If you do, a few staples can make a fun and easy dessert in no time. If you are like me and tend to keep fruit in the fridge, mix up your favorite berries or tropical fruits and let them sit to get juicy. For dessert tonight, I mixed blueberries, strawberries and blackberries with a little sugar and Cointreau (all attending were adults). For children, you can use a splash of orange juice instead. Stir lightly and let sit while you finish getting dinner ready and have dinner.
I used a panini sandwich maker to lightly grill the pound cake. I sliced a loaf of Sara Lee pound cake about 1/2" thick. I brushed a little butter on each side of the pound cake to prevent sticking to the panini grill and to give a bit of moistness to the frozen and thawed cake. I also let these slices sit while we had dinner.
After dinner, I plugged in the sandwich maker and once hot, put four slices in and closed the cover to let them get toasty and happy. The smell from the grill was slightly sweet and hot like sugar cookies coming out of the oven.
After two minutes, I opened the grill, took two slices out and topped them with the berry mixture. After the addition of the whipped cream, it was a delicious, light and yes, very easy dessert.
After dessert was over, I imagined what the dessert would be like with a bit of Nutella or PB & J. I can easily see these appealing options when the fridge might not yield the fresh berries. You can also do a variation where you grill apples or peaches on the panini grill as well. I think I know what I will be trying next.
Enjoy and don't fear the "D" word. ;)
