Cranberry Baked Brie Recipe (Gluten-Free, Easy) - Apples for CJ (2024)

FAQs

What fruit tastes best with Brie? ›

You do not want to take the rind off Brie before baking it. The Brie's rind is edible and will be a bit softer after baking. If you cut off the rind, the cheese could leak through the puff pastry during baking.

Although known for its classic status on the cheese board, Brie is also incredibly versatile to cook with. Brie is best served at room temperature or warmer, making it great to bake for dessert, grilled for a smoky appetizer or even pressed for panini sandwiches.

Offering a counterpoint to the creamy Brie, Golden Delicious, Ambrosia and Honeycrisp apples are our recommendation for pairing.

Jam - personally, I love the flavour of brie cheese with fig fruit jam, it goes so well with the savoury and sweet flavours. However, you can use absolutely any jam you like! A few of my favourite varieties include: blackberry, boysenberry, apricot or cherry jam.

Do you take the rind off before baking? Keep the rind on, as it will help the cheese hold its shape so it doesn't all melt out. The rind is also edible, so you can enjoy it with the melted cheese, or simply remove the top layer after baking and dunk in crusty bread like a fondue.

It may be a turnoff but it's a consequence of aging, especially for bloomy-rind cheeses like Brie. As these cheeses ripen, their surface molds break down protein into amino acids and one byproduct of that breakdown is ammonia. When a Brie is aging at the creamery on a rack, the ammonia is evacuated through ventilation.

I like to also serve it with a selection of crackers, cut fruits, and whole nuts. This brie can also be part of a larger cheeseboard with a selection of blue and hard cheeses. Check out my post on How to Make a Cheese Board for more tips!

Moderation in consumption

As brie cheese has lots of calories, don't eat too much of it. Just an ounce gives around 100 calories. To keep your weight in check, be careful about how much you eat.

What is the etiquette for brie cheese? ›

Should you avoid the nose? When it comes to slicing Brie, you're traditionally told to avoid "pointing the cheese," or removing the tip (also referred to as the 'nose') of a brie wedge. This is essentially bad cheese etiquette, as you are meant to enjoy the full range of the Brie's flavor, from the center to rind.

Yes, the soft “crust” of brie, called a bloomy rind, is edible. It grows when the beneficial molds and bacteria used in making cheese are sprayed onto the surface of the cheese before aging. The mold then produces enzymes which help the cheese ripen from the outside in (opposite of how hard cheeses ripen).

Serve Brie with crusty bread or crackers. Pair Brie with fruits, such as apples, pears, or grapes.