bread, cornbread, brownies and pizza calzones. All turned out and enjoyed by all.

I also just returned from a trip and used my Jello Mold oven. We had a nice chocolate cake and a good cherry cobbler, both cooked on the stove with low heat and a diffuser. For the cobbler I used freeze-dried tart cherries (with a little sugar and cornstarch and water), and a cake topping of Bisquick, sugar, Nido, liquid Parkay and water mixed into a thick batter. It turned out very tasty!

Just found this thread, interesting idea.

I just used the largest pot that I brought with and bake in it over the fire with the lid on. It takes a little patience becuase you need to keep a low fire with lots of coals and you need to tend the pot and move it around in case of a fire flare up but I've had great results with it. I take a little pride in baking over the fire, it takes a little work to avoid burning the dessert.

I mainly use the Betty Crocker just add water type muffin mixes (chocolate chip is the fav.) and they work great. Turns into one big muffin. I should have taken pictures of it on my last trip in August but my wife and I devoured it before I realized i hadn't taken a picture.

I was surprised to find this. A store bought JMO!

Omnia stove

Can't find price.

Some of the recipes look good.

quote buz: "Bill and BW,


Experimenting at home for proper recipe size is a smart idea before using in the woods. Too much batter = mess on lid and long cook times, too little = burn possibilities and not enough food. Practice makes perfect. My mold holds 2 Jiffy mixes perfectly, for example.


Bw, attached is a pic of my diffuser. It is 1/2 of a real diffuser, and it didn't origially have those big holes in the center, but again, practice makes perfect and I figured out that when using a stove, more center heat was good, and drilled them into it.


"

Buz, why did you split the diffuser in half? Does this work better than using both layers? I just bought a diffuser and wanted to ask before I split it apart...

Well, the handle was broken, and this diffuser is steel, and it was a foldover crimp design, so I split it to see if it worked fine as a single sheet, to save weight and space. It did, so that became permanent, no need for the other 1/2. Nests perfectly in the lid of the JMO as well, as a single.

Trial and error, practice makes perfect, try and see, etc.

quote buz: " so I split it to see if it worked fine as a single sheet, to save weight and space. It did, so that became permanent, no need for the other 1/2. "

Awesome, I just bought one at the local hardware store, same design. Already took the handle off; gonna split mine in half also. Every little bit of weight and size reduction helps.

Thanks for the tip!

Since we had such a beautiful morning here, I decided to give the stove/diffuser/JMO setup a trial run. Mixed up a batch of Aldi blueberry muffin mix. Put my Coleman 550B on its lowest setting. It was cooking slow, so after 20 minutes I turned it up about 1/3 of the way. Took about 45 minutes to bake.

The Setup...



The results...



Observations:
Need to turn up a little higher than the lowest setting to achieve the best results. I'll try again with a wind screen; there was a light breeze this morning that probably slowed things down considerably. At any rate, the blueberry muffin ring turned out perfect and did not stick. Great results!

Nice, yep wind screen is essential, but you got to be really careful with an integrated tank stove, enclosing it, could be dangerous. I have external tank, so I always use a tight fitting wind screen.

My experience is to start hotter, say for first 5-10 minutes, get things nice and hot, then pare back heat, think that saves time and gas, rather than slow and steady all the way approach.

I'm surprised how high I can rund my Dragonfly under the JMO and not burn - and no diffuser - just jello mold and cake tin on top. I use the MSR windscreen and it comes up around jello mold at least part way.

Just a thought to add to this thread. Why not use two nesting Jello Molds with a couple small rocks, foil balls or whatever in the bottom of the first jello mold to suspend the second one with a air gap with a pan/lid on top and that would make a true with no surfaces directly to heat source. It would require one more matching jello mold but no heat diffuser and much more even heat disapation around the jello mold that is actually baking. This is the same as double pan baking in a dutch oven only using jello molds. Just a thought....

By the way, what ever happened to dogwoodgirl? I haven't seen her in here in about a year.

Batter Ring Baker

Here is a link with aricle from BWJ and pictures of the one I made.
Kindof fun to play with and works decent.
Keep the heat low and they say.
I thought I would be smart and save some fuel and cozy it up a bit with those covers one puts over toasters etc....I toasted that. :-(

http://www.troop1127.com/Batter_ring_Baker.html

I screwed up the link....not used to this forum Batter Ring Baker

Just got back from Shell/Lynx lakes July 7th. I packed my JMO without any of the group knowing I brought it. On the 2nd night when I pulled it out -- there was laughter... After the Apple Chunk Cake came out there was not. The next night I said I was going to make pizza-- more laughter-- below are the pictures---- needless to say -- they all were asking me to bring it back next year...

Are you sharing recipies? My better half is the camp baker and both of those sound very good!

quote pinepatch: " I said I was going to make pizza "

Your pizza looks great! Could you share what you did?

