Baked Brie Berries with Jam is an elegant but easy appetizer. Salty and soft, brie cheese with blackberry jam baked in a puff pastry is impressive for holiday cocktail parties but equally at-home as an unexpected cheese course at your summer picnic. This recipe is a keeper!
Baked Brie Berries! Why has no one offered me this beautiful holiday appetizer? This is a shamefully easy appetizer with complex and sophisticated flavors. You need this in your life! Joyce Pinson, Friends Drift Inn
Baked Brie Berries Recipe-At-A-Glance
Prep Time 30 Minutes (to thaw pastry crust) Cook Time 15 Minutes Total Time 45 Minutes
Ingredients 8 ounce Brie Cheese Wheel – Friends Drift Inn Blackberry Bourbon Jam – Fresh Blackberries – Puff Pastry Crust -Egg
Equipment Rolling Pin – Parchment Paper – Knife – Brie Baker or a Glass Pie Pan
Yield – 1 Presentation Serving 12
Baked Brie Berries – How Do I Make This Easy Appetizer?
How can something so simple turn into such an elegant appetizer? Y’all if you have not tried baked brie berries with blackberry jam now is the time!
Perfect for holiday parties, teas, and even as a to-go item for picnics baked brie in a puff pastry is one of those appetizers you will turn to again and again.
Step-By-Step
Easy? Man I just could not believe how easy it is. You want me to spell it out for you?
- Thaw 1 Puff Pastry Crust.
- Freeze Brie Cheese Wheel about 30 minutes.
- Preheat Oven.
- Roll out Puff Pastry.
- Put ¼ cup of blackberry jam and a few fresh berries on the brie wheel.
- Cut pastry round big enough to tuck all the way around brie cheese,
- Put the pastry around the cheese and jam – hiding edges on bottom
- Brush with beaten egg.
- Bake.
Seriously this is a showstopper! How does it get any easier?
While I am eager to serve this at holiday gatherings, you can bet this is going to make the rounds at our Kentucky Derby Party too!
Making Ahead – Leftovers and Reheating
If you are pressed for time, you could get the brie prepped and wrapped in pastry and wrap tightly with film and refrigerate up to 2 days. Finish by brushing with egg wash and baking right before the big event.
Making this as an experiment, there was just Charlie and me so there were leftovers. Trust me this is one cocktail party food you will not have leftover!
But if you do a test run and have leftovers, wrap it tight in foil and refrigerate. The next day or two, you can reheat, covered with foil at about 250 for 8-10 minutes. Still tasty!
Make it Memorable!
When you cut the puff pastry round, you will have some dough left over.
That round of brie cheese in a pastry puff is a little plain to look at.
You did create with playdough when you were a kid, right? Roll out a decoration for the top.
I cut dough into three leaves (just freehand them!) and rolled up three round “berries” to put on the top. Instant holiday pizzazz for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. Change up the do-dads for Mothers Day and Easter.
You can create whatever artistic rendering you want. Keep it simple.
I put a few details in the leaves and they disappeared when baked. Just cut out very basic shapes; you could even use a cookie cutter.
What is Brie Cheese Anyway?
Brie is akin to Camembert cheese, soft with a creamy paste center. In fact, the Brie cheese center is the most coveted part of the wheel.
Some folks get downright hostile if you cut brie the “wrong way.” I suggest when serving you cut a small pie wedge out and place on the side, just to get your guests started on the right path.
Describing Brie Cheese is a little tricky. My first reaction is salty. There is a little pungency, with hints of grass and herbs. As it moves over the palate, you get a soft texture finished with a background of milk.
When it comes to Brie, like anything else, there are different brands with different flavor profiles.
Brie is named for a region in Northern France known for dairy production. I am told that our American version is very different in taste from our European cousin’s. I guess it comes down to whose cows are happier. Giggles
Here in the USA the American Cheese Society says of soft-ripened cheeses:
Cheeses in this category are characterized by the white bloomy mold development of Penicillium candidum. Although often accompanied by other fungus such as the yeast Geotrichum, the overall appearance of these cheeses is that they have a thin, white, flossy rind, encasing a soft or semi-soft interior paste that breaks down and becomes softer as the cheese matures.
Now before you get all germ-a-phobic, take a breath. There is lots of enzymes at work to make cheese into that fancy little wheel you are about to bake!
Not to worry.
Our friends at the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, FSIS, are a trusted source of information. Those folks know their food and have been very helpful in helping Friends Drift Inn create a safe food product. Here’s what they say:
Are Any Food Molds Beneficial?
Yes, molds are used to make certain kinds of cheeses and can be on the surface of cheese or be developed internally. Blue veined cheese such as Roquefort, blue, Gorgonzola, and Stilton are created by the introduction of P. roqueforti or Penicillium roqueforti spores. Cheeses such as Brie and Camembert have white surface molds. Other cheeses have both an internal and a surface mold. The molds used to manufacture these cheeses are safe to eat.
It is all good! Yes, you can eat the rind!
What Goes with Baked Brie and Berries?
Brie has a little “punkiness” to it. In my way of thinking, the sweetness of blackberry jam balances the flavor profile of the cheese.
