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Experience the delightful twist of Grilled Pound Cake, a wonderful dessert featuring buttered, grilled pound cake slices topped with grilled bananas and creamy mascarpone. Enjoy this wonderful treat made almost entirely on the grill.

Why This Recipe Works

  • Easy to make: This simple grilled dessert is quick and easy, and you don’t have to heat up your kitchen by turning on your oven to make a wonderful, indulgent dessert. It’s the perfect dessert recipe for an outdoor or indoor grill.
  • A perfect single serving dessert but the ingredient amounts can also be scaled up to serve many: Grilled pound cake is one of my favorite grilled desserts to make. Using store-bought pound cake, you can serve many or use our mini pound cake recipe to make a version just for you!
  • Super easy topping: The luscious mascarpone topping is quick and easy to make.
  • Use different fruits: Experiment with grilling different fruits. A grilled pound cake with peaches is one of my favorite ways to enjoy fresh peaches.

RELATED: 15 Easy Dessert Recipes For One

Why Grill Cake?

Toasting or grilling makes the cake a bit more sturdy and perfect for supporting caramelized bananas, other fruits, or ice cream.

Do I Need A Grill?

No. Your oven does a great job of toasting pound cake. Place one or more slices of pound cake onto a cookie sheet that you’ve sprayed with cooking spray and bake for 5-6 minutes in a preheated 350°F oven.

You can also toast pound cake in a skillet. To do this, spread both sides of the cake with butter. Heat a skillet over medium heat and add the pound cake to the pan. Cook for 1-2 minutes per side, or until lightly browned.

slices of pound cake on a cutting board next to a bowl of butter and a bowl of lemons.

Ingredient Notes

  • Pound cake: Use store-bought or use our homemade pound cake recipe.
  • Butter: I use a small amount of softened butter to spread on both sides of the pound cake before grilling.
  • Banana: One banana is all you need.
  • Limoncello: Limoncello is a smooth, sweet lemon liquor that can be purchased in liquor stores. If you’d like to make your own, you might like to try my husband’s limoncello recipe, it’s amazing! If you don’t want to use limoncello, leave it out.
  • Heavy cream, mascarpone cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract: These ingredients are used to make the rich and creamy mascarpone cream topping.
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How To Grill Pound Cake

  1. Spread butter over both sides of two 1-inch thick pound cake slices. Grill, uncovered for 1-2 minutes on each side. Remove the cake from the grill and set it aside.
two slices of pound cake on a grill
  1. Next, cut a banana in half lengthwise, leaving the peel on. Lightly brush with butter and place the banana cut side down on the grill. Cover and grill for 3 minutes, then turn the banana over and brush with limoncello, if using. Grill for 5 minutes longer.
bananas on a grill

To Assemble

  1. Place a slice of the grilled pound cake on a serving plate.
  2. Peel the banana and slice it – add the slices of banana to the cake.
  3. Top with a hefty spoonful of mascarpone cream.

With each bite of buttery pound cake, you also get a taste of the sweet limoncello glazed bananas and the creamy, vanilla-infused whipped topping.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I Have To Use Limoncello?

No, you don’t have to use limoncello in this recipe. You can leave the limoncello out altogether or you can skip grilling the banana and instead make a simple bananas foster and add it to the top of the grilled pound cake. This would be a delicious option!

Can I Double or Triple This Recipe?

Yes, the ingredients in this recipe can be successfully doubled or tripled.

Can I Use Other Pound Cake Toppings?

Absolutely! You can top grilled pound cake with just about anything you’d like. You might like to consider these toppings:
* Fresh mango, pineapple, strawberries or peaches, whipped cream, freshly torn mint leaves
* Lemon curd and chopped toasted pistachios
* Fresh blueberries and honey

Expert Tips

  • If your grill has wide openings between grates, place your cake on a piece of aluminum foil before grilling.
  • The key to grilling bananas is to leave the banana in its protective skin. Just slice a banana in half lengthwise so the banana is in two pieces. The banana will cook, skin side down, and will result in a warm, slightly caramelized banana.
  • You might also like to consider using a different fruit on the grill such as pineapples or peaches.

Ways To Use Leftover Ingredients

If you have any ingredients leftover from this recipe, check out our Leftover Ingredients Recipe Finder or you might like to consider using them in any of these single serving and small batch recipes:

an overhead view of two slices of grilled pound cake topped with whipped cream and grilled bananas on a white lace plate.

Enjoy!

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Grilled Pound Cake

5 from 1 vote
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Total: 20 minutes
Servings: 2 servings
Indulge in Grilled Pound Cake, a delightful dessert featuring buttered, grilled pound cake slices topped with grilled bananas and creamy mascarpone. Enjoy this wonderful treat made almost entirely on the grill.

Equipment

  • Grill

Ingredients 
 

  • 2 slices pound cake (sliced about 1-inch thick)
  • 1 tablespoon salted butter , softened

FOR THE GRILLED BANANAS

  • 1 medium banana , unpeeled
  • 1 tablespoon limoncello (optional)

FOR THE MASCARPONE CREAM

  • ¼ cup heavy cream
  • ¼ cup mascarpone cheese
  • 1 ½ tablespoons sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions 

  • Heat grill to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
  • Spread butter over both sides of cake slices. Grill, uncovered for 1-2 minutes on each side. Remove cake from the grill and set aside.

TO MAKE THE LIMONCELLO BANANAS

  • Using a sharp knife, cut banana in half lengthwise, leaving the peel on.
  • Brush the cut banana with the remaining softened butter.
  • Place bananas cut side down on grill. Cover and grill for 2-3 minutes. Using tongs, turn the bananas over and brush with limoncello. Cover and grill for 5 minutes longer or until tender.
  • Remove from the grill and peel.

TO MAKE THE MASCARPONE CREAM

  • Place the cream, mascarpone, sugar and vanilla in a small bowl and beat with an electric mixer until cream is thickened and smooth. 

TO ASSEMBLE

  • Place 1-2 slices of the grilled pound cake on a serving dish.
  • Top with banana slices and mascarpone cream.

Notes

Expert Tips
  • If your grill has wide openings between grates, place your cake on a piece of aluminum foil before grilling.
  • The key to grilling bananas is to leave the banana in its protective skin. Just slice a banana in half lengthwise so the banana is in two pieces. The banana will cook, skin side down and will result in a warm, slightly caramelized banana.
  • You might also like to consider using a different fruit on the grill such as pineapples or peaches.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 534kcal, Carbohydrates: 45g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 30g, Saturated Fat: 19g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 107mg, Sodium: 256mg, Potassium: 271mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 31g, Vitamin A: 1090IU, Vitamin C: 5mg, Calcium: 85mg, Iron: 1mg

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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40 Comments

  1. A lot of people don’t realize it but you can grill pineapple- and if you add brown sugar to brulee it, its divine!

  2. I love grilling meat, seafood, vegetable and would love to try grilling fruit and other dessert related items. The Hamilton Beach Indoor Searing Grill would be fabulous to use year round, would be more environmentally friendly and much easier to use than a conventional outdoor grill.

  3. When I saw the title I instantly though it would be too hard to make, you make it look so easy, pinned!

  4. Omg, I am a huge lover of pound cake and seeing it grilled looks even more amazing! Definitely trying this!!

    Lauren