I’m not one to adopt new cooking/baking methods and tools readily or hastily (unless of course it’s in the name of R&D). At home, when left to my own devices, I rely on a stove top, an oven, a countertop toaster oven, and a pressure cooker to cook and bake food. I haven’t integrated sous vide into my cooking, I’ve never owned a slow-cooker (though I have that option with my electric pressure cooker), and the air fryer has yet to tempt me into adding another appliance to my countertop (it is, after all, not that dissimilar from my countertop oven with its convection setting).
That said, I do find myself dreaming of building an outdoor kitchen one day and loading it with all the equipment outdoor cooking affords. In the meantime, I’ve begun experimenting more with using our grill. Recently I’ve turned to it to make some pretty exceptional desserts, so that’s what’s in store for this week.
Let’s first talk about how transformative grilling a pre-baked dessert can be. The most popular grilled dessert is probably pound cake, but pretty much any sturdy cake could benefit from being served warm with a few sear marks and a caramelized crust (angel food cake seems to be a popular one). The same could be said for shortcake biscuits, doughnuts, or slices of sweet, rich breads — like brioche, challah, babka, etc… — that are used as the base for a plated dessert or even bread pudding.
Despite the many options, I went the more traditional grilled pound cake route this past week. I was drawn in by this Grilled Peaches and Pound Cake with Cider Vinegar Caramel Sauce recipe by Michael Harlan Turkell for Serious Eats. The combination of caramelized peaches, buttery pound cake, and sweet-sour caramel sauce seemed too enticing to pass up.
Although the recipe certainly delivered all it promised, it would only be fair to credit part of its success to Zoë François’ Vanilla Bean Pound Cake. I actively sought out Zoë’s pound cake on the internet as I’ve paused on the recipe many times while leafing through Zoë Bakes Cake. Although her website version of the recipe is supposedly not the most updated one, I chose it because it’s more accessible if you don’t have the book (one of these days I will try her book version and see how the two recipes compare).
The pound cake was just as Zoë describes it: delicate with pure vanilla flavor. After grilling, it gained a hint of caramelization. My one complaint would be that it seemed a little dry, particularly after grilling, but I imagine the glaze Zoë provides would take care of that if you don’t intend to grill your slices.
As I mentioned, the cake also worked beautifully with the grilled peaches and caramel sauce from Michael’s recipe. I love Michael’s tip to dip the cut sides of the peaches in sugar before grilling them to give them added caramelization and crunch. And the gastrique-based caramel sauce is simply brilliant in this slightly savory dessert. Together the peaches, caramel sauce, and whipped cream garnish ensured that whatever dryness the cake succumbed to did not translate to the finished plated dessert. Every bite was juicily sweet and delightful.
Speaking of juicy, let’s move on to another dessert that I have been contemplating grilling all summer: pie! I know I might have mentioned before that I am a little over pie, but my experience of this grilled Skillet Dulce de Leche Peach Pie from the Test Kitchen at Better Homes & Gardens may have helped me change my tune.
The exquisite novelty of grilling a pie, was enough to lure me to this recipe, but it was the mention of skillet, pre-grilled peaches, and dulce de leche that made it downright irresistible. Reading through the recipe, I could practically taste the luscious combination of the smoky, juicy peaches and the sweet, nutty, toffee-like dulce de leche. I sensed that encased within my go-to pie crust recipe from Zingerman’s Bakehouse, this filling would prove every bit as mouth-watering as it sounded.
The process of grilling the pie went smoother than I was expecting given that I’m still getting used to the various temperature settings on our gas grill (baking over wood or charcoal will be a whole other story!). It turns out I needed much less flame than I thought I did to keep the grill in the 350°F to 400°F range, so my pie baked at more like 425°F for the first half of the bake. Nonetheless, I did surpass the 45 to 50-minute recommended baking time and neared almost 70 minutes before I thought my pie was ready.
Every other step and process of this recipe worked flawlessly for me. The pre-grilled peaches took on their own subtle smokiness, while the Chilean manjar1 I used complemented them beautifully and added its own caramelized richness. The crust was beautifully golden brown all the way around the pie, and I suspect the cast iron pan had a big role to play in achieving such results.
If I haven’t yet convinced you that grilling peaches, baked goods, and pie to transform into desserts is well worth your time (if you have it), perhaps this last recipe for Grilled S’Mores Made in a Cast Iron Pan, from Nina and Antonia at Two Sisters Living Life, is a surer bet. I served this alongside the grilled peaches and pound cake last weekend to have something that was more kid-oriented, and it turned out to be a big hit with everyone (because who doesn’t love a s’more).
You really can’t talk about grill-able desserts without talking about s’mores. But actual s’mores are not as easy to make ahead of time. This casserole solves for that a little bit; though I’d still recommend preparing it ahead of time then putting it on the grill during the second half of dinner (or just ahead of when you’re ready to serve it) to have warm and ready for dessert.
Beyond making it more serve-able, my other recommendation for this recipe would be to avoid using chocolate chips and instead break up an equivalent amount of milk or dark chocolate from a bar. Chocolate chips by nature don’t tend to melt well and when they do, the resulting mass of chocolate becomes grainy and firm rather easily. Chocolate bars melt much more readily and result in a lusciously smooth, saucy puddle. Regardless, you’ll end up with something spoon-worthy.
I hope you’ve found something here that will get you outside at your grill this weekend (or in the weeks ahead while we enjoy this last little bit of summer). There’s so much baking I have yet to explore outside, so if you have any great recipes you want to share, please do!
Thanks for all the support and feedback you all have been providing. There’s nothing like hearing from you and knowing we are cooking and baking alongside one another. If you know someone who would want to join us, please share this newsletter with them or give them a subscription.
Best,
Charlotte
Dulce de leche, made by slowly heating milk and sugar together until it spreadable and deeply caramelized, has a few different regional names in Spanish. Manjar is one, arequipe is another. In some countries and cultures, when goat’s milk is used instead of cow’s milk, it’s known as cajeta. In English, dulce de leche is also known as milk jam.
Excellent post, as usual.