These Grilled Peaches with Mascarpone Cream are a simple, yet elegant summer dessert. The easy port reduction on top makes every bite that much more indulgent!
A summer dessert for fancy and everyday occasions
Grilled fruit is an underrated treat. The heat enhances the sweetness and makes peaches, pineapple, and melon taste subtly smoky and even more delicious. Top that fruit with cool and creamy toppings and you have the ultimate summer dessert.
You’ll find all of these qualities and more in these Grilled Peaches with Mascarpone Cream. Halved peaches grill on the barbecue for a few minutes before they’re topped with vanilla-infused mascarpone cream and port reduction. It’s a great way to take advantage of those juicy summer peaches!
Every bite is sweet, creamy, and juicy. It may sound like a fancy and complicated dessert, but the recipe is fairly simple. You’ll want to serve grilled peaches for all of your summer events!
Ingredients you need
Grilled peaches are the star of this summer dessert, but the toppings truly make it special. This is what you need:
Peaches
This fuzzy fruit is a summer staple. The best peaches for grilling are yellow peaches or freestone peaches. Only grill peaches that are perfectly ripe and feel slightly firm when squeezed.
The heat from the grill will enhance the peaches’ natural sweetness and bring out all of their delicious juices. They’ll taste refreshing, and the tender and soft texture makes them easy to bite into.
Pro tip: Get your hands on as many ripe summer peaches as possible! The extras make for a delicious snack or topping on granola, can be sliced and used in white wine sangria, and even blended for a bellini.
Mascarpone cheese
Mascarpone is a soft and spreadable Italian cheese. It’s acidic, like cream cheese, but richer and smoother in texture. You’ll often see mascarpone used as a filling in desserts (like tiramisu and my coconut icebox cake) but it can also be stuffed in pasta and used as a dip with fresh fruit.
While mascarpone cheese is rich and delicious on its own, it needs a few extra ingredients if it’s going to be piped onto grilled fruit. That’s where heavy cream, sugar, vanilla, and salt come in. These flavor-boosters enhance the topping while the granulated sugar gives the whipped mascarpone structure and stability.
The one downfall to Italian mascarpone is that it can be expensive. Thankfully, you can make homemade mascarpone cheese using just two inexpensive ingredients: heavy cream and lemon juice!
Port wine
A rich and sweet port wine reduction takes this dessert from good to great. Port wine is easy to reduce too. Simply throw it in a pot, let it cook and reduce, then drizzle it over the whipped mascarpone on top of the grilled peaches. Yum!
Tips and tricks
Your grilled peaches will always turn out just right when you keep these tips in mind:
Butter the peaches
Brush the cut side of the halved peaches with melted butter before they go on the grill. This helps with aesthetics and prevents the peaches from drying out.
Use a piping bag
Transfer that gorgeous whipped mascarpone cream into a piping bag fitted with a star tip. Pipe the cream on top of the peaches for a fancy presentation!
Customize the dessert
There are a few ways you can customize grilled peaches with mascarpone:
- Instead of peaches - Grill another summer fruit you love, like plums, nectarines, or watermelon. They’ll all taste great when topped with mascarpone.
- Instead of mascarpone - Keep it simple and top the peaches with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
- Instead of port wine - Use balsamic reduction.
- Add toppings - Like crushed nuts, fresh mint or basil leaves, and a drizzle of honey.
Make ahead tips
The port reduction and mascarpone cream can both be made ahead of time. Keep them in separate airtight containers in the fridge until it’s time to serve.
Frequently asked questions
No, you don’t have to have an outdoor grill to make this recipe. Instead, use a grill pan on the stove.
The halved peaches should only need to grill for about 6 to 8 minutes. You’ll know they’re done when you see dark grill marks and they start to soften.
It’s up to you! They taste great hot off the grill or chilled in the fridge for a few minutes. Cold grilled peaches also won’t melt the mascarpone cream as quickly.
Grilled Peaches with Mascarpone Cream
Ingredients
- 2 cups port
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- ½ cup mascarpone cheese
- 1 tbsp. sugar
- ¼ tsp. pure vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- 4 ripe but firm peaches halved and pits removed
- Optional: melted butter
Instructions
- Place port in a small pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer and cook until you have ¼ cup remaining, about 30 minutes. Place in the refrigerator to cool.
- While port reduction is cooling, make the mascarpone cream.
- Using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the mascarpone cheese, sugar, vanilla extract, and salt on medium speed until well mixed, about 30 seconds.
- Reduce the speed of the mixer to low and slowly stream the whipping cream. Once all of it is added, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and return the mixer to medium speed. Whisk until firm peaks form, about 1 minute. Place the cream into the refrigerator.
- To grill the peaches, bring a grill pan or grill to medium-low heat. I you like, brush each peach half with the melted butter and place on the grill pan. Grill the peach halves until they are slightly softened and have dark grill marks, 6 to 8 minutes.
- Allow the peaches to cool slightly, top the peaches with the mascarpone cream and drizzle with the port reduction.
Notes
The post Grilled Peaches with Mascarpone Cream appeared first on Cup of Zest.
