It's 2024 and I think it's time to bring charcuterie to the Iftaar table. This beautiful baked Brie is a match made in heaven. Brie is the perfect, melty cheese to bask in the flavours of walnut and pistachio, honey and lemon, all scooped up with crispy buttery pieces of phyllo. This showstopper will be the talk of your next Iftaar gathering.
Baklava Baked Brie
Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 45 minutes Yield: 6-8 servings
INGREDIENTS
For the Baked Brie
5 sheets of phyllo pastry
1/3 cup raw walnuts
1/4 cup raw pistachios
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp flakey sea salt
1/3 - 1/2 cup butter, melted
1 large wheel of Brie cheese (500 g)
For the Syrup
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup honey
Juice of half a lemon (1-2 tbs)
1 tbs orange infused olive oil
2 cloves
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 F. To a food processor, add the walnuts, pistachios and ground cinnamon. Pulse until ground to a very fine consistency, but not a powder. Be careful not to over grind, or it may begin to turn into a paste. Transfer to a small mixing bowl. Alternatively, you can do this without a food processor by chopping the nuts up very finely with a knife, then transferring to a bowl and stirring in the cinnamon.
Stir the sea salt into the ground nuts. Lay one sheet of phyllo pastry out and brush generously with melted butter, then sprinkle it with some of the ground nuts. Lay the second sheet on top and repeat this process until all of the phyllo is done, saving about 1 tbs of ground nuts and 1-2 tbs of the melted butter.
Place the wheel of Brie into the centre of the prepared phyllo, then fold over the four corners of the phyllo into the centre of the Brie like an envelope. Brush any parts of the folded phyllo that is dry with butter.
Brush some butter into the bottom of a deep, round baking dish thats large enough to fit the Brie in. Place the Brie into the dish, folded side down, then generously brush the top and sides with the remaining butter, and sprinkle with remaining nuts. Bake for 45 mins, till the phyllo is golden.
While the Brie is baking, make the syrup. Add all of the ingredients for the syrup into a small, deep frying pan. Stir and bring the mixture up to a boil on high, then continue to boil for 5-7 mins until the syrup thickens and turns an amber colour. Remove from heat, remove the cloves and allow to cool slightly while the Brie is baking.
When the Brie is fresh out of the oven, pour the syrup over the hot phyllo - it will sizzle. Allow to sit 10-15 minutes to let the syrup soak into the pastry before serving. When ready, serve warm with crackers, dry fruit and nuts.