Serving fresh blackberries on the side is not only pretty, it adds just another layer of flavor. You got to love that.
The folks at President Cheese, suggest that Brie pairs best with:
- Champagne
- Sauvignon Blanc
- Pinot Noire
- Charcuterie Plates
- Honey
- Dark Chocolate (Oh! Wouldn’t that be lovely at Valentine’s?)
Fiona Beckett at Matching Food and Wine adds that “a fruity dry rose is perfect for a picnic” coupled with brie.
Wouldn’t that picnic be romantic? Sigh.
What Else Works With Brie and Blackberries?
It goes without saying that fresh fruit pairs well with baked brie berries. Peaches, orange slices, or apple wedges can really add to the presentation.
In spring, a quick garnish of mint is lovely. For holiday appetizer, I like rosemary garnishes for an aromatic garnish.
Blackberries and Brie have an affinity for almonds and hazelnuts, adding flavor and texture.
If you are “all in” and want to really wow your guests, serve with warm caramel. Oh, so good! That is so fancy you could tell all your friends the proper name for this recipe is “baked brie en croute” which simply means baked brie in pastry.
Fancy-schmancy!
Friends Drift Inn Blackberry Bourbon Jam
Friends Drift Inn Blackberry Bourbon Jam is robust. This jam has bold flavors, just what is needed with brie baked in puff pastry.
Our Blackberry Bourbon Jam is fruity. That is because we use more fruit than sugar. The bourbon is a smooth, with a warm oaky background that compliments both the berries and the brie.
With no added preservatives, no added food coloring, and no high fructose corn syrup our handcrafted jams and jellies are top-notch. You will taste the difference!
Handcrafted in small batches, our blackberry jam is produced in a certified commercial kitchen by our family. The kitchen is located under the shadow of Pine Mountain. Both the kitchen and retail store, we are in the heart of Kentucky’s Appalachia.
The Wait for It Factor
When we talk about our jams, we often talk about the finish taste – those little surprise flavors that you must slow down and appreciate.
With Baked Brie Berries, there is a wait for it factor, too.
If you freeze the Brie 30 minutes or so, you will get a better finished result. You don’t really wait for the cheese, but for the puff pastry to thaw.
You know, multi-tasking!
Secondly, when you pull this showstopper from the oven, let it cool about 10 minutes before cutting. If you don’t you will have a volcanic oozy mess that will ruin the presentation – not to mention burn your palate.
Patience is not one of my virtues – but for this appetizer I really try.
Add this to your holiday baking list!
Y’all post pictures and tag us on Instagram and Pinterest! I am dying to see what you come up with!
Cheers!
Pick Your Assortment!
PrintBaked Brie Berries with Jam
- Prep Time: 30 Minutes
- Cook Time: 15 Minutes
- Total Time: 45 Minutes
- Yield: 1 Appetizer – 12 Servings 1x
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Baked Brie Berries with Jam is elegant for all your holiday entertaining – but so simple! Contrasting flavors of Brie cheese, blackberry jam, and fresh blackberries makes this a cocktail party classic. It is even great for romantic picnics!
Ingredients
- 1 Puff Pastry sheet, thawed (follow package directions)
- 1 8 oz wheel of Brie Cheese (rind is edible, leave on)
- 1/4 cup of Friends Drift Inn Blackberry Bourbon Jam
- 1 pint of fresh Blackberries, 3 berries for baking remainder for garnish
- 1 organic Egg, beaten
- We use rosemary as an extra garnish during winter holidays and mint in the spring.
Instructions
- Freeze Brie for 30 minutes, while puff pastry is thawing.
- Preheat oven to 400.
- Roll thawed pastry on floured surface, cut into a 9-10 inch circle, reserving scraps for decoration.
- Spread blackberry bourbon jam on top of brie wheel.
- Center puff pastry over wheel and gently tuck under pleating as necessary. (For visual appeal make your pleats go in the same direction all the way around)
- Cut out décor and place on top.
- Beat egg and brush on. (I use my hands!)
- I greased a pie pan to bake. If you are transporting, use parchment paper on bottom. If you are fortunate enough to have a brie baker follow manufacturers directions.
- Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes until pastry is golden brown.
- Remove from oven. Let cool 10 minutes before plating and serving.
Notes
You can do steps 1-6 ahead of time, wrap with film and refrigerate for up to 2 days before applying egg wash and baking.
Freezing uncooked Brie for 30 minutes gives better results and appearance.
Because apparently there are Brie police, cut one sliver of a “pie” section out to guide guests into proper cutting technique.
Serve with fresh berries as garnish. Pairs well with apples, peaches, champagne, pinot noir, almonds, hazelnuts and dark chocolate.
Like all our recipes, Baked Brie Berries with Jam is formulated with the flavor profile of Friends Drift Inn Blackberry Bourbon Jam in mind. We cannot predict how other products will perform.
Keywords: baked brie berries, baked brie with jam, baked brie en croute, holiday appetizer, cheese course, cocktail party food, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Mothers Day, Easter, Kentucky Derby