Ok- Here we go!!!

First -- I used a Sterno burner and the Stove it sits in (Wal -Mart has them for $5.97. Then my Jello Mold I got from Goodwill.

1) 1 Jiffy mix pizza crust (0.50 @ Walmart)
2) 1 Mother Mary's Pizza sauce bag (3 per a box @Walmart) Does not need to be refrigerated. $ 1.75 for the box of 3.
3) 1/2 bag of the Generic Real Bacon salad toppings (No refrigerate needed)
4) 2 slices of American cheese.

One mess up I had that turned out to be a great addition-- When mixing the pizza dough, I got a little too much water in it. So I use some of our fish batter (which had some spices in it) to dry it up some. Wow great taste. So oiled the pan, put dough in and spread it out in bottom and up the sides. Put sauce in, spread 1/2 bag of bacon pieces, tore up two cheese slices. Put on oven , covered it -- took 24 minutes to bake. Like I said in my first note--- it was amazing!!!!

Apple chunk Cake---

1) Martha White Apple muffin mix (Walmart-- 0.97)
2) mix with water
3) Used same stove as pizza
4) Started baking
5) When I guessed it was half done, I slice an apple up the outfitter had sent, laid on top of mix.
6) Then took three packs of sugar and spread on top, with just a touch of butter.
7) This then caramelized....

Needless to say no more laughter about my oven!!!!

After reading about the jello mold baking system I decided to give it a try, went to FeetFarm and bought a toast maker [sits on top of the stove and wires hold the toast],$2.49, next stop was Goodwillstore for the jello mold,$1.99, and lid, $99. Picked up a blueberry muffin mix and brownie mix. I used the toaster bottom as a diffuser, the lid I found is [I think possibly silver definitely not aluminum,] really classy wooden handle and really shiny and it actually snaps down tight on the 9 inch jello mold. Didn't have a camp stove around so I used the regular gas kitchen stove on low heat. The muffins came out a little dark on bottom but tasted ok, took about 15 minutes. the brownies took about 45 minutes, but were really hard on the edges, did I do something wrong? I sprayed the pan with cooking spray no problem with cleanup. My lid is domed, I am thinking about drilling and using a thermometer. MY question is I noticed most of the mixes at the store call for milk, can I use water instead? Many thanks to Dogwoodgirl and Mogos for their posting and suggestions Great thread and great people on board. Fred

I'd say my muffins take more like 25 minutes and I don't use a diffuser of any sort - just set jello mold on my Dragonfly and turn it way down, and no burning. I use powdered milk in mix when milk is called for.

I may have to bring that stupid thing if I can find enough room for it..

http://www.troop1127.com/Batter_ring_Baker.html

hopefully I figured out that link business...


Batter ring baker web page

Found these "Just add water" mixes the other day at Coborns so I gave them a try at home on the Dragonfly. I dumped the mix into a ziplock bag, (To simulate a real BW trip) added water and mushed it up. Both worked very well. The inside of the ring burned a little but overall very easy and tasty.

Bump - in light of recent threads - as I search for ripples dehydrating thread.

We have our new favorite jello mold cake recipe. We used to buy Jiffy Mixes and frostings. Our little store in our little town no longer carry them. So in planning for an upcoming trip we figured out a new recipe.
1/2 box cake mix (we used German chocolate)
dried egg of your choice (mix into cake mix and put in bag)
Put in separate bag:
chocolate chips
toasted unsweetened coconut
walnuts
add
1/2 cup water
Mix water with cake mix. Add coconut mixture. Spread in jello mold and bake. Doesn't need frosting because of course you eat it hot off the stove.

I was also considering other cake mix combos.....
Lemon cake with white chips, coconut and almond.
Spice or Carrot cake with butterscotch and walnuts or pecans.
White cake with white chips and Jordan Almonds.

I routinely use the just-add-water muffin and biscuit mixes, but I haven't tried a cake mix before. I'll have to give this a try!

darn you guys..........might have to play with that car camping next week..........
dr bob

My first (and only) use of a jello mold oven was last week on my grill at home. Thought I was making brownies, instead I made chocolate cake. Aside from hitting the top of the pan, it turned out awesome! Can't wait to try this on an open fire. I'm even thinking a dinner with biscuit mix, summer sausage and cheese baked in.

quote ECpizza: "My first (and only) use of a jello mold oven was last week on my grill at home. Thought I was making brownies, instead I made chocolate cake. Aside from hitting the top of the pan, it turned out awesome! Can't wait to try this on an open fire. I'm even thinking a dinner with biscuit mix, summer sausage and cheese baked in."

What you are planning on making are called Strombollis. Basically a pizza filled bagel/donut.

I was just thinking about Bisquick and their "Impossible"
recipes. I think one of these could be altered easily for use in camp.