with rosemary, honey, apples, and almonds!
This tasty Baked Camembert is an easy appetizer for an Apéro hour. Quick to prepare and could be the simplest dish you have ever served! It looks wonderful on the table with sprigs of rosemary, drizzled with honey, sprinkled with almonds, and served with pears or apples. Get your favorite crackers out, toast some French bread, or slice a baguette or two. This creamy, warm cheese will not disappoint with all the accompanying great flavors!
To round out your apéro or appetizer table, serve with a French Snail Dish and one or two of my Pâté Recipes!
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🤔 What Is Camembert?
Camembert is a soft, creamy, surface-ripened cow's milk cheese, with a rind that can be eaten because it is delicious too.
It was first made in the late 18th century at Camembert, Normandy, thus the name.
You can also use any other soft, cow's milk cheese with a rich flavor.
Share it as an aperitif, or serve it as a main dish, accompanied by a green salad.
🗝️Key Ingredients
So simple as there is only one main ingredient, the cheese itself, and then flavorings and sides.
- camembert cheese (or substitute brie,
- fresh rosemary
- honey
- flaked and toasted almonds
- pears or apples
See recipe card for quantities.
🔢 How To Make Baked Camembert
This is such a simple dish it will leave you lots of time to get other foods ready if you are serving this as a buffet for guests.
Turn your oven on so it can warm up while you get everything ready; it won't take long.
First, remove the packaging from your cheese and place it in the round dish you will be heating your cheese in the oven with.
(If you do not have a Camembert dish, cut a circle of baking parchment 2 centimeters/¾ inch larger in diameter than the cheese. Wet the parchment under cold water and lay it in the Camembert box. Replace the cheese in its baking parchment-lined box.)
Now, be creative, using a sharp knife, score the top of the Camembert in a crisscross pattern or another pattern you like better. Place the sprigs of rosemary throughout your pretty top that you have created. Then drizzle honey all over the top of the cheese and place it in the preheated oven.
While the cheese is warming up to the melting stage and the honey caramelizes, cut up the pear and/or apple you are serving to dip in the melted, creamy pot.
After carefully removing the cheesy goodness from the oven, lightly sprinkle the top with the toasted almonds.
Serve right away and use a hot plate or a fondue burner to serve it on to keep its consistency nice and hot!
🥘 How To Toast Almond Flakes
- Warm a heavy-bottomed fry pan (cast iron works well) on the stove.v
- Place the flaked almonds in the pan and keep them moving until they start to turn a light brown.
🔄 Substitutions For Baked Camembert
Camembert cheese is most often replaced with brie as they both have bloomy rinds, but there are others like these that can stand in well:
- Brillat-Savarin Cheese, is a nice soft cheese.
- Chevré (Goat's Cheese), crumblier and may not be the best stand-in on its own.
- Cream cheese, in a pinch, much less expensive.
- Toma (an Italian cheese) is soft like camembert but may be hard to find.
- Saint-André Cheese has a stronger flavor and is more buttery in texture.
- Fontina, similar in taste to brie and melts well.
- Fresh Mozzarella, melts well but has a slightly different flavor profile.
- Reblochon, soft with a similar rind, same goes for
- Coulommiers Cheese
✨More Delicious Recipes
More Amazing Hor d'Oeuvres
📖 Recipe
Prep Like a Pro
Before you start cooking, chop, measure, and prep every ingredient, and gather your tools.
This simple habit reduces stress, prevents overcooking, and instantly improves your meals. Mise en Place - "Everything in its place."
Greatest Baked Camembert
Equipment
- ramekin or
- cheese baker
- 6 cheese knives
Ingredients
- 1 Camembert
- 4 small sprigs of rosemary
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 apple or pear sliced
- 2 tablespoon almonds flaked and toasted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F/191°C/Gas 5.
- Remove the cheese from its packaging and place in a Camembert or other round dish. (If you do not have a Camembert dish, cut a circle of baking parchment 2cm (¾ inch) larger in diameter than the cheese. Wet the parchment under cold water and lie it in the Camembert box. Replace the cheese in its baking parchment-lined box.)
- Using a sharp knife, score the top of the Camembert in a crisscross pattern. Put the sprigs of rosemary in the cuts and drizzle with honey.
- Bake for 10 minutes until the cheese is melting and the honey is starting to caramelize.
- Meanwhile, cut the pear or apple into chunks.
- Carefully remove the Camembert from the oven and sprinkle with the flaked almonds.
- Serve immediately, with the pieces of apple (or pear) to dip into the melting Camembert.
How To Toast Almonds
- Warm a heavy-bottomed fry pan (cast iron works well) on the stove.
- Place the flaked almonds in the pan and keep them moving until they start to turn a light brown.
Notes
- This recipe will serve 6-8 people on a buffet table.
- Dip the pear or apple slices in a cup of cold water with a tablespoon of lemon juice to prevent them from turning brown.
- Warm a heavy-bottomed fry pan (cast iron works well) on the stove.
- Place the flaked almonds in the pan and keep them moving gently with a wooden spoon or spatula until they start to turn a light brown. (Careful not to break up the nuts.)
Loved it, tweaked it, or not your "cup of tea"... I’d really love to hear how it went for you.