Beyond Baked Brie: New Uses for a Wheel of Cheese

During the holidays, you're bound to run into at least one baked brie or brie en croute, topped with preserves, sitting on a cheese plate. They're classic for a reason—gooey cheese topped with sweet preserves, occasionally wrapped in buttery puff pastry. What's not to love? But if you want an updated version, we found two that look divine.

Both of these recipes from Martha Stewart involve a similar fruit-cheese-nut combination, but we love the upgrade from saucy preserves to more sophisticated fruits. Both of these dishes involve herbs and a little booze, too—always welcome at the holidays.

The first dish, which is actually a wheel of camembert, has pears, rosemary, and brandy. In the second, red grapes are cooked with port, honey, and thyme and poured over a round of brie that's stuffed with a goat and blue cheese mixture.

• Pears and Camembert
• Brie and Walnut Cake

And here are two more variations on baked brie from our archives:
• Baked Goat Milk Brie with Cranberry Sauce
• Brie with Roasted Cinnamon Plums

Related: From the Cheesemonger: Brie

(Images: MarthaStewart.com)

Comments (4)

I've never understood baked brie when it's wrapped in pastry, it seems like it would require too much time baking to cook the dough enough, and that would ruin the cheese.
These without the dough look lovely though.

Baked Brie, with or without pastry, is heaven.

When you bake brie in pastry it gets very gooey, but it tastes divine and the texture is lovely. I wouldn't really call it ruined unless you don't like melty cheese. It does tend to soften the rind a bit too, but I consider that a good thing too.

Cheese plates are the best. <3

Another Camembert recipe (savory) I've picked up here in France, is Camembert rôti. Roasted Camembert served with potatoes and a thick slab of bacon (lard, in French) and sprinkled with lardons. Served with salad with a nice vinegary dressing to counter the fatty cheese and lots of country bread to dip with!