Let me share one of the most impressive yet effortless appetizers you can make – a whole brick of cheese transformed into a gooey, aromatic delight! This recipe proves that sometimes the simplest combinations create the most memorable dishes.

If you have never baked cheese before, you are definitely missing out. Yes, that’s right. Baked. Cheese. And you use garlicky bread slices to scoop up all the melty goodness, it’s honestly one of the best appetisers there is.

Why This Recipe Works

The combination of heat and time transforms firm cheese into a luxuriously molten center, while the scoring pattern allows flavors to penetrate and creates an attractive presentation. The garlic-rubbed toast provides the perfect vehicle for enjoying every last bit of cheese.

Whether it’s Brie or Camembert, the choice is yours. Go for Camembert if you like something a tad stronger. I used double Brie and it was delicious. The great thing about this is there are so many different variations to this recipe. I used honey, chilli flakes and rosemary but there are so many other options like thyme, cranberry sauce, walnuts or any nuts! The options are endless.

Understanding Key Components

1. Cheese Selection: The choice of cheese fundamentally shapes this dish’s character and flavor profile:
   • Double Brie: A French cheese that’s rich, buttery and mild.
   • Camembert: More intense, earthy notes
   • Note that size of the cheese will impact baking time
   • Rind remains intact
2. Honey: provides sweetness, flavour and contrasts the creamy cheese really well. You can experiment with different types of honey for different flavour profiles. Other alternatives include:
   • Hot honey
   • Fig jam
   • Cranberry jam
   • Maple Syrup
3. Chilli flakes: adds gentle heat which cuts through the richness of the cheese. This is optional and can be adjusted to your taste and tolerance. Otherwise, you can opt out for hot honey instead and omit the chilli flakes.
4. Fresh herbs: needed for aroma, freshness and flavour. Some great options include:
   • Rosemary
   • Thyme
   • Sage
   • Oregano
5. Other toppings: if you would like to add a crunch to this, nuts would be great – for example, walnuts, pecans.
6. Bread: a crust loaf of baguette is perfect! Any crusty white bread will do for this recipe, you just need to cut it up. Other options include:
   • pane di casa
   • ciabatta
   • foccacia
   • sourdough

Tips!

• Use cheese at room temperature
• Use a big enough ramenkin for your cheese as it will get messy when you eat
• Use a small paring knife to help you score pattern into the cheese, careful not to cut through the rind on the other side.
• Let rest briefly before serving

Storage and Make-Ahead Tips

• Bring cheese to room temperature before baking but not essential.
• Toast bread while your cheese is baking. Bread can be toasted ahead of time, just need to reheat.
• Bake just before serving
• Cannot be reheated effectively, and storage for leftovers not recommended

Ingredients

1 Brie or Camembert (i used Double Brie)
1 tbsp spiced honey
1 tsp chilli flakes
Rosemary, a few leaves
Bread, sliced
1 garlic clove

Remember, you are not restricted to these topping options! Thyme, cranberry sauce, nuts, use whatever you like!

Method

1. Bread: Place your bread slices on a lined baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and toast in the oven until golden brown. Once golden, rub bread slices with a clove of garlic.
2. Cheese: Unravel your cheese and with a knife, score the top of your cheese in a diamond pattern. Top with honey, chilli flakes, rosemary, salt and pepper. Bake at 180C or 350F for 14 minutes. Serve with toasted bread slices