Barbecue Desserts

A delicious dessert rounds off a meal nicely, especially if you are entertaining. Fruit is an excellent choice, not only because it barbecues well, but also because it offers a good taste counterpoint to a rich main course. Ice cream is always a summer favourite, especially with children, so keep some in the freezer and dress it up for the occasion.

Melon and Grapes with Brie

Serves 6

Cantaloupe melon 1

Honeydew melon 1

Watermelon ½

Seedless grapes 225 g/8 oz/½ lb

Fromage frais 90 ml/6 tbsp

Brie cheese 100 g/4 oz/¼ lb

Flaked almonds 50 g/2oz/½ cup

1 Cut the melons into wedges, discarding the seeds (pits) and peel, and arrange on serving plates. Arrange the grapes on top.

2 Place a spoonful of fromage frais at the side of each plate.

3 Cut the Brie into wedges and place on a piece of foil.

4 Barbecue for about 1 minute on each side until warm and slightly runny. Place on top of the fruits. Sprinkle with flaked almonds and serve at once.

Preparation time 10 minutes

Cooking time 2 minutes

Bananas Foster

Serves 4

Butter or margarine, melted 45 ml/3 tbsp

Light brown sugar 45 ml/3 tbsp

Pinch of ground cinnamon

Pinch of grated nutmeg

Bananas, halved lengthways 4

To serve:

Vanilla ice cream

Chopped mixed nuts 60 ml/4 tbsp

1 Mix the butter with the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Brush the mixture over the bananas.

2 Place on a sheet of foil.

3 Barbecue for about 5 minutes until soft and browned.

4 Spoon into serving dishes and top with ice cream and nuts.

Preparation time 5 minutes

Cooking time 5 minutes

Gingered Melon

Serves 4

Honeydew melon 1

Finely chopped crystallised (candied) ginger 15 ml/1 tbsp

Finely chopped fresh root ginger 30 ml/2 tbsp

Dry white wine 120 ml/4 fl oz/½ cup

Ground cinnamon 5 ml/1 tsp

Pinch of sugar

Pinch of salt

1 Peel the melon, then cut it into wedges.

2 Mix the crystallised and root ginger, the wine, cinnamon, sugar and salt in a pan and bring to the boil.

3 Add the melon wedges, remove from the heat, then leave to cool.

4 Drain the melon, reserving the liquid in the pan.

5 Boil the liquid until syrupy and reserve.

6 Barbecue the melon wedges for about 5 minutes until lightly browned, then serve with the sauce.

Preparation time 10 minutes plus cooling

Cooking time 10 minutes

Pears with Liqueur Cream

Serves 4

Pears 4

Butter or margarine, melted 40 g/1½ oz/3 tbsp

Light brown sugar 100 g/4oz/½ cup

For the sauce:

Fromage frais 225 g/8 oz/1 cup

Whipping cream, whipped 250 ml/8 fl oz/1 cup

Plain yoghurt 250 ml/8 fl oz/1 cup

Coffee liqueur 90 ml/6 tbsp

Pinch of grated nutmeg

1 Peel and core the pears and slice them thickly or cut them into wedges.

2 Mix the melted butter or margarine and half the sugar and brush over the pears.

3 Arrange on a piece of foil. Barbecue the pears for about 5 minutes until warm.

4 Blend together the fromage frais, cream, the remaining sugar, the yoghurt, liqueur and nutmeg.

5 Place the pears on serving plates and top with the liqueur cream.

Preparation time 5 minutes

Cooking time 5 minutes

Orange Chestnut Kebabs

Serves 4

Can of chestnuts, drained 225 g/8 oz/1 medium

Butter or margarine, melted 50 g/2 oz/¼ cup

Grated orange rind 10 ml/2 tsp

To serve:

Light brown sugar 15 ml/1 tbsp

Double (heavy) or whipping cream, whipped 150 ml/¼ pt/2/3 cup

1 Thread the chestnuts on to soaked wooden skewers.

2 Mix the butter with the orange rind and brush over the chestnuts.

3 Barbecue for about 5 minutes, turning frequently and brushing with the flavoured butter.

4 Sprinkle with sugar and serve with whipped cream.

Preparation time 5 minutes

Cooking time 5 minutes

Cointreau Boats

Serves 4

Bananas in their skins 4

Cointreau 30 ml/2 tbsp

Demerara sugar 30 ml/2 tbsp

Ground hazelnuts 30 ml/2 tbsp

1 Barbecue the bananas in their skins for about 15 minutes until dark brown.

2 Carefully cut off a strip of skin about 1 cm/½ in wide along the length of the banana, sprinkle with Cointreau and leave for 1–2 minutes.

