Whipped brie with honey

A fabulous snack or appetizer!

This tasty treat is a great way to elevate ordinary grocery store brie – no need to splurge on the ‘good stuff’ here. You can play around with the toppings; we like it on the simpler side but chopped roasted nuts or chopped dried cranberries would be delicious as well. Another fun twist you could try is drizzling the whipped cheese with a few tablespoons of white balsamic vinegar instead of honey or honeycomb. For a fantastic pairing, rosé wines have long been my favourite with cheese and charcuterie platters and I found the 2022 Remy Pannier Rosé D’Anjou from France’s Loire Valley region to be just perfect here. Its dryness and delicate sweetness balance out the richness of the cheese beautifully and the subtle floral, berry and spice notes complement both the cheese and the honeycomb.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces (227 g) brie cheese
• 1/4 cup (56 g) salted butter
• 2 tablespoons (30 mL) heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons (42 g) honeycomb (or regular/hot honey)
• Few pinches of flaky salt such as Maldon or fleur de sel, or truffle salt
• Small edible flowers or thyme leaves, to garnish (optional)
• Crostini, to serve (or sturdy crackers)

Method

• Make the crostini up to 3 days in advance by lightly brushing or spraying thinly sliced rounds of baguette on both sides with olive oil. Bake on a parchment-lined sheet for 7-8 minutes in an oven preheated to 375F, flipping once during baking time. Crostini should be light golden brown and crispy. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack; transfer to an airtight container once cooled.
• While crostini are baking, chill the brie in the freezer for 15-20 minutes. This will make it easier to trim off the rind on the top, bottom and sides (which you can do with a sharp knife or cheese slicer).
• Cube the now-rindless brie and the butter (approximately 1 inch / 2.5 cm pieces); let both sit at room temperature for an hour.
• Transfer brie and butter to a large mixing bowl (use an electric hand or stand mixer if you have one) and beat at high speed for one minute.
• Scrape down the sides of the bowl and pour in cream; beat for an additional minute. Scrape down again and beat for another minute; repeat 1-2 more times until mixture is smooth and fluffy.
• Transfer the whipped brie mixture to a shallow serving dish. It can be served immediately or covered and refrigerated for up to 24 hours before serving; just be sure to let sit at room temperature for 1-2 hours before serving so it is nice and soft.
• At serving time, scatter small pieces of honeycomb on top (or drizzle with liquid honey) and finish with a few pinches of flaky salt. Garnish with small edible flowers, if using, and serve with crostini or sturdy crackers.

Serves 6-8 as an appetizer.