RecipeTin Eats

Posted: 28 Dec 2021 11:30 AM PST

Close up of crispy toasted bread scooping up Baked Brie

Introducing the world’s easiest party starter – Baked Brie! This is how how you transform a good value brie into a spectacular brie. It’s like the best cheese dip you will ever have!! An excellent option for a shared entree or party food that’s super quick and easy to prepare that has wow factor.

Serve with crostini or crackers (try these homemade fruit & nut crackers!).

Baked Brie

Baked Brie is, quite simply, the best melted cheese in the world. When you cut through the rind and the inside comes pouring out like lava, you’ll forget all your troubles. It’s like cheese-aholic heaven!

But cheese addiction aside, here’s the practical reason why Baked Brie needs to be on your radar:

It’s the world’s easiest appetiser / party starter!

Just pop a brie in the oven for 15 minutes, or microwave it for 2 minutes. Plonk on a platter, add a mound of crispy crackers and watch the hands dive in to do THIS:

And keep pulling up and up….. LOOK AT THIS CHEESE PULL!!!

Crispy toasted bread scooping up Baked Brie

How to make Baked Brie

I wasn’t exaggerating when I said you just plonk a brie in the oven. But here’s a practical visual for how to make it.

What to bake it in – use a round, shallow oven proof dish that’s a bit larger than the brie for baking and serving if you have one. It needs to be shallow, otherwise it’s hard to dip/scoop without touching the hot dish; OR
Place the brie on crumpled paper – this is what I do.This serves 2 purposes:
- safest way to transfer – Baked Brie is wobbly and delicate, and it would be a tragedy if that Baked Brie burst open mid transfer……
- the crumpled paper helps stop the brie from oozing out all over the table. Melted brie just needs a little bit of coaxing to stop it from running everywhere!

Baked Brie Practical Tips!

Best Brie for Baked Brie – Use an economical brie or camembert! Expensive brie would be wasted on this recipe, in my opinion, though it does work just as well with top end as it does budget brie.
How long it stays gooey – in a ceramic dish, it will stay scoopable for a good 15 minutes or so. On paper, around 10 minutes, then for another 10 minutes or so you can smear it on with a knife.
How to reheat – seconds in the microwave! A whole brie takes 2 minutes in the microwave, so use that as a baseline for leftover brie.
Leftovers – AMAZING! The honey / maple syrup will be mixed through when the cheese hardens and it just makes it all the more delicious. Who cares if you have to scrape up the dregs and pop into a small ramekin? OR pile it onto toast and grill! *She swoons at the thought*

Baked Brie is how you get gourmet flavour using a good value brie!

Photo of Baked Brie drizzled with honey garnished with fresh thyme, with crispy toasted bread and grapes

What goes with Baked Brie

Baked Brie is best served with sturdy crackers for scooping up the molten cheese – avoid chips and those wafer thin crackers for serving with cheese as they aren’t strong enough.

And while brie is rich enough and the cheese itself is flavoured enough so that even a plain Baked Brie is amazing, a simple (generous!) drizzle of honey or maple syrup certainly wouldn’t go astray. Sweet honey and the rich, savoury brie goes brilliantly and adds another dimension that takes it from OMG this is sooooo goooood!

Add a a simple bunch of grapes to the serving platter (fruit + cheese is classic, plus just looks good!), and your impressive easy appetiser is complete and ready to wow your family and friends!

“When you cut through the rind, the inside comes pouring out like lava. It’s like the best cheese fondue you will ever have.”

Overhead photo of Baked Brie drizzled with honey served with crispy toasted bread and grapes

What did that take? All of 2 minutes effort on your part. Unwrap the brie, bake or microwave it. Open packet of crispy toasted bread (or make your own), plonk a bunch of grapes on the side. And voila! Your party starter is ready to impress your family and friends.

Make this once, then come join me at Cheese-aholics Anonymous! – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

Baked Brie

Recipe video above. The world's fastest finger food, this is like the best cheese dip in the world with wow factor! Just pop a brie in the oven for 15 minutes or microwave on high for 2 minutes (seriously, no one will EVER know). Use a budget brie or camember for this, top end brie would be wasted on this recipe.

