Oozy Cherry Camembert
My Dad was a sociable sort of guy. I wouldn’t call him a party animal, but he loved both incisive conversation and social banter. He joined a Wine and Food society when I was a teenager, not because he loved wine, but for fun. The love of wine followed, red wine especially.
For the ensuing 15 years, Sunday lunch included a bottle of red and a cheese board. The Australian iconic wine labels were in their infancy then and local cheese very basic. Dad introduced us to the best of the imported cheeses available at the time, French brie and camembert, tilsit and roquefort, English stilton and cheddar, Italian gorgonzola, provolone and pecorino. Dutch edam and gouda, we tasted cheeses from around the globe, all picked up from the Vic Market during his lunch break on a Friday.
We still love cheese (and red wine) but we have moderated our consumption significantly, so having friends around to help us through a round of excellent Aussie camembert gave me the ideal opportunity to put my gorgeous new French cheese baking dish to use.
The fridge was overflowing with local plump Bing cherries so they were a natural choice as a topping for the cheese, to add a sharp fruity note to the creamy oozy camembert.
Choose a baking dish into which your cheese will fit snuggly. I have a specialty dish I use, but Spanish terracotta tapas dishes work perfectly.
1/4 cup chopped cherries
15g butter
1/2 tablespoon brandy
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon finely chopped almonds
Preheat the oven to 180C and lightly butter the baking dish.
Put the cheese into the baking dish and piece the crust all over with a sharp knife.
Put the cherries in a small pan over a low heat and cook them until the juices have evaporated.
Stir in the brandy and cinnamon, then pour over the cheese.
Sprinkle the almonds on top.
Bake for 20 mins, uncovered or until the cheese is oozy.
Allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving so the intense heat dissipates.
Serve with oatcakes
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24 comments on “Oozy Cherry Camembert”
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Please Pass the Recipe by Sandra Gay is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Please Pass the Recipe 
Ooh…nice – both the cheese & cherries AND the baking dish.
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This looks just beautiful and what a lovely tribute to your food loving Dad.
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Sociable is definitely better than “party”. Wonderful story and memory.
The Victoria Market is an amazing place, one of the highlights of our Australian trip just over a year ago.
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Yes wonderful memories. We are very lucky to have the Victoria Market, it’s an ever evolving wonderland of food.
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My dad loved cheese cake. Once a year my sons (good cooks both) take turns to bake a cake and share it round. Not a day goes by without some memory surfacing. I miss my dad too.
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It makes you realize the impact that food has on memory….
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This sounds magical Sandra! A beautiful way of bringing together cheese, fruit and nuts. Can I ask… do you bake it with the lid on or off?
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I baked it lid on, but the cherries were so juicy it would have been better uncovered. In the past when I have added just herbs and a splash of wine to a camembert i’ve baked the cheese covered
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What sweet memories. So, how is he Aussie camembert? Oddly, here in the States, my favorite one is made of sheep’s milk (which I know would horrify the French).
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There’s a lot of factory cheese on the market, but the small producers are really turning out some fantastically unique and delicious cheeses, so good that I choose them over the imported products
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This looks incredible. Even better are the memories of your Sunday cheese boards and wine. I hope our boys will have some fond memories of their childhood when they are grown as you do, they certainly are a,ready food obsessed!
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You certainly seem to be passing the love and appreciation of good things onto your boys, small things that may seem inconsequential now but they will look back at those times with great affection when they are adults.
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I truly understand the phrase, the fridge was overflowing with cheese! Love this recipe, and the top photo is gorgeous!
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Thanks Mimi, love the summer light for photography, it really helps. I thought of you when I made this fruity baked cheese
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What a wonderful post. I love the story of your dad, and the tradition he started… I think that he had a great idea with the cheese platter and wine for lunch every Sunday. What a perfect way to introduce new cheeses to the family! Love it. And this cherry camembert is beautiful. Im definitely trying this… With a nice bottle of red, of course! Wonderful post ❤️
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Nice to hear from you Prudy. My Dad was a foodie way before the term was invented, I think it left a mark! Hope you enjoy the cherry camembert combo, and the bottle of red!
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Love the sound of this – especially as I still have loads of preserved cherries in the cellar from our last (European) summer – means part of the work is already done – will certainly give this a go 🙂
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I hope you enjoy the cherry-camembert combo
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Hi Sandra your recipe sounds lovely and I love your dish.
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Thanks Glenda, the cherries cut through the richness of the cheese beautifully
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Now that’s a handsome treat- a little bit retro, easy and a great trick to have up ones sleeve for a party. Your Dad passed something special on to you.
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Oh he was quite a guy, I miss him every day….
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sounds delicious
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Thanks Jim…
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