Baked Camembert

Appetizer, Appetizers & Snacks, Snack

This Baked Camembert captures the warm, comforting essence of French country cooking. This little wheel of creamy, oozy cheese, gently infused with fresh herbs, crunchy toasted walnuts and a drizzle of golden honey, is an absolute showstopper, effortless to prepare yet irresistibly indulgent!

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Servings 4

Ingredients 

1x2x3x?

• 1 camembert
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 handful walnuts
• black pepper to taste

Equipment

1 baking tray

1 knife

1 baking dish small, if the wooden box is not oven-safe

Instructions

1. Prepare the oven and cheese

• Preheat your oven to 190°C (375°F). Remove any plastic film or outer wrapping from the Camembert, but keep the cheese in its wooden box if oven-safe. If not, place it in a small ovenproof dish.

2. Score and flavour the cheese

• Using a sharp knife, carefully cut a shallow grid on top of the cheese rind, just enough to penetrate but not remove it entirely. This allows the flavours to seep in during baking. Scatter small sprigs of rosemary and thyme over the top and gently press some into the cuts for maximum infusion.

3. Add nuts, honey and pepper

• Scatter the walnuts over the top of the cheese. Drizzle the clear honey evenly across the surface and season with freshly ground black pepper to taste.

4. Bake the Camembert

• Place the cheese on a baking tray and bake in the centre of the oven for 15-20 minutes until melted and gooey inside but with the rind intact.

5. Serve immediately

• Remove from the oven and let rest for a minute or two. Serve warm with crusty bread, rustic crackers, or slices of apple or pear for dipping!

Notes

• For a nutty twist, try substituting walnuts with almonds or hazelnuts.
• Fresh herbs like thyme and rosemary can be swapped or combined depending on what’s in season or your pantry.
• Leftover baked cheese can be delicious stirred into mashed potatoes or spread on toast the next day.

About this recipe

Baked Camembert is one of the easiest things you can pull off in a kitchen and one of the most satisfying to put down in the middle of a table. You take a whole little wheel of cheese, score the top, season it, and slide it into the oven until the inside turns completely liquid. Fifteen minutes later it looks like you have made an effort, even though you mostly just waited.

The story of Camembert

Camembert comes from a tiny village of the same name in Normandy, and for once the origin story is quite precise. It is linked to a farmer’s wife, Marie Harel, who in 1791 is said to have learned a Brie-style cheesemaking method from a travelling priest and then adapted it to the rich milk of Normandy cows. What she ended up with was a soft cheese with a white rind that eventually became one of France’s most famous exports.

Normandy’s damp, green fields give milk with plenty of flavour and fat, which suits this style of cheese perfectly. The traditional Camembert de Normandie is still made with raw milk and handled gently: the curds are ladled into moulds by hand, which helps create that slightly irregular texture and the delicate, wrinkled rind that you do not see on the more uniform industrial versions.

In 1890, an engineer called Ridel designed the thin round wooden box that Camembert still travels in today. It solved the problem of getting fragile cheeses to market in one piece, and it quickly became part of the cheese’s identity. It also happens to make baked Camembert very straightforward, because in many kitchens you simply tuck the cheese back into its box and bake it in there.

Why baked camembert works

Camembert has just the right balance of fat and moisture for the oven. The rind holds everything together while the inside relaxes into a smooth, runny pool. The cheese essentially brings its own container. There is no need for special kit or complicated steps: score the top, tuck in a few flavourings, put it in a hot oven, and wait for the wobble.

In Normandy, baking Camembert at home has been normal for years; if there is good cheese and an oven, someone will eventually put one inside. Elsewhere in France, and now far beyond, a warm wheel of Camembert has become a regular on apéro tables and relaxed dinner spreads.

The right dish for roast Camembert

You can bake a Camembert in its wooden box, but a snug ceramic Camembert dish does the job better and looks nicer on the table. A small round dish sized exactly for a standard wheel holds the cheese in place as it melts so it keeps its shape instead of slumping. Ceramic also warms gently and evenly, which means you get a soft centre and soft edges at the same time rather than a liquid middle surrounded by firmer sides. And because the dish is already the serving piece, you can bring it straight from oven to table without trying to move molten cheese around.

What to add before baking

The simplest version for this baked Camembert cheese recipe is a scored top, a drizzle of olive oil and some salt and pepper. From there, the additions are a matter of preference. A clove of garlic can be pressed into the scored surface, or a few sprigs of thyme added on top. You can add a small spoonful of honey for sweetness against the savoury baked cheese or even a splash of white wine or Calvados for extra flavours. None of these are compulsory and all of them work.

What doesn’t work is overcomplicating it. Camembert has its own strong flavour and a distinctive aroma. The additions should complement it, not compete with it.

Serving baked camembert

Baked Camembert waits for no one, so have everything ready. Bring it to the table as soon as it comes out of the oven, with good bread ready to dip and scoop. A torn baguette is ideal, but sourdough or any crusty loaf works just as well. The cheese begins to firm up again as it cools, so this is one of those dishes where everyone is allowed, even encouraged, to dive in immediately.

As a starter, one small wheel is perfect for two or three people with bread and perhaps a simple green salad on the side. On a larger sharing table, it can stretch further, although in practice it tends to vanish quickly, with people going back for just one more piece of bread in the cheese.