We’re at that transitional time of year. It still feels like summer most of the time but there are hints of fall in the air, especially in the morning, and certain trees are just starting to turn. The produce situation is the same—I’m seeing more squash and apples, yet late summer fruit is still pretty abundant and delicious.
This recipe is a way to use those luscious, juicy late-season peaches and the grill before it get too cold (although we love and use our new grill so much that I don’t think anything short of a blizzard will keep us away).
This recipe is truly one of my all-time favorite summer recipes. It’s simple and exceptionally delicious. It’s easy to prep, easy to make, and only requires a hand-full of ingredients. I haven’t found one person who doesn’t love it. Plus, it feels a little bit healthy since you’re using fruit (while I wouldn’t classify it as healthy, it’s at least better than, say, a slice of chocolate cake).
The flavors meld so beautifully, and the short amount of time spent on the heat of the grill just warms the peaches and angel food cake through, bringing out slightly deeper, more mellow flavors. The cake also gets crispy on the outside, soft and spongy on the inside—perfect!
It’s a perfect way to enjoy the waning days of summer.
The Recipe
This recipe has, at its base, three ingredients:
• Fresh peaches (this recipe won’t work with frozen)
• Angel food cake (store-bought is perfectly fine)
• Honey
And that’s it. You can, as I’ll detail below, add other bits and pieces and flavors, but this is the foundation you’ll always return to.
Cut the angel food cake into whatever portions you’d like, then cut the peaches in half. Take the pit out. Then, take about a teaspoon of honey with a spoon and spread it over the cut side of the peach with the back of the spoon.
Spray the grill well with either a non-stick spray or oil it with an oil like coconut or vegetable oil (nothing that has too strong of a taste, such as olive oil). Warm the grill or grill pan to medium-low heat. You want the grill just hot enough to make grill marks and heat the peach and cake through, but not so hot that everything will just burn.
Place the peaches and cake slices cut-side down on the grill. Check every once in a while to ensure the cake and/or peaches don’t burn. I flip the pieces of cake over halfway through.
Depending on the size of the peach, the perfect doneness for me usually takes about 10 minutes. That’s just enough time for the sugar in the honey to begin to caramelize slightly on the peach, and for the peach to get softer but not mushy.
You can experiment with time and/or heat, though, to see what works best for you. Maybe you want your peaches softer, or your honey a little bit more caramelized. Maybe you want your cake a little more burnt, or you don’t want to put it on the grill at all.
It’s up to you.
The Variations
Full confession: I’m sure you can tell from the pictures, but I did not actually use our outdoor grill for this photo shoot. I meant to, but when I got out there I realized that 1) we hadn’t yet refilled the propane tank, and 2) the grill was *ahem* a little dirty from the ribs and steak my husband made for our housewarming party (completely worth the mess, though. Great job, babe!).
So I made this particular recipe on our grill pan on the stove, which is actually a great way to illustrate how many ways there actually are to cook this recipe. If you don’t have a grill, you can use a:
• Grill pan
• George Foreman or other type of electric grill
• Skillet
As for taste additions, it depends, again, on what you like (kind of a recurring theme on this blog…). I usually add a sprinkling of cinnamon and a splash of vanilla to the honey. You can add a little bit of almond extract or sprinkle cocoa or even pumpkin pie seasoning on top. Vanilla sugar would be a good addition, also.
When the peaches and cake are done, you can also add whipped cream, like I did, or, better yet, put it over vanilla ice cream! Or drizzle chocolate sauce over the top. Or caramel sauce. Or just grill the peaches and put them over rice pudding!
And if you grill too many peaches? It goes perfectly over oatmeal the next morning.
See? The variations are almost endless.
- 2 peaches, cut in half and pits removed
- 4 slices of angel food cake
- 2 tsp. of honey
- Spray a grill or grill pan with non-stick spray or a neutral oil and heat to medium-low heat.
- Cut the peaches in half and remove the pit.
- Cut the angel food cake into serving-size pieces.
- Divide the honey between the four peach halves and spread with the back of a spoon.
- Place the cake pieces and peaches, cut side down, on the grill.
- After five minutes, check to see how soft the peaches are and check the grill marks on both the peaches and cake. Turn the cake over at this point.
- The peaches and cake should be sufficiently soft, warmed, and browned after 10 to 15 minutes.
‘Till next time!