3 Sprinkle the banana flesh with sugar and hazelnuts and serve in the skins.

Preparation time 5 minutes

Cooking time 15 minutes

Chocolate Sandwiches

Especially popular with children, who can make up their own parcels while you are preparing the barbecue.

Serves 6

Plain (semi-sweet) chocolate 225 g/8 oz/½ lb

Marshmallows 12

Digestive biscuits (Graham crackers) 12

1 Break the chocolate into squares. Arrange the chocolate and marshmallows on top of half the biscuits, then top with the other biscuits to make sandwiches. Wrap individually in foil.

2 Place the foil parcels on the barbecue for about 1–3 minutes. Serve at once.

Preparation time 5 minutes

Cooking time 5 minutes

Barbecued Fruits

Barbecued fruits make a simple and tasty dessert.

• Arrange sliced fruits on a piece of foil, dot with butter and sprinkle lightly with sugar and a touch of cinnamon or freshly grated nutmeg. Sprinkle with a little rum or brandy, if you like. Seal the foil tightly then place on the barbecue for about 15 minutes. Try: thickly sliced peaches, pear halves, orange segments, pineapple rings, banana halves or sliced apples.
• Cinnamon and nutmeg are wonderful spices for sprinkling over fruit before cooking. Nutmeg is at its best if freshly grated as it loses its pungency very quickly.
• Don’t ignore herbs with fruit. Those old favourites mint and rosemary go particularly well with fruits.
• Alternatively, try kebabs. Use firm fruits such as pineapple, apple, apricot, plums or kiwi fruit in different colours. Use just two or three fruits for each kebab, threading them alternately.
• Whether you are cooking whole or preparing as kebabs, soak fruits in a little dessert wine, red wine or your favourite liqueur for 30 minutes before barbecuing. Brush with melted butter or a little oil while they are cooking.
• You can barbecue bananas on the rack or even directly on the coals in their skins; they only take a few minutes to heat through and soften. Take great care when eating, though, as the whole thing gets very hot!

Fruit Salads

• A fruit salad is slightly more sophisticated. Select three or four different fruits with complementary colours and flavours. (Bananas tend to discolour and go very soft, so are best saved for hot dishes.) You can use what you have available, or try the following combinations: apples, melon, kiwi fruit and raspberries; pineapple, pears and mango; peaches, plums and apricots; oranges, grapes, pineapple and apples; blackberries, apples and redcurrants.
• Remove any cores or stones (pits) from fresh fruits. Whether you peel fruit is up to you. Some pears, for example, have a tasty skin, while others are rather coarse and might spoil the salad. To peel soft-skinned fruit, such as peaches, dip them in boiling water for about 20 seconds, then transfer to cold water and peel off the skin.
• Dice the fruit neatly in equal bite-sized pieces. Always have some lemon juice handy so that you can sprinkle it over apples, peaches or pears as soon as you cut them to prevent them from discolouring. Diced fruits will create their own juice; don’t waste any while you are preparing the salad, simply add it to the bowl. If you feel that the salad needs a little more liquid, add a little orange or apple juice with a dash of sherry or brandy.
• Don’t forget that you can also add canned fruits if you don’t have enough fresh. Buy fruits in fruit juice or a light syrup for a fresh flavour; fruits in heavy syrup tend to be a little cloying.
• If you want to add a sugar syrup to the fruit salad, boil 275 g/10 oz/1¼ cups sugar with 600 ml/1 pt/2½ cups water and a squeeze of lemon juice until it is the consistency you prefer. Leave to cool before pouring over the fruit. Alternatively use pure apple or orange juice as a ‘base’.
• A few fresh or frozen strawberries – sliced if they are large – or raspberries can be scattered over the top for effect. Or, if you have just one kiwi fruit left, arrange it on top of the salad, rather than mixing it in.
• Garnish the fruit salad with a few fresh mint leaves and serve it on its own, or with a little cream or crème fraîche. Ice creams and sorbets also make good accompaniments.

