France · Appetizers and Sandwiches

Oven-Baked Brie with Honeyed Nuts

18 min4 servings265 kcal

Baked brie is a whole wheel of brie warmed in the oven until the inside turns into molten, spoonable cream while the white rind holds it together like a bowl.

Oven-Baked Brie with Honeyed Nuts

Ingredients

  • brie cheese, one whole ripe wheel200 g
  • garlic, thinly sliced1 clove
  • fresh rosemary2 sprigs
  • walnuts30 g
  • honey2 tbsp
  • dried fruit, such as cranberries or chopped apricots20 g
  • pink peppercorns, lightly crushed (optional)0.5 tsp
  • flaky sea salt1 pinch
  • baguette, sliced1 for serving

Method

  1. 1Heat the oven to 180 °C. Take the brie straight from the fridge — the timings below assume a cold wheel, which melts more evenly than one left out to warm up. Choose a small ovenproof dish or skillet only a little wider than the cheese and line it with a square of parchment.
  2. 2Score the top and stud it. With a sharp knife, cut a criss-cross pattern into the top rind about 1.5 cm apart and 3–4 mm deep — through the rind, not through the cheese. Score only the top: the sides and base keep their rind so the wheel holds its shape. Push the garlic slices and small rosemary sprigs into the cuts, set the brie in the dish and sprinkle the pink peppercorns over, if using.
  3. 3Toast the walnuts in honey. Put the walnuts in a dry frying pan over medium heat and toast for 4–5 minutes, shaking the pan, until they smell nutty and darken slightly at the edges. Take the pan off the heat, add the honey and stir to coat — off the heat, because honey burns within seconds in a hot pan.
  4. 4Bake for 12–15 minutes for a 200 g wheel, or 15–20 minutes for a 250 g one. Start checking at 12 minutes: press the centre gently with a finger or the back of a spoon. It is ready when it feels very soft, as if it would give way under a little more pressure, and the sides have just begun to slump. If the rind splits and cheese runs out, it is slightly over — serve it at once and it will still be good.
  5. 5Top it straight away. Spoon the honeyed walnuts over the hot cheese so the honey runs into the cuts, scatter the dried fruit and finish with a pinch of flaky salt.
  6. 6Rest for 2–3 minutes, no longer, then bring the dish to the table with the sliced baguette. Cut in too early and the whole centre runs out; wait more than five or six minutes and the fat starts to set again and the cheese firms up.