Prepare the filling: Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add shallot, sautéing until soft and fragrant, about 1 minute. Add pear. Season with salt and pepper, then toss and cook for 1 minute more. Remove from heat.
Prepare the egg wash: Whisk egg and milk in a medium-sized bowl until thoroughly combined. Set aside along with a pastry brush.
Preheat oven to 425°F with the rack in the middle position.
Prepare brie: Roll 1 square of puff pastry out onto a lightly floured work surface. Trim away the corners to create a circle large enough to cover the wheel of brie you’re using. Drop the red pepper jelly into the centre of the pastry and gently spread it out to the same size as the cheese. Spoon the pear and shallot mixture over the jelly, also spreading it out to the same circular shape. Place the cheese on top of the jelly and fruit mixture. Brush the pastry with egg wash and dab more egg wash on top of the brie. Lift and fold the puff pastry up over the top of the brie, adhering it to the egg wash. Lift and invert the cheese onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush the pastry sides and top with egg wash. Add additional pastry decor to the top, gently brushing it with egg wash too.
Transfer to oven and bake for 30 minutes or until pastry puffs up with a rich golden colour and the top of the brie is soft to the touch.
Cool for 20 minutes (runny) or 40 minutes (slightly runny). Serve with assorted crackers, nuts and fresh fruit.
Baked Brie en Croûte
Ingredients
1 package frozen puff pastry, thawed - 1 sheet
1 450 g wheel of double cream brie
For the egg wash:
1 egg, room temperature
1 tablespoon whole milk
For the filling:
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 pear, diced
1 tablespoon butter
sprinkle of kosher salt and black pepper
2 tablespoons spicy red pepper jelly
To serve:
assorted crackers
fresh fruit - grapes, pomegranate, apples, pears
nuts - walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, pistachios
Directions
Prepare the filling: Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add shallot, sautéing until soft and fragrant, about 1 minute. Add pear. Season with salt and pepper, then toss and cook for 1 minute more. Remove from heat.
Prepare the egg wash: Whisk egg and milk in a medium-sized bowl until thoroughly combined. Set aside along with a pastry brush.
Preheat oven to 425°F with the rack in the middle position.
Prepare brie: Roll 1 square of puff pastry out onto a lightly floured work surface. Trim away the corners to create a circle large enough to cover the wheel of brie you’re using. Drop the red pepper jelly into the centre of the pastry and gently spread it out to the same size as the cheese. Spoon the pear and shallot mixture over the jelly, also spreading it out to the same circular shape. Place the cheese on top of the jelly and fruit mixture. Brush the pastry with egg wash and dab more egg wash on top of the brie. Lift and fold the puff pastry up over the top of the brie, adhering it to the egg wash. Lift and invert the cheese onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush the pastry sides and top with egg wash. Add additional pastry decor to the top, gently brushing it with egg wash too.
Transfer to oven and bake for 30 minutes or until pastry puffs up with a rich golden colour and the top of the brie is soft to the touch.
Cool for 20 minutes (runny) or 40 minutes (slightly runny). Serve with assorted crackers, nuts and fresh fruit.
Baked Brie en Croûte
5 / 5. 2
A wheel of double cream brie topped with sautéed pear and a spicy red pepper jelly, wrapped in puff pastry and oven-baked…
BAKED BRIE EN CROUTE (CROÛTE) is proof that a fancy party snack can be terrifically tasty and easy to make too!
This post is for all the cheese lovers out there… so, basically everyone, right? In this case, I suppose it’s also for everyone needing a gorgeous and delicious appetizer that won’t keep you in the kitchen for hours. This BAKED BRIE EN CROUTE is just that recipe – truly amazing!
Before sharing some essential tips on making it, we wanted to answer three questions we’re always asked:
Do you take the rind off before baking brie? No. The soft rind helps the cheese keep its shape when baked so it doesn’t melt out.
What do you serve with baked brie? Serve it with fresh fruit like grapes, apples, and pears, as well as nuts, assorted crackers, and sliced French bread.
What meats pair well with brie? Smoked and cured meats are especially delicious with brie. That makes it wonderful to include on a CHARCUTERIE BOARD.
Here’s the deal on BAKED BRIE EN CROÛTE:
INGREDIENTS
There are surprisingly few ingredients needed to create such a memorable appetizer. You’ll be able to purchase the cheese, puff pastry, pears and shallots at your local grocery store.
BRIE CHEESE
If you’ve never tried brie or used it in a recipe before, here’s your chance. It’s a soft cow’s milk cheese from the Brie region of France. The wheel of this famous cheese has a rind of white mold surrounding the pale, creamy cheese. It has a mild but rich, buttery taste, and the texture is so soft it almost melts in your mouth. Head HERE to learn more.
SPICED FRUIT TOPPING
Because this recipe calls for such a mild cheese, we decided to add a pop of flavour and bake it with a spiced fruit mix. This is accomplished with a quick sauté of pears and shallots, plus a smear of spicy red pepper jelly. We suggest using Bosc pears for this recipe, but both Anjou and Bartlett pears will work too.
