Baked Camembert Platter

🤍 Recipe Highlights

I have summarised everything that you will come to know and love (LOVE ❤) about the recipe in the points below:

• Simple ingredients: you will be able to get everything you need to make the baked camembert platter from your local grocery store. There is no hard and fast rule when it comes to creating a platter so feel free to add your own unique touches!
• Crowd pleasing: when the guests arrive they start by looking for the food! Almost straight away. You want to be prepared and ready to have something to offer and this baked camembert is a fantastic appetizer to start with. It is large enough to feed a crowd and provides a bit of this and that to cater to a wide range of preferences.
• Taste and texture: from the melted cheese to the crisp cracker and jam like onions, we walk through a wide range of taste and textures. This baked camembert cheese recipe will tick an array of flavor profiles and diverse textures all at once!
• Use for leftovers: whilst it may look fresh and inviting, this cheese platter is also an excellent way to repurpose other holiday leftovers. I have repurposed both the Quick Caramelised Onions recipe and the Caramelised Fennel recipe by giving them a quick blitz (smaller pieces) and adding them to the plate. You can also do this with larger leftovers like the Bourbon Glazed Ham 😄👍 or a bowl of the Chilli Tomato Jam.

🥗 Ingredients

The photo below is to show you everything you need to make the recipe. Please refer to the printable recipe card for specific ingredient measurements as well as detailed instructions.

As you can see the recipe calls for:

• Blue cheese: the day I found out that blue cheese comes in mini wedges was like a dream come true! These are soft, bold in flavor and perfect if you don't want to eat a lot of blue cheese at once.
• Caramelised onions: because cocktail onions don't taste homemade!
• Caramelised fennel: to keep things interesting and different.
• Olives: everyone (almost) loves olives! Stuffed green olives are always a good choice.
• Bread slices: toasted to perfection and perfect for smearing melted cheese on!
• Camembert: arguably not as popular as brie cheese, camembert has a milder flavor and more soft and creamy texture.
• Cured meats: I have gone for a combination of serrano ham and salami.
• Bread toasts: offer a different texture to the bread slices and crackers.
• Crackers: it is handy to have a few different types of crackers on the plate. Some thin, some thick, some with salt or plain. Water crackers, ritz or Jatz and wafer thin crackers offer variety.
• Grapes: as you can see we have both red grapes and green grapes for pops of colour and the 'fruit' addition to the platter.

🍳 Instructions

Here are the step by step instructions to make the recipe. We start by preparing the cheese and mentally arranging things on the platter.

• Cut the top from 1 wheel of the cheese (Photo 1)
• Wrap each wheel in baking paper and plate (Photo 2)
• Add the olives and the caramelised vegetables (Photo 3)
• Start adding the crackers to the plate (Photo 4)

👩‍🍳 How to Make A Baked Camembert Platter

To make a baked camembert platter, start by grabbing a large serving plate and then removing the packaging from the 2 wheels of camembert. Slice the top rind off one of them for a bit of variety and then pop it on again (only to cook) then wrap each wheel in a wide strip of baking paper.

Next add the small bowls of olives, caramelised onion and caramelised fennel to the serving platter. Then arrange the crackers in the available spaces around the bowls.

Once done, we are going to bake our camembert! Now in terms of baking it, I recommend we take a short cut. That trick is that we are going to microwave the cheese to cook it in place of heating up the whole oven just for 10 minutes to bake the cheese.

So remove the baking paper wrapped camembert wheels from the serving platter and place them onto a plate. Use a sharp knife to remove the top rind from one and then make a criss-cross pattern in the top of the rind for the 2nd wheel. Next place this plate into the microwave and heat on high for 1 minute. Test the cheese at this point by gently pressing the rind with the tip of your finger. You should feel it push away with little firmness. If it is too firm, place it back into the microwave and heat again in 10 second increments until is melted (and cooked through). Then remove the cheese and use the baking paper strips to help slide it onto the platter.

