How to Garnish Baked Brie

Brie cheese has a thick, edible rind.

Baked brie makes any appetizer a warm and gooey taste experience. Although brie can be enjoyed at room temperature, its flavor develops more fully when warmed. A thick rind on the cheese holds the brie together during baking, but for a more decorative appetizer, the entire wheel is wrapped in puff pastry and baked to a golden brown. Cookie cutter garnishes must be done before baking the cheese. Other garnishes added after baking serve double duty as foods that complement the creamy texture and mild flavor of brie. Does this Spark an idea?

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Baking sheet
Parchment paper
1 lb. frozen puff pastry, thawed
Sharp knife
2 lbs. wheel of brie
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Pastry brush
2 inch cookie cutters
Red and green grapes attached to vine
Baguette slices or crackers

Instructions

- 1
  
  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- 2
  
  Unroll the thawed puff pastry and trim a 2-inch wide strip from one end and set aside for the decoration. Cut the remaining pastry in half. Place the wheel of brie in the middle of one half of the pastry, and trim the corners from the edges of the pastry.
- 3
  
  Place the second half of the pastry on top of the wheel of cheese. Apply a light coating of beaten egg with the pastry brush to the edges of the puff pastry where they will overlap.
- 4
  
  Press the edges of the puff pastry together, with the pastry from the top half of the wheel overlapping the pastry from the bottom half. The entire wheel of cheese should be covered in pastry.
- 5
  
  Push the cookie cutters into the reserved 2-inch wide strip of puff pastry, and attach the shapes to the top and sides of the pastry-wrapped brie as desired. Use the beaten egg as a glue to hold the shapes on the pastry.
- 6
  
  Transfer the pastry-wrapped brie to the parchment-lined baking sheet. Use a pastry brush to coat the entire wheel with a beaten egg.
- 7
  
  Bake the cheese for 30 to 35 minutes, or until it's golden brown. Cool the cheese for 60 to 90 minutes.
- 8
  
  Arrange the cheese on a serving plate with clusters of red and green grapes on top, and surrounded by baguette slices or crackers.

"Biró: European-inspired Cuisine"; Marcel Biró, et al.; 2005
"Small Plates: Appetizers as Meals"; Marguerite Marceau Henderson; 2006
"Garnishing"; Francis Talyn Lynch; 1987
"Good Housekeeping Great Baking: 600 Recipes for Cakes, Cookies, Breads, Pies and Pastries"; Good Housekeeping Magazine; 2006