On my dream house wish list is an outdoor kitchen. For now, I consider my city-dwelling-self very lucky to have an outdoor deck where I can whip up all sorts of things. Over the weekend, I decide to cook an entire meal from start to finish on the grill, including a dessert that says, hello, summer—grilled almond pound cake with peaches. Why not put all that heat from the grill to use for something sweet?

I baked the pound cake from scratch in advance, but I won’t tell if you use a store-bought one. To grill the delicate pound cake and peach slices, I used my new favorite Finex 12” cast iron grill pan. In a matter of minutes the cake was golden, toasted and grill-marked along with the sugar-sprinkled fruit. I finished off each plate with a generous dollop of whipped cream, slivered almonds and a few mint leaves.

Grilled Almond Pound Cake with Peaches
Pound Cake Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Cooking at Home by Chuck Williams & Kristine Kidd

Serves 6

For pound cake
Non-stick cooking spray
1-1/2 cups cake flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
6 ounces (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature plus more for spreading
3/4 cup granulated sugar

For peaches
2 large peaches, pitted and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
Zest of 1 lemon

For serving
Whipped cream
Slivered almonds
Mint leaves

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8-1/2-inch by 4-1/2-inch loaf pan with cooking spray and line with parchment.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla extract and almond extract.

In a large bowl, beat the butter until smooth. Add the sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in the eggs followed by the dry ingredients until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing and cooling completely on a wire rack.

Preheat a gas or charcoal grill to medium heat with the grill pan inside.

In a small bowl, combine the peaches, sugar and lemon zest. Cut the pound cake into 12 slices and butter both sides.

Grill the pound cake for 2-3 minutes per side until toasted. Then grill the peaches until they are warm and have grill marks, about 2 minutes per side.

For serving, place 2 pound cake slices along with peaches on each plate. Top with whipped cream, almonds and mint leaves.

A big thank you to Finex and Williams-Sonoma for this fantastic grill pan!

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