Baked Brie x 2

So I've made two different baked brie's and I'm excited to tell you about both of them!

Sweet Chili Baked Brie
Ingredients:
Puff Pastry, thawed
Sweet Chili jelly
Pecans
A pack of Brie
1 egg. 

Method:
Preheat oven to 400F. Place some flour loosely on your working surface to prevent pastry stick. Use half a package of the puff pastry, rolling into a thin layer approx twice the diameter of the brie. Spread evenly the chili jelly in the center of the pastry. I used about a cup of jelly, but do it to taste.  Then sprinkled some crushed pecans on top of the jelly. Place the brie on top of the mixture.  At this point you could cut the edges of the pastry so it is all circular, but I just folded all the excess over the brie.  Brush the egg over the edges of the pastry and then flip it into a baking container. Brush the rest of the egg on the top. I then chose to top the dish with more pecans.  Bake for 25 minutes or until pastry is golden brown.

I took this to a wine & cheese party and it was the 'hit' cheese of the night, despite not remember a) what temperature to bake it at and b) having it cut into after removing it from the oven, rather than letting it sit.  Super big tip - bake this and let it sit at least 45 minutes. Also, bake it in a dish roughly the same size and shape as the brie to prevent excess overflow (as the cheese will be melted).



Cranberry Brie
Ingredients:
Puff Pastry
Cranberry Jam
Almonds & Pecans
Brie
Egg

Method:
Same as above except substituting the cranberry jam for the chili jelly and adding some almonds in.


Tips: Make sure the brie you use is fresh and the flavour you like. The brie for the second one (cranberry) was past it's prime and a little sour. It was also probably a bit too big for the recipe - the pastry ended up being rather thin when stretched out over it all.


I personally preferred the first one, but will happily make both again in the future. Thanks to Campbells Kitchens for the idea, and my Aunt ('Mumtina Child') for some inspiration...