The last place you want to be on a perfect summer day is in a hot kitchen, especially if you’re entertaining. Which is why the grill gets so much love this time of year.
We grill burgers. We grill steaks. We grill chicken, fish, ribs and vegetables. Maybe we’ve even gone so far as to grill some salad — because grilled romaine is a thing, and it’s very, very good. Somehow, primal fire can improve everything, even our cooking skills. But what about dessert?
Grilled desserts go way beyond the s’mores of your childhood, though those still rock and can serve as inspiration. You can grill almost anything, and cake is a great place to start. Take a firm cake — poundcake, angel food — give the slices a quick baptism in spray oil and throw them on the rack. They’ll pick up nice grill marks in a minute or two, and you’ll certainly entertain the guests. The real treat is when you bite into the dessert. The flames toast the sugars at the edges of the cake, caramelizing them in the most seductive of ways.
Serve the cake topped with a scoop of ice cream and grilled peaches — yes, you can grill fruit, too. (Notice a pattern here?) A few minutes over the fire gives a caramelized nuttiness to the fruit, and there’s almost no work involved. Then drizzle some whisky caramel sauce.
Then plan a dinner with grilled polenta as dessert. You may be more familiar with warm polenta, served light and fluffy. But let it set like spackle in a baking dish, then cut it into wedges. You can do this in advance so you have no prep to worry about when it’s time to impress. Grill the wedges — again, a minute or two — then serve them topped with a spoonful of mascarpone cheese, a handful of fresh blueberries and a drizzle of dark maple syrup. Your guests will find it revelatory. You don’t need to tell them it came together in minutes.
Have that one picky eater in the group, who is counting their calories? Grill some watermelon.
Cut thick wedges from a seedless watermelon, brush them with a little olive oil and grill the wedges until lightly toasted with defined grill marks on each side. Somehow the grilling enhances the flavours, concentrating them while muting the sweetness and adding a little smokiness. Top the whole thing with a dollop of Greek yogurt, fresh lime juice, mint and a drizzle of honey.
Grilled Watermelon With Mint, Lime, Honey and Yogurt
Preparation: 15 minutes.
Makes: Four to six servings
4 to 6 thick slices seedless watermelon
Olive oil
2 limes, juice and zest
• Honey
Leaves from 1 bunch fresh mint, sliced
Plain yogurt, preferably Greek-style
Heat a grill over medium-high heat until hot. Brush each of the watermelon slices on both sides with olive oil. Grill the slices until barely softened with defined grill marks, about two minutes on each side. Remove from heat.
Place one slice on each serving plate. Drizzle over a little lime juice and honey, then top with a dollop of yogurt. Sprinkle over a little lime zest and mint leaves. Serve immediately.
Grilled Polenta with Maple and Fresh Blueberries
Preparation: 45 minutes, plus chilling time.
Makes: Six to eight servings
1 quart water
1 cup coarse or medium cornmeal
1 tsp salt
3 Tbsp butter
Spray oil
2 cups mascarpone cheese
1 pint blueberries
Dark maple syrup
To make the polenta, bring water to a simmer in a small pot. Slowly rain in the cornmeal, whisking to avoid any lumps. Whisk in the salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the polenta is softened and fluffy, 20 to 30 minutes (timing will vary depending on grind and brand).
The polenta should be very thick, but if it dries too much before it is softened, whisk in additional water as needed. When the polenta is ready, whisk in the butter.
Remove from heat. Spread and smooth the polenta into a plastic-wrap-lined and greased baking dish or pan, so the polenta is approximately two centimetres thick. Loosely cover and refrigerate until cold and firm. The polenta can be made up to two days in advance.
Heat a grill over medium heat until hot. After cutting polenta into wedges, spray wedges with oil on both sides. Grill until lightly toasted with defined grill marks, about two minutes on each side; be careful when rotating and flipping the polenta, as it will be very delicate. Remove from heat.
To serve, place one to two wedges on each serving plate. Top with a dollop of mascarpone and a handful of fresh berries. Drizzle over maple syrup and serve immediately.
Grilled Poundcake with Peaches and Whisky Caramel Sauce
Preparation: 50 minutes.
Makes: Six to eight servings
Caramel Sauce
1/3 cup whisky
1 1/3 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tsp corn syrup
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
6 Tbsp butter
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Grilled poundcake
1 poundcake, cut into thick slices
Spray oil
4 to 6 ripe peaches
1 pint butter pecan or vanilla ice cream
To make the caramel, pour the whisky into a small sauté pan, and place the pan over medium-high heat. Gently and carefully tilt the pan over the flame to flambé the alcohol (the alcohol will catch fire). Immediately remove from heat and let the flame continue to burn; the flame will self-extinguish when the alcohol is burned out of the whisky. Set the whisky aside.
In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, water and corn syrup, stirring until the sugar has the consistency of wet sand. Place the saucepan over high heat and cook until the sugar dissolves and begins to boil. Do not stir the sugar, as this may cause it to seize.
While the sugar is cooking, combine the cream, butter and salt in a saucepan over medium heat. Keep an eye on the sugar while you’re heating the cream to keep it from scorching. Cook until the butter melts, stirring it into the cream. When the mixture has come to a simmer, remove from heat.
Continue to cook the sugar until it darkens to a rich caramel colour, seven to 10 minutes — the sugar will darken quickly and noticeably and will smell faintly nutty.
Swirl the pan as the sugar darkens to judge the true colour of the caramel (the sugar may darken in patches if there are hot spots on the stove). Watch carefully, as the sugar can easily overcook at this point and burn.
As soon as the colour is a rich caramel, remove the pan from the heat and quickly add the cream mixture in a slow, steady stream. The sugar will bubble and steam as the cream is added; be careful as both the mixture and steam are very hot. Carefully stir in the whisky and vanilla.
Stir the caramel until it stops bubbling, then remove to a heat-proof container until needed. This makes about 2 1/2 cups sauce.
Heat a grill over medium heat until hot. Spray the poundcake slices on both sides with spray oil. Grill the slices on both sides until the slices are warm and toasted with grill marks, one to two minutes per side. Remove from heat.
Halve the peaches, discarding the pits. Spray the cut halves with spray oil. Grill the cut sides until lightly softened with defined grill marks, two to three minutes. Remove from heat.
To serve, place a toasted slice of poundcake on each plate, and top with 1 to 2 peach halves and a scoop of ice cream. Drizzle over the whisky caramel sauce and serve immediately.
