Emile Henry has brought out a beautiful ceramic cheese dish designed to bring us much joy at the table. They call it Cheese Baker , and apart from being able to store brie or camembert cheeses in it once you have opened them, what is really gratifying is taking advantage of it to cook your cheeses. Yes, cook them, so that you get delicious melted and seasoned cheeses at the perfect point to dip or enjoy with a bit of bread.

In the Cheese Baker you can bake all kinds of cheeses, from soft to semi-hard, both in the oven and in the microwave.

As a quick option , you can make a very quick appetizer by melting the cheese in the Cheese Baker to serve it immediately and dip bread or dip with some sticks or raw fruit.

But when you want to prepare a slightly more elaborate appetizer (and we're not talking about making big adventures either), we can flavor the cheese using vegetables, garlic, flavored oils, spices, nuts... And also accompany the cheese with toast of space breads, grilled or grilled fruits or vegetables, toasted olive focaccia strips... The possibilities really are endless.

Today, to start to inspire you and get the most out of Cheese Baker, I bring you three recipes that you can make with it, a camembert with walnuts and honey, a sweet variation of this first recipe that I think you will love and finally some marinated mozzarella balls and made in the cheese baker that is ideal for spreading with bread. I hope you enjoy them!

cheese recipes

Baked camembert or brie with walnuts and honey

Ingredients

  • 1 soft, ripe Camembert or Brie
  • 2 tbsp of liquid honey
  • 120 g of chopped walnuts
  • 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 - 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
  • 1 pinch of freshly ground pepper
  • Toast, whole grain crackers or baked potato as a side

Preparation

  1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
  2. Place the cheese in the Emile Henry Cheese Baker and with a knife make cuts on the surface of the cheese in a grid pattern.
  3. With the tip of the knife, lift the rind from the cheese into a few squares and place the walnuts on top.
  4. Pour the honey and olive oil over the cheese with nuts.
  5. Sprinkle the pepper on top and add the fresh thyme.
  6. Close the Cheese Baker and bake for 15 - 20 minutes.
  7. Serve it with toast, crackers or potatoes.

NOTE! You can make a variation of the previous recipe as follows:

Replace the honey with 2 tablespoons of maple syrup, 2 tablespoons
brown sugar and 1⁄2 tablespoon cinnamon.

After scoring the top of the cheese, drizzle the oil over the top and sprinkle with the ground pepper. Place the lid on the Cheese Baker and bake until soft, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool with the lid on for about 5 minutes.

While the brie is cooling, heat the maple syrup, along with the brown sugar and cinnamon over low heat in a small saucepan. Stir until the sugar has dissolved, then add the nuts.

Open the Cheese Baker, place the syrup you have prepared on top of the cheese and serve.

And if you want to finish enjoying this delicacy in the sweetest way, serve with some apple slices (sprinkle them with lemon juice so they don't fade). It all ends up being an absolutely delicious combination.

Mozzarella Marinade

Ingredients

  • 3 Mozzarella balls of 125g each
  • 200 ml fine tomato sauce (tomato coulis)
  • 1 tbsp capers (in vinegar)
  • 10 black olives
  • 2 sprigs of rosemary
  • Salt
  • freshly ground pepper
  • Italian bread sticks for serving

Preparation

  1. Put the Mozzarella and the capers in a sieve or a cotton mesh , to drain for 3 hours.
  2. Cut the olives in half.
  3. Preheat the oven to 200ºC.
  4. Pour the tomato sauce into the Cheese Baker . Add the olives, freshly ground salt and pepper, and add the leaves of a sprig of rosemary. Mix and place the drained mozzarella balls on top. Sprinkle the rosemary leaves from the other sprig on top.
  5. Close the lid and let it cook for about 25 minutes.
  6. Serve it immediately with some toast or with tomato bread - you'll love that contrast, and it's even a perfect breakfast.

Note: For faster drainage, cut the mozzarella balls in half or into thick slices.

Tips when using your Cheese Baker

  • Not all cheeses are the same when cooked. Some become runny or brittle, form strings, turn brown, or develop new flavors. Ask your cheesemaker for advice on how to cook cheeses.
  • Soft cheeses: lightly cut the skin with the tip of the knife to allow steam to escape during cooking and soften the cheese.
  • To prevent small cheeses from shrinking too much during cooking, encase them with a filling that also allows for the infusion of flavors, such as garlic.
  • Be careful not to overcook the soft cheese, otherwise it will harden.
  • Hard cheeses: cut into cubes to melt faster and mix with the ingredients you have chosen to combine.
  • if you want to get a golden appearance of the cheese, remove the cover during the last 5 minutes of cooking.
  • Serve quickly when you take it out of the oven. Keep the Cheese Baker closed until you actually eat it, so the cheese stays warm.
  • For soft cheeses (such as brie), use them in a wheel rather than a wedge shape. Cut crisscross lines with the point of a knife across the rind (skin) to allow steam to escape while cooking.
  • You can prevent small cheese wheels from collapsing: surround them by making a barrier between the cheese and the walls of the cheese baker, using for example garlic cloves, which will also infuse their flavours.
  • Be careful not to overcook soft cheese, as it can harden.
  • For semi-soft and semi-hard cheeses, cut them into small cubes to help them melt faster. Mix the cubes you make with your ingredients.
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