Baked brie with jam or fruit is popular for good reason

For sweet and creamy flavour in every bite, we reengineered the traditional whole wheel of baked Brie by trimming off the rind (which doesn’t melt that well) and slicing the cheese into cubes. (File Photo: Caro Scuro/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Baked Brie topped with jam or fruit is popular for good reason. When the cheese is warmed, it becomes rich and gooey, and pairing it with sweet fruit brings out the savory notes in the cheese.

For sweet and creamy flavour in every bite, we reengineered the traditional whole wheel of baked Brie by trimming off the rind (which doesn’t melt that well) and slicing the cheese into cubes. This allowed our honey-apricot mixture to be evenly distributed throughout this deconstructed version of the dish, not just spooned on top.

Baking the cheese in a cast-iron skillet seemed like a no-brainer; since the skillet holds on to heat so well, it keeps the cheese in the ideal luscious, fluid state. We finished the dish with an extra drizzle of honey and some minced chives to reinforce the sweet-savory flavour profile.

Be sure to use a firm, fairly unripe Brie for this recipe. Serve with crackers or Melba toast.

BAKED BRIE WITH HONEYED APRICOTS

Servings: 8-10

Start to finish: 30 minutes

1/4 cup chopped dried apricots

1/4 cup honey

1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 (8-ounce) wheels firm brie cheese, rind removed, cheese cut into 1-inch pieces

1 tablespoon minced fresh chives

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 F. Microwave apricots, 2 tablespoons honey, rosemary, salt, and pepper in medium bowl until apricots are softened and mixture is fragrant, about 1 minute, stirring halfway through microwaving.

Add Brie and toss to combine.

Transfer mixture to 10-inch cast-iron skillet and bake until cheese is melted, 10 to 15 minutes. Drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons honey and sprinkle with chives. Serve.

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Nutrition information per serving: 239 calories; 141 calories from fat; 16 g fat (10 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 57 mg cholesterol; 432 mg sodium; 13 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 13 g sugar; 12 g protein.