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Wheel of camembert on a wooden board with oozy cheese spilling out, topped with pomegranate seeds and herbs.

Easy Honey Harissa Baked Camembert


  • Author: Kate Alexandra
  • Total Time: 17 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Description

Baked camembert is the ULTIMATE luxurious appetiser for entertaining. It looks so impressive, but it’s easy and quick to make. This version is made extra special with the addition of honey, harissa and juicy pomegranate seeds for the best sweet, spicy, super oozy delight.


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 2 tablespoons harissa paste
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 whole camembert
  • 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
  • 1 tablespoon rosemary leaves
  • 1 tablespoon thyme leaves

Instructions

  1. Prepare the camembert. Heat your oven to 160C/320F fan. Mix the 2 tablespoons of harissa paste, 2 tablespoons of honey, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and the 2 crushed garlic cloves in a small bowl. Unwrap the camembert, then place it back in the wooden box it came in, then place it on an oven dish or on a lined oven tray. If it didn’t come in a wooden box, either place it in a small oven dish, cast iron skillet or pie dish or you can create a makeshift box with aluminium foil. Just place the camembert in the middle of a piece of foil, then scrunch up the sides to surround the cheese.
  2. Bake the camembert. Cut a small circle (leaving about 1cm around the edge) into the top of the camembert. Use your knife to cut under the camembert lid and lift the top off. Don’t worry if it’s a bit messy or if the lid tears – it really doesn’t matter as you’ll be covering it with pomegranate seeds and herbs anyway. Spoon the honey harissa sauce onto the exposed camembert, then pop the lid back on. It will seem like a lot of sauce, but it will be fine as it melts into the cheese in the oven. Transfer the tray or dish to the oven, and bake for 12 -15 minutes (check on it after 12), until molten and gooey. It will have swelled a bit and be looking a little wobbly. 
  3. Top and serve. Carefully remove the tray from the oven, and transfer the camembert, in its box, onto a serving board. Pile on the juicy pomegranate seeds and scatter over the rosemary and thyme leaves. Serve right away, with fresh bread (I love using my easy no-knead chilli cheese focaccia), pita chips, soft flatbreads, crackers or fresh crudites.

Notes

Be careful – baking the camembert for longer won’t give you an oozier cheese, it will actually cause the cheese to harden back up and the texture won’t be very nice. So trust the process!

If your camembert doesn’t come in a wooden box, you can create a makeshift one using aluminium foil. Just place the camembert on a sheet of foil, then scrunch up the sides to make a round lining around the cheese. You need to place it in something like this, or the cheese will ooze out everywhere while baking.

Switch the honey and harissa for sweet chilli jam or your favourite jam or chutney (this fig and tamarind chutney is also fabulous with it).

Have an air fryer? You can bake your camembert in it! Set it to 160C/320F and pop it in for 15 minutes.

  • Prep Time: 5
  • Cook Time: 12
  • Category: appetisers
  • Method: oven
  • Cuisine: mediterranean

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1/4 camembert

Keywords: baked cheese, easy appetisers