Next continue to fill the platter with the grapes like you see in the photo below.

• Add the grapes (Photo 5)
• Then add the baked cheese (Photo 6)
• Add the bread slices and crisps (Photo 7)
• Next add the cured meats (Photo 8)

After adding the grapes, add the bread slices or crisps and the cured meats.

• Add the honey and thyme (Photo 9)

Next drizzle the honey over one of the camembert wheels and add thyme to the top of both.

Then you can step back, say woot woot and pat yourself on the back as it is done!

🍽 Serving Suggestions

When it comes to serving your baked camembert platter, I like to have some small plates and cheese knives available so that people can grab a bit of this and that and load up their own.

You can also provide serviettes, napkins or little glass jars that guests can fill which also allows them to walk away from the larger platter to keep mingling or socialising with the other guests.

👍 How to Guide

How to Store

If you have any leftovers of the cheese you can store them in a sealed, air tight container in the fridge. For crackers, transfer them to a zip lock bag and seal. Grapes can also be refrigerated and it is best to keep leftover cured meats in the fridge also.

How to Freeze

I think that this platter is best created and served, any leftovers can go in the fridge. There isn't really anything on the platter that will taste as good frozen, thawed and reheated.

How to Reheat

If you have leftover baked camembert and you want to reheat it, you can. Place it onto a place and into the microwave. Reheat it in 30 seconds increments (high heat) until warmed through.

😉 Substitutions and Variations

Here are my sub ins and outs that you might be thinking about as you read the post and I will tell you if I think they will work or why they won't:

• You can substitute brie cheese for the camembert if you wish too. Or use 1 x wheel of each.
• Some other cheeses to offer in smaller portions are goat cheese, cheddar, gruyere, feta, bocconcini, flavored cream cheese or gorgonzola.
• For some alternative options to the salami and ham try pepperoni, prosciutto, kabana, cabanossi or chorizo.
• If you want to bake the camembert into a bread bowl, you can. Have a look at the Baked Brie Bread Bowl as a reference point.
• For additional or alternative fruit ideas try slices of fresh figs, dried apricots, cranberries or cherries.
• For a little bit of spice, sprinkle some red chilli flakes over the top of one of the wheels of camembert for cooking.
• Or you can use hot honey where the chili flakes are infused into the honey.
• For something more on the plate than crackers whip up the Puff Pastry Cheese Twists 😄👍.

💡 Tasty Tips

Here are my top tips and tricks that I want to share with you so that you master the baked camembert appetizer recipe from the get go:

• Use a big platter. You will be suprised at how quickly you can fill it!
• Wrapping the cheese wheels in the baking paper allows us to easily handle and manage the cheese. These can be easily slipped out from under the baked cheese so are highly recommended. Or you can use a flat silicon turner to move the cheese.
• Or regarding the point above, you can purchase the cheese in a small wooden 'box'. It is actually a circle not square but is a handy way of keeping it all together.
• Want to make a homemade cream cheese to add to your platter? Try the Honey Pecan Cream Cheese, Honey Walnut Cream Cheese or the Chive and Onion Cream Cheese 😉👌.
• Love camembert and want to use it more often? Try the Honey Baked Camembert or the Baked Camembert with Cranberry Sauce 😍👍.
• Want to try a completely different type of cheese appetizer? Try the Goat Cheese Log 🥰.

🤓 Frequently Asked Questions

😍 More Easy Appetizer Recipes

Food, food, glorious food! Appetizer, party food and snacks...they really get the party going right! Here are some more ideas to help keep your entertaining game strong:

• Tater Tot Cups
• Puff Pastry Bites
• Spinach Cob Loaf Dip
• Smoked Trout Dip
• Bacon And Cheese Cob Loaf
• Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Bites
• Cream Cheese Bacon Dip
• French Onion Cob Loaf

It is time to get our baked camembert on my friend! You can also find all of my appetizer recipes, dips and spreads or Christmas recipes in the one spot.

Adrianne

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