Grilled Peaches and Cream

Grilled peaches and cream is simply a drool worthy summer dessert. We’re talking sweet ripe peaches, grilled and topped with a bourbon maple syrup and a big dollop of brown sugar whipped cream… I mean c’mon.

It’s no secret summer fruit is the best fruit. It’s sweet, ripe and bursting with flavor, for only a few months out of the year. And fresh fruit really makes summer feel like summer, you know?

My personal favorite summer fruit is peaches — every year, I look forward to eating a super ripe peach right over the sink, juice dripping. But I also love grilling them and dressing them up a little into a full-blown dessert.

That’s where grilled peaches and cream comes in. It’s a no oven, no fuss recipe that’s perfect for a crowd or an easy night in. It’s forgiving — your peaches could be perfectly ripe or within a couple day’s margin either way. And it’s beautifully flavorful with a little bourbon maple syrup on top and a big dollop of brown sugar whipped cream to bring out the deep peach flavor.

Get ready for grilled peaches and cream.

Grilled Peaches and Cream

What makes this grilled peaches and cream recipe so great

• You don’t need an oven. Don’t even think about turning that oven on in this steamy summer heat. All you need is a grill, or a grill pan if you live in a sans grill home (me, raising my hand from my second story Brooklyn walk-up).

• The flavors just work. Instead of just eating peaches with whipped cream (which would delicious in its own right), we’re taking a couple easy steps to make this more flavorful than your average peaches and cream. We brush the peaches with a bourbon maple syrup combo when they’re hot off the grill. And we use brown sugar instead of using granulated sugar in our homemade whipped cream. The maple, bourbon and brown sugar all bring out that deep peach flavor and bring this dessert over the top.

• Your peaches don’t have to be perfectly ripe. Catching a peach at the perfect time is tough. But with grilled peaches and cream, your peaches can be a little under-ripe or a little over-ripe and they’ll still be delicious.

• It’s simple yet impressive. Any recipe that involves homemade whipped cream is an easy way to impress. And just mention that you brushed the peaches with a bourbon maple syrup and sweetened the whipped cream with brown sugar, and I’m sure you’ll get a lot of ooh’s and head nods.

• It easily scales up for a crowd. Looking for an easy dinner party dessert? Prep the whipped cream ahead of time and come party time just put these babies on the grill.

Tips for the best peaches and cream

• When making whipped cream, make sure your heavy cream is cold. Your cream needs to be cold to in order to whip up — leave it in the fridge until you’re ready to whip.

• Opt for real maple syrup and vanilla extract. You and I both know the fake stuff is not nearly as flavorful. We only need a little bit of maple syrup and vanilla extract, so I recommend grabbing a small bottle of the real stuff from the store if you don’t have it.

• If your peaches are too hard, let them sit for a day or two in a paper bag until they’re at least slightly soft to the touch. Your peaches don’t have to be perfectly ripe for this recipe, but you don’t want them to be so hard you wouldn’t want to bit into them.

• Grill one peach half as a test batch before you grill all of them. The heat of your grill or stovetop grill pan can vary, so it’s best to test one peach first and make sure your stove isn’t too hot or too cool. I’ve been known to set off the fire alarm in my apartment from grilling some stovetop peaches, so learn from my mistakes!

• To get char marks on your peaches, don’t move them around on the grill. Repeat after me: sit, don’t quit. Idk where that came from, but to get gorgeous char marks, you need to let the peaches stay in place. You can peek under one peach when you think it might be ready to flip, but otherwise don’t keep moving them around your grill or grill pan.

Looking for more drool worthy summer recipes? Check out strawberry lemon loaf cake, campfire banana boats and dipped strawberry chocolate chip cookies.

If you bake these grilled peaches and cream, be sure to tag me on Instagram or TikTok at @loaves.and.such and please leave a review below!