Barbecues: great. The desserts that we tend to serve at them: not so much. You'll often find a stack of barely-cohesive watermelon slices slowly drenching a pile of Oreos to the point of total sogginess on the plate that they share, or maybe a half-melted pint of Häagen-Dazs, or a tray of Jell-O that enters a state of entropic demolition after a few people attack it with their plastic spoons. If you're really lucky, maybe you'll encounter a bowl of summer berries with whipped cream—but that's not exactly impressive, sorry to say.
Advertisement
Well, we've got a dessert that's going to change the way you view grilling. No longer reserved for just meats and vegetables, the open fire has become a place where you can imbue a smoky, outdoorsy heat into your dessert, too. And it's so easy that all you'll need is a teeny bit of prep, a single cast-iron skillet, and some hot-as-hell coals.
Toss some peaches and berries with sugar and cornstarch, throw together a super-quick oat crumble base, toast the crumbs, and heat the fruit to sweet and gooey perfection. (Did we mention that you stick the skillet right in the coals?) Serve your perfect crumble with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, because if you didn't eat this thing á la mode, you'd be crazy.Isn't that a hell of a lot better than a rapidly wilting spread of store-bought cupcakes? We thought so, too.