One of my favorite party appetizers that just screams "festive". There's a number of varieties on baked brie. The simplest is literally just a wheel of brie, baked straight, and served with crackers and other accompaniments. It's more commonly served wrapped in puff pastry. This is a "dessert" esque baked brie, stuffed with dried fruit and nuts. But you could use any kinds of fruits / sweets / nuts, or you could substitute savory ingredients and make it a savory baked brie. The possibilities are endless. This dish is creamy, crispy, crunchy, sweet, it really hits all the notes and the brie is the perfect backdrop holding everything together.
Active Time: 40 min
Total Time: 2 hr
> brie (1 small wheel, ideally 6-8 inches in diameter)
> dried cranberries
> chopped walnuts
> puff pastry (~1-2 sheets, depending on how big your brie is)
> egg (1)
> flour
> crostini
1. Split the brie in half into two flat disks, using the "James bond technique" (see below)
2. Stuff with a layer of dried cranberries on one side, and a layer of chopped walnuts on the other side. Gently press down the cranberries and walnuts into the brie.
3. Quickly flip the cranberry side onto the nut side. If any cranberries fall out, stuff them back into the center.
4. On a floured work surface, roll out the puff pastry until it's about 1/8 inch thick.
5. Prepare an egg wash by beating 1 egg.
6. Place brie in the center of the puff pastry. Trim off any excess pastry. Do an egg wash on the pastry sticking out. Fold the puff pastry up and over the brie, trimming off any excess. Make sure that the brie has full coverage, but you also want to avoid a very thick piece of dough at the bottom. Flip it over, and gently press in the sides.
7. Optionally, decorate the top. You could use any remaining puff pastry to do a design, or you could score the surface. Either way, finish by doing an egg wash on the top and sides.
8. Place on a parchment paper mat and freeze for 1h.
9. Bake for 425F for 20m, or until browned and slightly leaking.
10. Serve immediately with costini. Enjoy!
> The "James bond technique" is a term coined by Food Wishes in their baked stuffed brie recipe. Essentially, it goes as follows: score the brie all around the side, about 1/8 inch thick. Then use a piece of kitchen twine or dental floss, wrap it around the brie, make sure that it's fully inside the score, and pull together to split it in half. Slicing it with a knife can be pretty messy and mangle the brie, but this technique usually leads to a fairly clean cut.
> Feel free to adjust the size of the walnut pieces to your preference; whole walnuts are definitely too large, but I don't like them too fine either. A coarse chop is usually sufficient.
> Feel free to use whatever dried fruit / nuts you prefer! Naturally, dried fruit and nuts lends itself to more of a sweet / dessert esque baked brie, but you could also do a baked brie with things like olives, bell peppers, tomatoes, and artichokes. Generally, strong flavors that aren't too watery work well.
> You could obviously make your own puff pastry ... but I would strongly suggest you just use frozen puff pastry. It'll save you a LOT of work. Save the lamination for actual pastries like croissants and whatnot. Do let the puff pastry defrost by letting it sit in the fridge for several hours before using, however. Otherwise, it'll be impossible to roll out.
> In Food Wishes' original recipe, it shows him making a "grapevine", with two strips of pastry for vines, and ten circles for grapes. I've never tried it myself, but apparently it helps to use fairly frozen puff pastry when you're cutting out shapes like this to get nice, crisp lines. It'll help the puff pastry rise better.
> Depending on the size of your brie, you may need to adjust the baking temperature / time. I was using a very large wheel of brie, so I extended the baking time to 25m, which worked out quite well. Ideally, the brie should be warm and runny (but not too much has oozed out).