Love my camp oven! BUT, avoiding burnt food is always a challenge.
After some experiments (and disasters) I decided to approach it more thoughtfully when cooking a chocolate cake at my last 4X4 club trip.
Unlike conventional ovens, the camp oven has no thermostat and the heat is very close to the food, so:
To keep the food away from the sides, I used a trivet a spring cake dish and placed some water in the bottom below the height of the trivet.
This moderated the bottom heat allowed it to circulate around the cake and steamed it in the initial stages. This kept it moist.
I used a bed of coals from the main fire and sat it on flat ground (or in an old fry pan). It could have been cooked using a charcoal burner, rocket stove or even gas stove, I guess.
However, the temperature was guesswork at this stage, but I erred on the conservative side to reduce the risk of burning. The coals were supplemented with new stuff as needed.
After 15 minutes I checked its progress and all looked good. There was still water in the bottom and the final cooking process was completed with coals on the top to help the browning.
It actually worked! Cooked through, moist and delicious. I let it cool before removing it from the spring dish. I had used a spray of canola as a release agent in the dish.
I have just bought an infra red thermometer to measure the surface temp of the camp oven. Just aim and click!
Buoyed by this success, I am now looking at using the same method for bread, roasts, etc., and keeping a more accurate temperature.
Wish me luck.....