How to Make Dessert on the BBQ
A Not-So-Traditional Apple Tarte Tatin
Yes, you can make show-stopping desserts on the BBQ! Just a few simple ingredients and a little heat is all you need to impress your guests with a stunning Chocolate Honeycomb Cake or French Apple Tarte Tatin. Local Chef David Rice reveals just how easy it is to throw a dessert on the grill and serve up something spectacular.
Using a Weber Spirit Premium EP-335 gas barbecue, David utilizes a method of indirect heat in which the middle burner is switched off, causing the heat from either side of the BBQ to circulate like an oven, creating a “fan effect”. This can be done whilst waiting for the barbecue to heat up before cooking your main course, or even with the residual heat while the barbecue cools down.
Chocolate Honeycomb Cake
Ingredients:
200g honeycomb chocolate
200g butter
250g sugar
4 eggs
100g self-raising flour (David recommends gluten-free)
optional: berries marinated in sugar
Method:
Preheat gas barbecue to 180° C.
Neatly line a 10 inch springform cheesecake tin with parchment paper, ensuring there is no overlap, as excess parchment may burn on the barbecue.
As the BBQ is heating up, melt the butter over indirect heat in an oven-safe pan. Remove from the heat and add in the chocolate, stirring occasionally until fully melted.
In a separate bowl whisk together the eggs and sugar until pale and frothy.
Fold the melted chocolate and butter into the egg mixture.
Fold in the flour and add to the prepared baking tin.
David recommends using a Weber Premium Grilling Basket placed upside down in the middle of the BBQ to raise the tin off the grates.
Bake for approximately 18 minutes until the edges are firm and the middle has a slight wobble (like a crème brûlée).
Once cooled slightly, remove from tin and serve with toppings of your choice.
David recommends fresh berries, vanilla ice cream, and/or whipped sweetened mascarpone cheese.
Apple Tarte Tatin
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter
100g sugar
1 sheet of puff pastry
Approximately 6 apples, peeled, cored, and quartered (David recommends Granny Smith apples)
1 egg yolk
optional: mascarpone cheese
optional: fresh berries
Method:
Prepare the apples by peeling, coring, and quartering them. David recommends keeping these apples in an uncovered container in the fridge for up to 24 hours before baking for the best results possible.
As the barbecue is heating up to 220° C, melt the butter and sugar in a cast iron skillet or David recommends a Weber Dutch Oven Duo.
When the butter and sugar mixture reaches a dark caramel colour, remove from the heat.
Carefully add the apples into the caramel mixture and toss gently.
When the caramel has cooled enough, arrange the apples in a circular formation, each standing on their side slighting overlapping one another (view video below).
Lay the sheet of puff pastry over the apples and tuck the edges down the sides of the pan creating a nice tight bundle.
Poke the pastry with holes across the top and brush with whisked egg yolk.
David recommends using a Weber Premium Grilling Basket upside down on the BBQ to raise the skillet off the grates.
With the middle burner switched off, place the skillet on the BBQ and bake for approximately 20 minutes until the top is golden brown and the sides are bubbling.
Once the skillet has cooled enough to handle place a platter or plate that is larger than the skillet over the top, and in one quick motion flip the skillet and plate upside down.
Gently lift the skillet away and serve. David recommends adding mascarpone cheese and fresh berries.
Enjoy these and other creative dessert recipes on the BBQ this Spring! View our full range of BBQs here and take a look at our wide variety of Weber accessories. With a few simple tips, the list of what can be done on the barbecue grows immensely. Make use of every last bit of heat your BBQ provides and impress your guests with desserts you can throw on the grill in just minutes!