Camembert With Caramelised Apple & Roasted Hazelnuts

Recipe courtesy of The Best Things In life Are Cheese by Ellie and Sam Studd, Macmillan Publishers, RRP $49.99

Another baked cheese, but this time, sweet. If there is a wood-fired oven in your vicinity, use it, as this recipe works very well in one. However, a regular oven is perfectly adequate.

Ingredients

• 50 g unsalted butter
• 2 red apples, peeled, cored and quartered
• 1.5 tablespoons caster sugar
• 80 g (¹⁄3 cup) crème fraîche
• 1 x 250 g Normandy Camembert, halved horizontally
• 2 tablespoons roasted hazelnuts, chopped

Methods

Preheat the oven to 220C conventional.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat, add the apple and sugar and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until the sugar starts to caramelise. Remove the apple mixture from the pan and set aside to cool.

Divide the crème fraîche between two small round ovenproof ramekins that will comfortably fit the cheese. Top each with half of the Normandy Camembert and the cooked apple, then transfer to the oven and bake for 8–10 minutes, until oozy (don’t let the cheese melt too much).

Sprinkle with the hazelnuts and serve with spoons.

Serves 4 as a shared dessert

STUDD SIBLINGS RECOMMEND: We love Isigny Sainte-Mère Crème Fraîche and Le Conquérant Camembert.