Karl’s Blueberry Pecan Pancakes for Burning Man

Wife Jan is going off to Burning Man again. Last year she broke her arm, I hope she comes back in one piece this year. As usual, I am making instant meals for her group. Last year, I made three camp meals—saag pilau, za’atar orzo, and pancakes. This year I added two more—mashed potatoes and tabbouleh. My pancake recipe went over very well with the Burners last year, but I simply cannot leave well-enough alone—I had to add something extra this year, pecans.

Karl’s Blueberry Pecan Pancakes for Burning Man

When Jan decided to go to Burning Man last year, pancakes was an obvious choice for one of their meals. There was however a hitch, out in the middle of the desert, there would be little refrigeration available—which kind of knocks out using fresh milk and eggs.

Powdered milk and eggs were the obvious solution. It took some experimenting to adjust the quantities for this recipe to work with powdered milk and eggs. I had tried to use only powdered milk but the pancakes did not make the grade. This year instead of just adding powdered cream I replaced all of the milk with cream. Burners burn a lot of calories in the desert and meals are irregular—while so much cream would not normally be advisable it this case I hope it is a good idea.

Note: I supposed I could have used powdered butter as well, but I did not think it would bind as well with the flour—this fat prevents the formation of too much gluten and tough pancakes. As long as they use the mix in the first few days the lack of refrigeration should not be a problem.

Note 2: In total Jan and I created 7 new recipes for this year’s Sage Camp at Burning Man: Pancakes, saag pilau, za’atar orzo, mashed potatoes, tabbouleh, a new chili powder blend, and a signature cocktail.

Karl’s Blueberry Pecan Pancakes for Burning Man

Note: Quantities listed below are for one portion, to feed about 4 people as a main breakfast dish.

Ingredients

1 cup AP flour
⅓ cup powdered cream
2 Tbs. Karl’s Orange Infused Sugar
3 Tbs. powdered eggs
2 tsp. baking powder (aluminum free, preferred)
½ tsp. Kosher salt
2½  Tbs. unsalted butter, melted
¼ cup dried blueberries
¼ cup pecan pieces

Directions

Note: I made enough pancake mix to feed 12-14 people. I ended up with about 8 cups after I had added everything into the mix. Any leftovers could be used for a second breakfast or gifted to another camp.

For each two people to be fed

1. Measure 1 cup of pancake mix into a bowl.

Tip: Mix should be fairly loosely packed.

2. Stir in ½ cup of water.

Note: This makes a fairly thick batter. For thinner pancakes add another tablespoon or two of water.

3. Let the batter rest for 2-3 minutes.

4. Spoon the batter onto a greased griddle over a medium high heat.

5. Cook for 2 minutes per side until well browned and cooked through.