Simple Fruit Ideas

• A bowl of fresh fruit is the simplest and can be quite a spectacular dish. And there’s nothing better than fruit to counter the sometimes rich flavours of the barbecue.
• There’s no need for a vast range of fruits: two or three choices are plenty for an impromptu occasion, so simply arrange what you have attractively in a large bowl or on a platter.
• If you are buying specially, choose just three or four fruits which offer a contrast in texture and colour to make a stunning display for your table centre and a delicious end to the meal.
• Although we can now buy almost anything at almost any time of the year, choosing fruits in season usually means that you get the best value and the best quality.
• Buy one large water melon and cut it into thin crescents – deliciously refreshing if a little messy!

Ice Cream Ideas

• Dress up ordinary ice cream with a sprinkling of chopped nuts, sugar strands, chopped fresh or dried fruits or a drizzle of maple syrup, flower honey, your favourite ice cream sauce or fruit purée.
• Cut two flavours of ice cream – preferably in contrasting colours – into 1 cm/½ in cubes and serve on their own, or with similar-sized cubes of fruit.
• Layer scoops of ice cream, whipped cream, chopped nuts, toasted fresh breadcrumbs, soft fruits, fruit purée or thick sauce in sundae glasses and top with a swirl of whipped cream.
• Chop up your favourite chocolate-coated snack bar and melt with 60 ml/4 tbsp milk and a small knob of butter or margarine, stirring until smooth. Spoon over vanilla or chocolate ice cream.

Other Dessert Ideas

• Sorbets and mousses make good barbecue desserts and can be bought or made in advance and kept in the fridge or freezer. Dress them up with some grated chocolate, grated orange rind, chopped nuts, fruit purée or fruit slices, depending on the flavour.
• Poach a few ready-to-eat dried apricot halves in apple juice with a slug of white wine or sherry for 10 minutes, then leave them to soak for as long as possible. Drain and serve topped with a spoonful of cranberry sauce and a swirl of cream.
• Cold desserts are always popular. Keep a frozen gâteau or special dessert such as a lemon tart in the freezer; it will only take a couple of hours to defrost when you decide to barbecue.
• Mix together equal quantities of strong black coffee and brandy or rum and spoon over sponge fingers or slices of sponge cake in a bowl until they are soaked. Top with lightly whisked Mascarpone cheese and sprinkle with grated chocolate to make Tiramisu.
• Pancakes with honey, sugar or maple syrup and lemon juice make a popular dessert. Make them in advance, interleaf with greaseproof (waxed) paper and reheat in the oven while you are eating the main course.
• Melt brandy snaps for a few seconds in a warm oven, then shape them into baskets to hold fruit or ice cream.
• Brush two or three squares of filo pastry with melted butter and place them one on top of each other. Place a spoonful of mincemeat or some very thinly sliced eating (dessert) apples in the centre and scrunch together to form a little purse. Brush with more melted butter. Bake in the oven at 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6 for about 10 minutes until crisp. Serve with cream.
• Dissolve 100 g/4 oz/½ cup caster (superfine) sugar over a very gentle heat until golden brown. Remove from the heat and add 60 ml/4 tbsp lemon juice and 750 ml/1¼ pts/3 cups water. Return to the heat, bring to the boil, then simmer for 3 minutes. Leave to cool, then stir in four sliced oranges and chill for as long as possible, preferably 4 hours.
• As a last-minute dessert, sandwich shortcake triangles together with whipped cream and soft fruit. Top with a swirl of cream and a little grated chocolate.
• Swirl a spoonful of colourful fruit purée, bottled chocolate sauce or sieved (strained) jam (conserve) into thick plain yoghurt for a simple but dramatic dessert.
• Purée a tub of Ricotta cheese with about half the quantity of drained canned peaches, then pile on slices of crusty bread or toast and sprinkle with light brown sugar.