For the red pepper jelly, spicy is the way to go; other spiced jams will work too, such as cranberry. Just remember: fruit + spice + brie is a heavenly equation.
PUFF PASTRY
As I’ve previously mentioned in our recipes for TURKEY POT PIE SOUP and ASPARAGUS TART, I’ve never made puff pastry from scratch. I might one day, but for now, there really isn’t a need, especially when there are superior store-bought varieties available. Two things to remember about using puff pastry sheets: be gentle and follow package directions on how to thaw it. Still-frozen pastry sheets don’t work; I speak from experience!
EGG WASH
Our simple egg wash of egg and whole milk is the one to use for BAKED BRIE EN CROÛTE. Not only does it act as a binding agent to seal the pastry seams to the cheese it also helps to create the rich, almost glossy golden topping on the baked puff pastry. Need a pastry brush? I’ve listed a few options to purchase down below. Perfect for a beautiful finish!
ASSEMBLE
Preparing the baked brie and wrapping it in puff pastry is easier than you might think. If you’re nervous, watch the VIDEO we created for this post. Of special note is the way I used pastry trimming to join the pastry folds on the underside of the brie before inverting it onto the baking tray. Sometimes the pastry wrapping meets perfectly, other times, not so much.
One other thing about trimming the square piece of pastry to cover a round wheel of brie is to save those trimmings! Using a knife to cut away the excess pastry is easy, but what about cutting something seasonal, like a little leaf, snowflake or fruit shape?
Use your cookie cutters in this unexpected way to add a nice final touch and bit of interest.
BAKE
The instructions below indicate a bake time of 30 minutes. Just to be clear, we used a medium-sized 450 g (16 oz.) wheel of cheese for this story. Of course, you can go smaller or larger size depending on the number of guests you’re serving, but remember to adjust the bake time accordingly. For best results, bake your brie until the pastry is a rich golden brown. When checking doneness, look for the pastry to be puffed up and gently touch the centre where it should feel very soft.
SERVE
Very important! Do not serve this incredible tasty party snack as soon as you take it out of the oven; no matter how good it smells – and trust us, it’ll smell really, really good – it will be way too hot and runny for your guests. Leave it to stand for 20 minutes if runny, melted cheese is your vibe, or 40 minutes for a firmer texture.
When you serve it, do so with red and green grapes, assorted crackers and nuts. We also suggest placing more of the spicy red pepper jelly out on the side too. Fruit, crackers, nuts, jelly and melted cheese… what more could you ask for?!
Because this recipe is so tasty and perfect for easy entertaining, we suggest you PIN it to a favourite appetizer or party snack board on PINTEREST or BOOKMARK this tab for easy access. SHARE it with friends so they can make it too. We’d also appreciate seeing pics of all the scrumptious stuff you’re making these days. Use #weekendatthecottage when you post those pics on Facebook and Instagram. Thanks!
Enjoy this very cheesy idea for a delicious party snack. Make BAKED BRIE EN CROÛTE for your next get-together.
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Ingredients
1 package frozen puff pastry, thawed - 1 sheet
1 450 g wheel of double cream brie
For the egg wash:
1 egg, room temperature
1 tablespoon whole milk
For the filling:
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 pear, diced
1 tablespoon butter
sprinkle of kosher salt and black pepper
2 tablespoons spicy red pepper jelly
To serve:
assorted crackers
fresh fruit - grapes, pomegranate, apples, pears
nuts - walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, pistachios
Directions
Prepare the filling: Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add shallot, sautéing until soft and fragrant, about 1 minute. Add pear. Season with salt and pepper, then toss and cook for 1 minute more. Remove from heat.
Prepare the egg wash: Whisk egg and milk in a medium-sized bowl until thoroughly combined. Set aside along with a pastry brush.
Preheat oven to 425°F with the rack in the middle position.
Prepare brie: Roll 1 square of puff pastry out onto a lightly floured work surface. Trim away the corners to create a circle large enough to cover the wheel of brie you’re using. Drop the red pepper jelly into the centre of the pastry and gently spread it out to the same size as the cheese. Spoon the pear and shallot mixture over the jelly, also spreading it out to the same circular shape. Place the cheese on top of the jelly and fruit mixture. Brush the pastry with egg wash and dab more egg wash on top of the brie. Lift and fold the puff pastry up over the top of the brie, adhering it to the egg wash. Lift and invert the cheese onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush the pastry sides and top with egg wash. Add additional pastry decor to the top, gently brushing it with egg wash too.
Transfer to oven and bake for 30 minutes or until pastry puffs up with a rich golden colour and the top of the brie is soft to the touch.
Cool for 20 minutes (runny) or 40 minutes (slightly runny). Serve with assorted crackers, nuts and fresh fruit.
