READY IN ABOUT 1½ hrs

Baked Brie with Caramelized Pears, Shallots and Thyme

Read Reviews (29)

"Brie baked in a round sourdough bread bowl makes this ultimately easy! You could substitute a sweet chutney for the topping for even easier prep. I microwaved the final product for a few minutes to speed up the cooking (couldn't wait for it to be ready!)" — echomoon

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add shallot; cook and stir for 1 minute to soften. Add thinly sliced pears; cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Pour in white wine, brown sugar, thyme, salt, and pepper; increase heat to medium-high and simmer until the liquid has evaporated, and the pears have lightly caramelized, about 10 minutes. Set aside.
Cut a Brie-sized hole in the top of the sourdough bread to within 1/2-inch of the bottom. Cut the removed bread into pieces for serving, set aside. Score the Brie around it's edge, using a paring knife to cut 1/4-inch deep. Cut in half by looping an 18-inch piece of very thin string, or unflavored dental floss around the scored Brie and pulling the ends in opposite directions.
Place the bottom half of the Brie, cut-side-up, into the sourdough loaf. Top with 1/2 of the pear mixture and sprinkle with 1/2 of the slivered almonds. Place the remaining brie half on top, spread with remaining pear mixture, and sprinkle with remaining slivered almonds. Place on a baking sheet.
Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes or until soft and gooey. Serve with sliced sourdough bread and crackers.

Kitchen-Friendly View

PREP 20 mins
COOK 1 hr
READY IN 1 hr 20 mins

Reviews More Reviews

Most Helpful Positive Review

Oct 24, 2008

This is amazing! Served it as main appetizer at dinner party. My friend Michelle made it (can't take the credit) and used toasted walnuts and dates instead of pears & almonds. Also, we added 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract and used brandy instead of white wine. Delicious! Try it!

—BRUNOSBETH

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Most Helpful Critical Review

Mar 09, 2008

This was OK. It did not knock my socks off. Not sure why...it had all the ingredients to be a wonderful appetizer. I have to say that eating the bread that the cheese is baked in is far better than any crackers. THe sourdough bread toasted and was crunchy and good. Maybe I should have used a larger round so I would have had more toasted bread to enjoy it with! Oh and baking 45 minutes is way tooo long. I did 20 and that was plenty. Otherwise it is very runny, Had to let it set a bit before we ate it. I will still search for more exciting appetizers in the future.

—cook in CALIF

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36 Ratings

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May 20, 2007

This recipe was enjoyed by all at my party last night. The only change I made was to use Hawaiian sweet bread, because I couldn't find a loaf of round sourdough at the store. I would recommend puttng some foil on top about 30 minutes in to the baking since the bread did get quite dark and crispy on the outside. It was still lovely, though.

—GINAWISE

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Jun 04, 2007

Thanks for the fab recipe, this was absolutely delicious! All the flavours complemented each other so well. My partner got sliced sourdough by mistake, but we still managed to make it work by gently squeezing it into a pan to hold the slices together. Otherwise, I made the recipe as posted and the four of us ate the whole thing in about 5 minutes!! Edit 04 Jun 07 - Last two times I made this, to serve a couple more people, I used two brie, side by side with a little gap in between them, still in the one loaf of bread. I doubled all the other ingredients too, so there was more pear topping to add to the extra cheesey goodness!

—SnackyCakes

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Aug 17, 2007

This looks impressive and tastes divine! I made this at work so substituted the pear filling for half a jar of chutney - this made it a lot quicker to prepare. Everyone raved about it!

—miffymoo

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Nov 09, 2009

I tried to do this with puff pastry, rather than bread and the Brie “exploded” and melted all over the cookie sheet. So then, I remade the pear mixture and just heated a new wheel of brie and spooned the pear over top – it was really good! Also, I used dried thyme instead of fresh – a little less than 1/4 tsp. I will try this with the bread very soon!

—S. McLarty

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Jan 12, 2009

Love this, but the sourdough bread is just too much bread. I baked the brie in a puff pastry basted with egg white. It was fabulous!

—944turbo

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Mar 22, 2007

This is like heaven it's so good!!! Thank you for posting this fabulous recipe echomoon!

—Rachel

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Nutrition

Calories
417 kcal
21%

Carbohydrates
42.9 g
14%

Cholesterol
32 mg
11%

Fat
21.1 g
33%

Fiber
3.2 g
13%

Protein
12.8 g
26%

Sodium
679 mg
27%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Nutritional Information

Baked Brie with Caramelized Pears, Shallots and Thyme

Serving Size: 1/8 of a recipe
Servings Per Recipe: 8
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 417
Calories from Fat: 190

% Daily Value *
Total Fat 21.1g 33 %
Saturated Fat 7.8g 39 %
Cholesterol 32mg 11 %
Sodium 679mg 27 %
** Potassium 221mg 6 %
Total Carbohydrates 42.9g 14 %
Dietary Fiber 3.2g 13 %
Protein 12.8g 26 %
** Sugars 7.6g
Vitamin A 7 %
** Vitamin C 5 %
Calcium 14 %
Iron 28 %
** Thiamin 18 %
Niacin 39 %
** Vitamin B6 10 %
** Magnesium 15 %
** Folate 39 %

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
** Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.
(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.