This funky, fruity dish is outstanding for entertaining, especially if you go the extra step of molding extra puff pastry to decorate for the occasion. The blackberry basil coulis is nuanced and the perfect balance for the salty, savory camembert. I love the flavor and texture of the camembert rind, but if you’d like to temper some of that funk, you can always cut off the entire top of the cheese before covering it with your puff pastry. If you prefer even less funk, swap out the camembert with a mild brie. You can also swap out the blackberries with any berry or fruit that better suits your palate, and likewise with the basil- thyme, rosemary, tarragon, or mint would work beautifully as well.
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Preheat the oven to 400°F. Roll out both pastry sheets. Lay one on your worktop and place the camembert in the middle. Lay the 2nd pastry sheet over the camembert and press down all around top and sides to get the air pockets out.
Using a pastry wheel, cut around the circumference of the cheese with about a 1½” margin. Lift the pastry-encased cheese and put it onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a reusable silicone sheet. Press a fork down into the excess pastry to crimp it. Do this around the entire cheese to seal the pastry sheets together.
Using excess puff pastry, mold or cut out decorations for the top of your baked camembert. Brush the milk over the entire pastry.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. In the meantime, add the blackberries, lemon juice, and brown sugar to a small saucepan and cook on medium-high. Once the blackberries have released their juices, pulverize them using a potato masher.
Stack all of your basil leaves onto one another and then roll them all up into a cigar shape. Using a scissors, snip the basil into long strips.
Add the basil to the blackberry mixture and reduce to a simmer. Cook for another 5 minutes. Remove the blackberry mixture from the heat and pour through a sieve into a small bowl, scraping the liquid through the sieve.
When the cheese has finished cooking, remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Serve warm with the blackberry basil coulis in a small creamer next to the baked camembert.
Baked Camembert with a Blackberry Basil Coulis
Ingredients
- 8 oz camembert (or brie), whole
- 2 sheets puff pastry, thawed
- 1 Tbsp milk
- 12 oz frozen or fresh blackberries
- 4 Tbsp light brown sugar, packed
- 7-10 leaves basil
- 1 pinch freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pinch kosher salt
- 1 tsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Roll out both pastry sheets. Lay one on your worktop and place the camembert in the middle. Lay the 2nd pastry sheet over the camembert and press down all around top and sides to get the air pockets out.
- Using a pastry wheel, cut around the circumference of the cheese with about a 1½" margin. Lift the pastry-encased cheese and put it onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a reusable silicone sheet. Press a fork down into the excess pastry to crimp it. Do this around the entire cheese to seal the pastry sheets together.
- Using excess puff pastry, mold or cut out decorations for the top of your baked camembert. Brush the milk over the entire pastry.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. In the meantime, add the blackberries, lemon juice, and brown sugar to a small saucepan and cook on medium-high. Once the blackberries have released their juices, pulverize them using a potato masher.
- Stack all of your basil leaves onto one another and then roll them all up into a cigar shape. Using a scissors, snip the basil into long strips.
- Add the basil to the blackberry mixture and reduce to a simmer. Cook for another 5 minutes.
- Remove the blackberry mixture from the heat and pour through a sieve into a small bowl, scraping the liquid through the sieve.
- When the cheese has finished cooking, remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Serve warm with the blackberry basil coulis in a small creamer next to the baked camembert.