Grilled Pound Cake With Strawberry Salsa-Steven Raichlen Recipe

Grilled Pound Cake With Strawberry Salsa and Cardamom Whipped Cream

Source: Steven Raichlen Never thought about grilling dessert? One glance at this photo of Steven Raichlen's Grilled Pound Cake and you can see why it's a fun and brilliant idea! Steven incorporates Sara Lee pound cake (see his note below), which means this recipe is a low effort way to get fired up about grilling dessert for your guests.

Grilled Pound Cake With Berry Salsa, prepared by Steven Raichlen. Photo by Richard Dallett.
            Serves: 8

An easy alternative or addition to Grilled Pound Cake: grill pineapple on your Angara grill table and present it on a platter of fresh fruit at your next Social Grilling party.

 

For the strawberry salsa:

6 cups stemmed fresh strawberries, sliced or quartered
3 tablespoons thinly slivered fresh mint 1 to 2 jalapeños, seeded and finely diced (optional)
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice, or more to taste
3 tablespoons granulated sugar, or more to taste
1 tablespoon Grand Marnier or other orange-flavored liqueur
1 teaspoon orange zest

 

For the cardamom whipped cream:

1 cup heavy (whipping) cream, well chilled
3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar (powdered sugar)
1/2 teaspoon finely ground cardamom

For the cake:

8 slices (each 3/4-inch thick) yellow pound cake, preferably Sara Lee brand (see Note below), thawed if frozen
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon Grand Marnier or other orange-flavored liqueur
1/2 teaspoon orange zest
1/4 teaspoon finely ground cardamom

1. Make the strawberry salsa: Place the strawberries, mint, jalapeño(s), if using, orange juice, granulated sugar, Grand Marnier, and orange zest in a mixing bowl but do not mix. The salsa can be prepared to this stage up to 2 hours ahead, covered and refrigerated.
2. Make the cardamom whipped cream: Beat the cream to soft peaks in a chilled bowl using an electric mixer, hand-held beater, or whisk. Whisk in the confectioners' sugar and cardamom and beat until stiff peaks form. (Do not overbeat.) The whipped cream can be prepared up to 2 hours ahead and refrigerated, covered.
3. Light your Angara grill and heat to medium-high. Brush and oil the grill grate.
4. Lightly brush the cake slices on both sides with the melted butter mixture. Arrange the slices of cake on the grill at a diagonal to the bars of the grate and grill until lightly browned on both sides, 1 to 2 minutes per side, turning with a thin-bladed spatula. Transfer the grilled cake slices to a platter or plates.
5. Toss the strawberry salsa to mix. Taste for sweetness, adding more granulated sugar and/or orange juice as necessary. Spoon the salsa over the grilled cake. Top each portion with a dollop of cardamom whipped cream and serve at once.

Note: Rarely do I use prepared foods, preferring homemade when possible. But in my experience, Sara Lee pound cake is firmer than homemade pound cake and stands up better to grilling.

Check out Steven Raichlen's Cinnamon Grilled Peaches Recipe on iBBQ. Stay tuned for Steven Raichlen's Coconut Grilled Corn next week and Spiced Halibut Grilled in Banana Leaves the following week!