Baked Apricot Pistachio Camembert #BakingBloggers

Super simple to make, especially if you use store-bought puff pastry, this colorful Baked Apricot Pistachio Camembert makes the perfect appetizer for your dinner party, to serve along with cocktails and wine or to present as the cheese course at the end of your meal.

I mean really. Take a look at this guy. Isn’t he gorgeous? I’m here to tell you that he’s as tasty as he is pretty. And so easy! Creamy Camembert cheese is the perfect savory accompaniment to the sweet dried apricots, vibrant pistachios and tart pomegranate arils. And who doesn’t love flakey puff pastry?

This month the theme for my Baking Bloggers group is puff pastry so make sure to scroll down past the recipe to see all of the other links!

I’m not a big dessert lover so anytime a set menu offers me a cheeseboard instead; I’m on it. I love the way the typical accompaniments of dried fruits like figs and apricots complement the salty rich cheeses. And if there are some crunchy pistachios, almonds or walnuts on the board, I like to make sure my every bite has all three: cheese, fruit and nuts.

This Baked Apricot Pistachio Camembert makes that easier than ever, putting the whole combo in a crunchy crust. And when most of the Camembert is gone, you can cut the puff pastry into slices like a pie and sprinkle on a few of the spare apricots and pistachios. Delicious!

Tip: To choose a ripe Camembert, check the sell by date. Buy the one dated closest to the date you plan to make this appetizer. If it’s still in date weeks later, it’s not ripe enough now!

Baked Apricot Pistachio Camembert 

Crispy puff pastry makes the perfect vessel for creamy baked Camembert, sprinkled with dried apricots, slivered pistachios and some pomegranate arils for extra crunch, flavor and color.

Ingredients
1 package ready rolled puff pastry (about 131⁄4 oz or 375g)
1 ripe Camembert cheese (8 3⁄4 oz or 250g) – best quality you can afford – I prefer the ones made with raw milk, when I can find them.
1⁄4 cup or 50g chopped dried apricots
1⁄4 cup or 25g slivered or chopped pistachios
1⁄4 cup or 37g pomegranate arils
To serve: water crackers or toasted slices of baguette

Method
Preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C and line a baking pan with parchment or a silicone liner.

Remove the Camembert from its wooden box and set it on a large square of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Fold up the sides of the foil, crimping as you go, using the cheese to create a large bowl out of the foil.

Unroll the puff pastry. We are going to make two circles on the pastry in order to begin building our crust. Place your Camembert on the puff pastry sheet and gently score a line around the outside of the foil­ covered cheese with the point of a knife. Mark another spot with your knife, about 1 1⁄2 inches or 4cm farther out. Set the foil­ covered Camembert aside.

Look around your house for something round – a saucer or small lid, perhaps? – the same size as that outer circle. Use your found object as a guide to cut a round circle out of the puff pastry.

Repeat the process a second time, but instead of just scoring the circle around the cheese, cut through the puff pastry. Carefully lift the circle of pastry and place it on top of the first circle.
Use a sharp knife to cut the rest of the puff pastry into wide curved strips and use them to build up the sides of the puff pastry crust.

Dock the middle of the bottom of the crust with the tines of a fork or the tip of your knife.

Transfer the unbaked crust to the baking pan.

Gently remove the Camembert from the foil so it retains its shape. Place the foil “bowl” into the middle of the puff pastry. Fill with pastry beads or dried beans.

Bake in your preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until the pastry is puffed and golden. Take the crust from the oven and remove the foil filled with baking beads.

Unwrap your Camembert and carefully cut off the top rind, trying not to cut away the creamy cheese inside.

Put the cheese, open side up in the puff pastry crust. Make little cuts all around the sides of the Camembert so it can run out and collapse as it melts.

Bake for about 15­-20 minutes or until the cheese is completely melted and bubbling. Remove from the oven and transfer to a serving platter.

Sprinkle on the apricots, pistachios and pomegranate arils.

Serve with crackers or toasted baguette slices. Several small spoons will allow folks to help themselves. Grab a spoon and dig in!

Many thanks to Sue from Palatable Pastime for organizing this month's Baking Bloggers event. Check out all the great puff pasty recipes we have for you today!

• Apple Butter Tart by Palatable Pastime
• Baked Apricot Pistachip Camembert by Food Lust People Love
• Cherry Turnovers by The Redhead Baker
• Cinnamon Roll Twists by Sneha's Recipe
• Homemade Taco Hot Pockets by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Matcha Puff Pastry Twists by Tara's Multicultural Table
• Puff Pastry Chicken Packets by Hardly a Goddess
• Spinach Ham and Cheese Bites by Karen's Kitchen Stories

Baking Bloggers is a friendly group of food bloggers who vote on a shared theme and then post recipes to fit that theme one the second Monday of each month. If you are a food blogger interesting in joining in, inquire at our Baking Bloggers Facebook group. We'd be honored if you would join us in our baking adventures.

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