Baked Cenarth Brie Sharing Board

Juicy grapes, bursting from the heat of the oven and spread over creamy melted Caws Cenarth Brie, make for a memorable and festive sharing board. It looks like a centrepiece. It is, in truth, about ten minutes of actual work.

Baked brie rewards you far beyond the effort involved. The grapes roast in the same dish as the cheese, picking up thyme and pomegranate molasses as they soften and split, and the baguette crisps on the shelf below while you do nothing at all. Choose your own crudités, depending on what’s fresh and in season.

Serves 4 as a starter 

Ingredients

• 1 Cenarth Brie Mini, or 1 Golden Cenarth
• 1 sprig rosemary
• 200g red seedless grapes
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
• 3 sprigs thyme
• 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
• 1 small baguette, sliced
• A selection of raw or steamed vegetable crudités, such as finely sliced fennel; cucumber; carrots, cut into batons; lettuce leaves; red or orange pepper

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180℃.
2. Use a sharp knife to cut a cross in the top of the cheese, without cutting right through to the bottom. Nestle the rosemary in the cross.
3. Line a small baking dish — one the grapes and the cheese will fit into snugly — with baking parchment. Toss the grapes in the dish with the oil, thyme and pomegranate molasses, then season generously with black pepper. Nudge the grapes to one side, then lower the cheese into the gap so that it isn’t covered by them.
4. Bake on the middle shelf for 20 minutes, until the cheese is completely soft. At the same time, arrange the baguette slices in an even layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet, drizzle with oil, and put them in the oven for 12 minutes.
5. Remove both from the oven. Use a spatula to lift the cheese onto a serving platter — carefully, as it will be soft and molten. Arrange the grapes around it, along with the baguette slices and the crudités.
6. Serve while the cheese is still warm, dipping in with the bread and the crudités, and spreading the softened grapes over the top as you go.

Swaps and tips

• Use Golden Cenarth instead. It’s hand-washed in cider, which gives it a savoury, nutty depth that stands up well to the sweetness of the roasted grapes. A slightly bolder board than the brie version.
• No pomegranate molasses? A balsamic glaze does a similar job — sweet with enough acidity to stop the grapes cloying. Honey works too, though you’ll lose some of the sharpness.
• Don’t skip the black pepper. It’s doing more work here than it looks, cutting through the richness of the melted cheese.
• You can prepare it ahead. Assemble the dish, cover it, and keep it in the fridge. Bake it when people arrive so it reaches the table warm — this is not a dish that waits well once it’s out of the oven.
• Keep the crudités loose. Fennel and cucumber are good in autumn, but whatever’s crisp and in season will be fine.

Shop Cenarth Brie online, or find us at your local deli.