Brie and cranberry puff

I first learned to eat brie when I stayed in Paris; hubby and kiddo could not have enough of the stinky cheese and night after night, the pungent smell of brie filled the dinner area. In fact. We visited the cheese shop so many times the checkout staff at the store asked if we had a ‘Friends’ card for our purchases.

Later, I progressed to bake that cheese that gives me goose pimples and found that it was quite palatable when baked.  The baked version was a huge hit (baked with cranberry sauce or jam) with friends too. So this year, after an almost year-long social distancing from friends due to the pandemic, I am spoiling them silly at my get-together dinner (with social distancing rules in place, of course). And while I am at it, I might as well increase the level of oomph and throw in a puff pastry into the equation.

Store-bought puff pastry was a cinch to work; this whole dessert took me a mere 30 minutes from start to finish but I am not going to reveal how easy that is to my guests. For those who don’t care for brie cheese, at least this pastry is pretty to look at.

Presented on a gold paper dessert holder, it could be mistaken as a takeout from the pastry section of a buffet. The phrase “Eating with your eyes” definitely has some truth in it!

Verdict: Savory, tart, light and crispy - an explosion of sensory experience on the palate.

Makes 5 modest portions.

Ingredients:

½ cup of cranberry sauce

Brie cheese, cut crosswise

Puff pastry, store bought

Long pastry dish/tray with removable bottom. Go free hand if you don't have it.

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Cut a piece of puff pastry to size.

Score a margin of 1 cm around the puff. This provides a kind of wall to keep the pastry and makes it look more complicated than it actually is.

Let the pastry completely thaw on the baking tray.

Drop cut pieces of brie cheese on the pastry, all within the scored area.

Spoon out thin layers of cranberry sauce onto the cheese.

Brush the margin with egg white.

Bake at 200C for 20-25 minutes or until the puff looks tan.

Cool and enjoy!