This gooey and fragrant baked cheese is a very popular snack on a cold winter evening, especially at Christmas! It can be a truly amazing appetizer, a cheesy dessert, or a great snack for some casual entertaining and it’s definitely a must at your next New Year’s party. Why? Not only is it delicious and somewhat sophisticated, but it’s so easy to prepare. All you really have to do is bake the cheese whole in its box, in a special cheese baker, or simply wrapped up in some aluminum foil and you end up with an amazingly gooey, warm cheese dip that any cheese lover will definitely appreciate.
I’ve added some pear and almonds in this recipe, since December is a great time for pears and the almonds compliment the richness and nuttiness of the cheese, but, of course, the toppings are easily customizable – think bacon and honey, bright red cranberry jelly, garlic and rosemary, or walnuts and seeds as potential topping-contenders!
Now, what to serve with this gooey delight since, sadly, it would be improper to scoop it out of its box with a spoon straight into your mouth? I commonly like to arrange some simple slices of toasted baguette and some breadsticks around the cheese. Some carrot sticks and slices of apple make for a nice fresh cheese-scooping-vehicle as well. And, let’s be honest, it doesn’t really matter which toppings, or sides you put on the plate, since you can’t really go wrong with a box full of oozing, melting cheese now can you? Just have fun!
Tip #1 Well, there actually is one thing that can go wrong: overbaking the camembert. You might think that the longer the cheese is in the oven, the meltier it will get. Wrong. Over-baking the camembert can lead to the cheese solidifying again after which it will never be lovely and gooey again, which would be heartbreaking. Do not overbake the camembert!
Tip #2 Serving the camembert as an appetizer, or serving multiple cheese platters? Try to find some smaller 125g camembert to make a portion perfectly sized for two people, or individual portions for true cheese-lovers. I’ve tried this recipe with the smaller sized camembert (pictured) to serve as an appetizer and the ingredients listed below are enough for either one 250g camembert, or two to three 125g individual portions.
[Note: recipe has been slightly altered on 09/2021 to include a step for scoring the cheese before adding the other ingredients]
Baked Camembert with Almonds, Pear and Thyme
- V
Nutrition per portion
Ingredients
- 1 camembert wheel (250g)
- 1 small pear (around 150g, peeled and chopped)
- 50g almonds, shelled and chopped
- 20g butter
- ½ tablespoon fresh thyme leaves (or a bit more)
- Pinch of salt
- -
- For serving: bread sticks, baguette, carrot sticks, apple slices (optional)
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- In the meantime, peel the pear and chop into small cubes. Roughly chop the almonds too.
- In a small pan, melt the butter on medium heat. Add the diced pears, chopped almonds and thyme leaves (without the stems) to the pan and sauté gently until the pear turns slight soft for about 2 – 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Unpack the camembert. If it comes in a stapled wooden box, you can bake the cheese in the box it came in; remove all the stickers and wrapping and return the cheese to the wooden box. If the cheese comes in a wrapper, or paper box, remove the packaging and place the cheese in a cheese baking dish, a small oven dish, or simply wrap it in aluminum foil to bake.
- Score the rind on top of the cheese in a superficial crosshatch pattern, or a large cross. [step added to recipe on 09/2021]
- Scoop the chopped pear, almond and thyme mixture on top of the cheese.
- Bake the cheese on a rack in the middle of the pre-heated oven for about 15- 20 minutes, or until nice and gooey (do not over-bake!).
- Serve immediately with some bread, or sides of your choice.
