Honey Baked Brie with Figs and Hazelnuts

We are enjoying a bumper crop of fresh late summer fruit here in Ontario.

The peaches, plums, tomatoes, figs, zucchini, tomatoes, pears and apples are all at their juicy best at the moment, and I just can’t get enough.

Every year I try to save some figs for this appetizer.  You will love how easy it is to assemble, and what a hit it always is with everyone sharing it.

Baked Brie 101

This appetizer couldn’t be easier.  We all love a good wheel of Brie, it’s creamy goodness is just decadent enough to be considered special occasion cheese.  We actually grew up having Camembert, my mum and dad favoured it for it’s more pronounced flavour.  And yes, it will work equally well in this setting/

All you need is a small to medium sized wheel of Brie cheese.  Some recipes call for removing the top rind.  I don’t.  I like the rind, so why remove some of it? Plus it adds a fun texture as it softens and gets all gooey in the oven.

But to make it easier to penetrate that top rind with the goodies on top, I suggest scoring the top with three going in both directions, as if you are making a tic-tac-toe board, with an extra line each way.  Go in deep, so that the honey and pepper to follow can really seep in.  In fact, if you want to spread them open a bit to help it along, all the better.  You will place the wheel into a small baking dish or cast iron skillet.  Too large, and if it opens up as all as it bakes, the cheese will ooze too far away from the wheel, a smaller container will…contain it!  Don’t worry about greasing or spraying the interior, the cheese has enough fat in it to keep from sticking to the sides and bottom.

What to Top the Brie With?

This is where you can have fun.  I love figs, because they get wonderfully jammy in a short amount of time.  But the same can be said of peaches, plums, strawberries, apricots, blackberries etc.  And if you really want to go savory, sliced cherry tomatoes would be great.  You can also use apples or pears, but you will have to soften them up on the stove top with a little brown sugar, water and lemon juice first, since the time in the oven won’t be long enough to soften them into a pleasant compote.

Along with the fruit, I always add some herbs.  Rosemary, thyme, sage, are the classic choices. Season with some pepper, rose harissa, urfa biber, or even za’atar, depending on the fruit you choose.

The other addition is nuts.  They add the perfect textural contrast.  Their crunch will add some oomph to the creamy nature of the dish.  And roasting them in the oven with the fruit and honey brings out their wonderful fragrance. Use the nuts you have on hand. I love hazelnuts, but if you like pecans, walnuts, pistachios or walnuts, they will all work great.  Just chop them into smallish bite sized pieces that can be picked up easily with a cracker or small knife.

How to Assemble

As I mentioned already, score the top of the Brie with lines deep enough for the honey to penetrate, as well as poke some of the herbs into.  Take about a tbsp’s worth sprigs of fresh rosemary and push them into the score lines.  Drizzle a little honey evenly over the top.  Follow this with a good crack of fresh pepper and a little salt.  Then add the quarter sliced figs and most of the nuts. Drizzle with more honey, a bit more pepper and pop everything into a 375F oven.  Bake until the cheese has softened beautifully, and the fruit has just started to turn jammy, about 20-25 minutes, depending on your oven.  When it comes out, drizzle with a bit more honey,  the remaining nuts, a bit more pepper if you so desire, and an extra sprinkling of herbs.

What to Serve Baked Brie With

Naturally bread crostini or crackers are the classic choice.  But remember those pears and apples I mentioned earlier?  Well if you don’t want to to bake them in the oven on the Brie, then slice them up thinly and use them to scoop up the gloriously gooey cheese.  Bread sticks, cucumber slices, celery sticks etc will also be a great addition to your cheesy appetizer.  This Fruit and Nut Loaf would be amazing to spread this cheese on. You can serve this on its own, or as part of larger spread. Think charcuterie, fruit, vegetables, other cheeses, etc.  For some fab charcuterie inspo, check out my CheeseBoard 101 blog post, as well as this summer Charcuterie Board idea. In fact if you go all out, this can be dinner for four or six of your closest friends!

Enjoy these lovely weeks of summer, as it slowly transitions into the best time of the year, Autumn!!

Love Jen

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Honey Baked Brie with Figs and Hazelnuts

A simple appetizer that can be a showstopper with very little effort. Honey, fresh figs, chopped rosemary and cracked pepper turn this simple wheel of brie into a gooey treat for a lovely evening with friends and family.

Course Appetizer

Cuisine North American

Keyword brie, figs, hazelnuts

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 1 wheel of Brie cheese, small to medium size depending on how many you are feeding, see Notes
• 3 tbsp runny honey, divided
• 1 stem of rosemary, sprigs removed, chopped coarsely, divided
• cracked pepper
• salt
• 5-6 medium ripe figs, quartered
• 2 tbsp chopped hazelnuts, plus 1 tbsp for finishing

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375F
2. Place the wheel of Brie into a small cast iron skillet or baking dish. Place the dish on a baking sheet.
3. Using a sharp knife, cut three lines across the top rind, and then another three going in the perpendicular direction. Go in about 1/2 inch or so.
4. Using the knife, open the cuts to allow you to push 1/3 of the coarsely chopped rosemary inside.
5. Drizzle 1 tbsp of the honey over the top of the cheese. Crack 1/8 tsp or so of pepper on top of the honey. Sprinkle 1/8 tsp of salt evenly over it all

6. Place the figs on the cheese, overlapping and pushing gently to keep them from falling off. Sprinkle the nuts over the figs. Drizzle with 1 tbsp honey, and scatter some more of the rosemary over the figs. Give another crack of pepper over the figs.

7. Bake in the baking sheet on the centre rack and bake until the cheese is soft and gooey (a sharp knife will let you know right away) and the fruit is softened and becoming jammy, about 20-25 minutes.

8. Drizzle with the remaining honey, rosemary and more pepper. Finish with the remaining nuts.

9. Place the skillet onto a cutting board. Serve with crackers, crostini, sliced pears or apples, using a small serving knife to get it all started.
10. See the blog post for more details.

Recipe Notes

Brie wheels will come in different sizes from 4 inch diameter all the way to a 9 inch diameter. The smaller ones are great for 4-6 people. If you do go with a larger wheel of Brie, adjust the toppings accordingly. The bake time may also be affected.