Excellent shared entree or party food that's really quick and easy to prepare. Be sure to use sturdy plain or flavoured crackers, or crostini for scooping. Wafer thin crackers and chips tend to break.

Course Appetizer, Starter

Cuisine Western

Keyword baked brie

Prep Time 3 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 18 minutes

Servings – 10

Calories 161cal

Author Nagi | RecipeTin Eats

Ingredients

250 – 500g / 8 – 16 oz round brie or camembert (good value is fine! Note 1)
2 tbsp honey or maple syrup (optional)
1 thyme sprig (optional)

For Serving:

Crostini or other sturdy crackers
1 bunch purple grapes (or green, optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (all oven types).
Unwrap brie and place in a small, shallow ovenproof dish slightly larger than the brie (to be used for serving) OR a piece of crumbled baking / parchment paper (for transference). (Note 2)
Oven: Bake for 15 to 20 minutes (for 250g/80z), or until melted through. For 500g/1lb brie, increase to 25 minutes. To check, gently touch the centre of the brie – it should feel very soft, like it is about to collapse if you press any harder.
Microwave option: 2 minutes on high (no one will know!) in 30 second increments.
Carefully transfer to serving plate / board – it's delicate (transfer on paper if you used paper).
Drizzle with honey, top with sprig of thyme (if using).
Serve immediately with crostini on the side for scooping. Provide a knife to cut through the rind and a cheese or pate knife (or similar) to scoop cheese up onto crostini or crackers (plain or fruit/nut flavoured).

Notes

1. Brie –I recommend using an economical brie for this. This recipe works just as well with budget brie as it does top end. If I splurge on expensive brie, I serve it as is because I think it’s a waste to alter it! Camember also works.

2. Baked Brie Baking dish – the most practical way to bake / serve brie is if you have a shallow round ovenproof dish that is slightly larger than the brie. This will stop the cheese from oozing out everywhere when people start eating it but it needs to be shallow otherwise you’ll burn your fingers trying to scoop it!

If you don’t have one, do one of the following:

very shallow bowl or curved plate – the shape of which will hold the cheese in (ovenproof if baking, microwave proof if microwaving ie most normal dinner plates fine); OR
bake on crumbled paper per recipe directions – the paper makes it easy to transfer the Brie to a serving platter (Baked Brie is delicate and wobbly like jelly, and if it bursts you will cry). Plus by crumpling it, it actually (mostly) stops the cheese from oozing out onto the table (but really, you won’t be short of willing participants to dash forward and scoop up brie that’s oozing dangerously close to the edge of the serving platter!)

3. Over baking – check the brie at 15 minutes. If you can’t tell if it is ready by touching the surface of the centre of the brie, insert a skewer and if it comes out with melted cheese stuck to it, then you know it is ready. (If you overtake a brie, it goes hard in the middle)

4. Serving size – a 250g/8 oz brie will comfortably serve 6 people, if not 8 to 10. Brie is rich, and it’s made to seem even richer when melted. And also once melted, less goes further – the amount you can scoop onto a cracker is less than what you can cut & smear if it was not melted!

5. Honey / maple – I use both, it depends what I have on hand. I used to love maple more, but when I have a really good (local) honey, I prefer honey.

6. How long it stays gooey – in a ceramic dish, it will stay scoopable for a good 15 minutes or so. On paper, around 10 minutes, then for another 10 minutes or so you can smear it on with a knife.

7. Leftovers – AMAZING! The honey / maple syrup will be mixed through when the cheese hardens and it just makes it all the more delicious. Who cares if you have to scrape up the dregs and pop into a small ramekin? OR pile it onto toast and grill! *She swoons at the thought*

How to reheat – seconds in the microwave! A whole brie takes 2 minutes in the microwave, so use that as a baseline for leftover brie.

