A Honey of a Dessert

This Honey Cake with Cinnamon Ice Cream and Grilled Pears went over really well at my Thrill of the Grill lesson at the Open Kitchen Studio the other night. Grilling fruit in the summer give them a new taste and pairs (no pun intended) well with simple things like ice creams, cakes and cookies.The honey cake stays nice and moist for a long time and tastes great on its own. You can add some spices like cinnamon or nutmeg if you like.

Honey Cake with Grilled Pears and Cinnamon Ice Cream

1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs, separated
1 cup liquid honey
1 pear, grated

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

1/4 cup apple juice
1 orange, juice and zest of
1 lemon, juice and zest of

1. Combine oil, sugar and egg yolks in a large bowl and mix well. Stir in the honey and pear.
2. Sift the flour with baking powder and baking soda. Add to batter along with the apple juice, orange and lemon juice and zest.
3. Beat egg whites until stiff; fold into batter. Pour into a greased 13- x 9-inch baking pan; bake in 325°F oven for 1 hour.

Syrup 

½ cup sugar
½ cup water
1 orange
1 lemon

1. Place the sugar and water in a small pot. Use a vegetable peeler to take strips of peel off the orange and lemon and add them to the sugar water. Bring to a boil and boil for about 3 minutes.
2. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.
3. Use a tooth pick or skewer to poke holes all over the top of the cake. Remove the peel from the syrup and brush the syrup over the top of the cake. Be generous and let the cake soak it up.

Cinnamon Ice Cream

1 cup milk
1 vanilla pod (sliced down the middle)
4 egg yolks
4 oz sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp melted butter
1 cup 35% cream

1. Pour the milk and vanilla bean into a saucepan and bring the pan slowly up to boiling point. Beat the egg yolks and sugar in a small bowl until thick.
2. Mix the cinnamon and melted butter together. Add this to the yolk mixture.
3. Pour the milk into the mixture of egg yolks and sugar while stirring.
4. Pour the mixture back into the pot and heat gently, stirring until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon. Remove the saucepan from the heat and cool in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight.
5. When the custard base is cold, whip the cream to a very soft peak and fold it into the cream.
6. Transfer the whole mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Grilled Pears

4 nicely ripened pears (I like bartletts. Always have, always will)
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon freshly-squeezed lemon juice
¼ tsp cinnamon

1. Cut the pears in quarters from top to bottom. Remove the core from each quarter.
2. In a small bowl, combine honey, lemon juice and cinnamon. Brush the glaze onto each pear quarter, coating them completely.
3. Preheat the barbecue grill. Oil the grill rack with canola. Place pear wedges on the grill and cook approximately 4 minutes on each side until the pear is marked and a bit singed.
4. Remove from the grill and brush with any additional glaze one more time. Serve with slices of the honey cake and a scoop of the ice cream.