Friday, December 11, 2015

Baked Stuffed Brie filled with Cranberries & Walnuts – A Better Brie

One of the most common mistakes people make when serving cheese, is not letting it come to room temperature first, so that all the flavors can be fully realized. This beautiful, baked stuffed brie takes that principle to the next level.

I went with a festive, and seasonally appropriate filling of cranberries and walnuts, but I’ve done this with at least a dozen different fillings, so don't be afraid to play around. 

Believe it or not, Michele and I once had a frozen stuffed brie business for a brief time, and supplied them to some of San Francisco’s finest shops. The business was called, “A Better Brie,” and while we moved on to bigger and better things, we had a lot of fun doing them, and they were very well received. Candied pecan was our best seller, with caramelized mushrooms coming in a close second.

What you seen here is exactly how we used to put them together, so if you weren’t around these parts in the early 90’s, here’s your chance to taste what you missed. I really hope you give this baked stuffed brie a try soon. Enjoy!


Ingredients:
1 small wheel of brie (about 6 to 8 inches is perfect)
handful of dried cranberries, chopped
handful of chopped walnuts
enough puff pastry to cover (1/8-inch thick), plus extra for design
1 egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon water
-- Freeze for 1 hour, bake at 425F. for 20 minutes, or until the pastry is browned, and the brie is soft.

*By the way, do not skip the freezing for one hour step. The crust needs to bake to a golden brown before the brie starts pouring out, so it must be partially frozen when it goes in the oven. If you happen to make it ahead of time, and put it in the oven frozen solid, then I’d lower the temp to 400, and give it an extra 10 minutes or so, or until the cheese is runny.

23 comments:

Billy MacKenzie said...

Gonna try out the Candied pecan version of this. I'll follow the leads from your "Candied Party Nuts" to do so. Word up!

Unknown said...

"If it's not runny, it's not money" -awesome!
I swear by all your recipes on Allrecipes.com, but until now, have never watched any of your videos (chronic impatience). Wow! I'm now hooked!
I think I may just put this Better Brie one on auto-loop....
-dani

Unknown said...

Well chef john I may or may not have been able to hold my applause but either way ill be sure to try this out! Thanks for another great video!

Alicia said...

Wow! So simple yet impressive. Glad you added the last comment about making ahead of time and freezing it as that is probably what I will do! You're awesome!

Joe said...

Does cooking it this way change the character of the rind at all? I love brie, but with only one exception - Fromager d'Affinois - every rind on every brie I've tied has had a very bitter, almost metallic taste that's very unpleasant.

Unknown said...

Oh how I wish my oven were working. Thanks C.J. and Merry Christmas. BTW, I used your stuffed pork roast recipe for our community Christmas dinner at church last night. It was a hit! You are a great teacher.

Unknown said...

Ch. John your videos always so good! Discover the secret what kind of camera do you use! ))

Chef John said...

i use a Canon 3ti. thanks!

annaj said...

New Blogger, long-time Chef John devotee. Must make Baked Brie soon. Think I will use walnuts and mushrooms. Love your humor!

Unknown said...

Qould camembert be good for this too, or perhaps too pungent? J'adore le camembert.

mjclark91 said...

Don't normally try your recipes (It's more of a voyeur thing for me most times) but I'm trying this one out. Will cook it for my parents at xmas to have with wine and crackers. Thanks Chef!!!

Unknown said...

Hello Chef John
i'm from Germany and really enjoy cooking your meals.
I tried this one today and it was extremely good.
Keep up the great work.
I'm looking forward too many future recipes.

Unknown said...

What should I serve this with? I'm guessing we want crunch, so apples are standard. Hard fruits, check. Crostini, check. Some thin slices of ham on a crostini, hmmm. Any other ideas?

Bryan said...

If I make this a couple days ahead of time, should I apply the egg wash and then freeze it or is it better to apply egg wash right before baking?

Unknown said...

I chef ,John. I just wanted to let you know that Top Foodz has stolen that video from you and are posting it on Facebook as their own. They do that to every food blogger all the time.

Anonymous said...

Chef John! Are you aware that Top Foodz on Facebook stole your video, sped it up, took out the dialogue, added some zippy music, and posted it to their FB page?! https://www.facebook.com/topfoodzofficial/videos/802441276549383/?fref=nf

Alex in Shanghai said...

Holy moly these were awesome! I made 5 different ones: sauteed mushrooms/caramelized onions, almond/dried apricot, dried cranberry/walnut, dried papaya/walnut, and a medley one with all the dried fruits and both nuts. Cookie cutter to almost frozen puff pastry means easy top decoration (mostly for filling ID purposes), and to @Bryan, I froze with the egg wash already applied and it came out gorgeous when I baked it. You help me get invited to all the good parties, Chef John!

Unknown said...

I made it today but instead of a grape motif.... I made a skull and crossbones with cranberry eyes

Alex in Shanghai said...

Now have made 12 of these, and every damned time people are sucking on the waxed paper like 11 year olds with their first cheeseburger wrapper. These are my new go-to party and occasion gift. It's fabulous that they go right from frozen to baking, so "pre-make a bunch and store" is almost mandatory.

Alex in Shanghai said...

@dani trueman May I suggest that instead of looping this video, you go on a huge binge of all of his other equally amazing videos? This man has single handedly taught me to cook, ensuring the wife sticks around, and both myself and the kids have lots of friends. And yes, the videos are pure joy even when you're not going to cook what he's throwing down (but, like, why stop there? :p)

Muriel Beatty said...

Made it again and everybody loved it
Thank you so much

Peggy Johnson said...

Made this yesterday for Christmas Dinner appetizer. It was wonderful. So easy to do, how come I never thought of it! Thank you Chef John and Merry Christmas to you

AJCam82 said...

Hi! I am making this recipe for a party tomorrow, and want to serve with toasts and persimmon. I have heard that the persimmon skin is tough and not great for eating... Does anyone have any advice on persimmon preparation when intended for use as a stand-in for a cracker or toast?