8. Nutrition per serving (assumes 6 servings, 250g/8oz brie, excludes crostini)

Nutrition

Originally published November 2014, updated with new photos and recipe video in October 2019, refreshed again in 2021. No change to recipe!

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When the treat jar is so close…yet so far… (and so empty…?)

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Cosmopolitan Cocktails

Posted: 27 Dec 2021 11:23 AM PST

Cosmopolitan Cocktails are a classic, elegant vodka cocktail made famous by the ladies of Sex and the City! Not to sweet, not too tart, super quick to make made with cranberry juice, lime juice, vodka and cointreau.

Serve this for elegant pre dinner drinks, to ring in the New Year or an evening in with the girls!

Cosmopolitan Cocktails

I love Cosmos for how easy they are to drink – and how I always feel like I’m channeling the New-York-Gal within as I daintily sip away!

Truthfully though, I live in the Northern Beach of Sydney. I spend my days in flip flops, denim shorts and comfortable tees, a whirlwind of activity between the kitchen, shooting area and my computer.

About as far from NYC-like as you can get.

But with a glass of Cosmo in my hand? I feel a little bit closer to the glitz and glam of NYC!

What do cosmos taste like?

Cosmos are sweet with a touch of tang from lime. They taste of cranberry juice with orange (from the Cointreau), and though there's a considerably slug of alcohol in it with equal parts alcohol to non alcohol, you can't taste it very much. They are dangerously drinkable!

What you need for Cosmos

Here’s what you need:

Cranberry juice, SWEETENED – be sure not to use unsweetened cranberry juice, it’s very tart…. too tart! You need the sweet cranberry juice to get the right balance of sweet. Accidentally got unsweetened? Save it – make a simple syrup with equal parts sugar and hot water to dissolve, cool, then add as needed.;
Vodka – plain, unflavoured vodka. Use mid shelf because there’s quite a lot of vodka in Cosmos. Top shelf if your budget stretches that far….but I typically serve top shelf vodka straight.
Cointreau – this is a clear orange flavoured liquor called triple sec. Cointreau is a brand of triple sec, the best, in my opinion (certainly the most well known).
Lime juice – fresh!

With 3 full shots of alcohol, Cosmos are pretty potent!!

How to make Cosmopolitan Cocktails

Just pour everything into a cocktail shaker filled with ice, shake well to chill, then strain into a martini glass.

The classic garnish is orange peel. The extra little fragrance you get as you drink the Cosmopolitan drives home the orange flavour and is really lovely!

When to serve Cosmopolitan Cocktails

Cosmos are one of those cocktails that are quite elegant so they’re ideal to serve at dinner parties as a pre dinner drink. Plus, it’s a pretty short drink (as opposed to large volume tall drinks like Tequila Sunrises) so you don’t fill up on cocktails before dinner.

And while I say they’re a classy drink, I also think of Cosmos as fun too! Think – Girls’ Nights Out (well, nights IN!), Bachelorette Parties, Christmas (on theme colour!), Thanksgiving, and other holiday occasions!

What to serve with Cosmos

I think Cosmos are the sort of cocktail that are ideal to serve with finger food. Try Crostinis with your choice of toppings, Mini Quiche or Smoked Salmon Appetizer Bites, or have a browse through all my Party Foods.

Cosmopolitan Cocktails would also pair beautifully with a homemade Gravlax. It’s easy – impressive! – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

Cosmopolitan Cocktails

Recipe video above. A wonderful classic, elegant cocktail made famous by the ladies of Sex and the City! The key is to get the balance of each component just right so it's not too sweet, not too tart.

I particularly love Cosmos because they're so quick and easy to make. Also works well to make a big jug and keep it cold in the fridge.

SCALE RECIPE using slider to fit the glass/jug you're using.

Be sure to use SWEETENED cranberry juice. Unsweetened (no added sugar) is too tart.

Course Cocktails

Cuisine Western

Keyword cointreau cocktail, Cosmopolitan cocktail, cosmos, vodka cocktail

Prep Time 5 minutes

Servings drink

Calories 260cal

Author Nagi