Grilled poundcake with strawberries and basil is that special sweet something you need for your 4th of July celebration. This dessert is super simple to make, especially since you’re already planning to fire up your grill for the holiday. Right?
Here’s the simple part—I used a bakery poundcake and Reddi-wip® in a canister.
Okay, keeping it real here—sometimes I make homemade whipped cream, and sometimes I don’t. Usually I make homemade poundcake. This time, I didn’t. If you prefer to make your own poundcake, I highly recommend Elvis’s Poundcake. It’s the best I’ve ever had. But, for this dessert, I don’t think it makes a hill of beans difference whether you bake a cake and whip up cream or run down to the local IGA. There’s magic in the combination of smoky flavor + sweetness + twist of basil.
A fanciful flavorful fabulous strawberry shortcake.
Trust me.
Any grill will do. The important thing is to get those grill marks on the poundcake.
My husband’s a Big Green Egg man.
Check out his new egg table made by local Prairie Grove, Arkansas company, Rocky Hill Outdoor Furniture. The table adds lots of prep area as well as extra stability when John wheels the Egg from the garage. We (he) had an egg-tastrophe once, but we don’t talk about that anymore.
Now, about the recipe…
Ingredients
- Poundcake
- Fresh sliced strawberries, spoonful for each serving (can substitute other fruit)
- Reddi-wip (or homemade cream)
- Slivered almonds
- Local honey
- 3-4 Basil leaves
Instructions
- Slice cake 1-in thick.
- Slice strawberries and mash with a fork or potato masher to make juicy. Add a little sugar if your berries aren't sweet.
- Chop basil.
- Grill cake for 2-3 minutes per side
- Assemble each serving with whipped cream, a spoonful of strawberries, basil, almonds, and a drizzle of honey.
Notes
If you use a Green Egg or gas grill, temperature should be around 300 degrees.
Variations:
Use mint instead of basil. Mint tastes fresh and provides a completely different flavor component. We did both. Our taste test resulted in a tie.
Substitute your fruit of choice. A combination of strawberries and Arkansas blueberries looks very Fourth of July-ish. Grilled peaches and/or bananas and/or pineapple would be amazing too.
For a crowd, set up a poundcake bar and let guests build their own dessert with various toppings (i.e. coconut, pecans, chocolate syrup, agave, Oreo crumbles, etc.)
Cut the cake into small cubes for party servings.
Happy July. Happy Grilling. Happy Everything, y’all!
Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.
[tweetthis]Grilled Poundcake with berries & basil – perfect for #4thofJuly @biggreenegg @RealReddiWip #HappyJuly [/tweetthis]
Musical Pairing:
Jack Johnson, Better Together
Made my mouth water! Must try it.