Camembert à la Clarke

Camembert, poetry, Bouquet of our meals, What would become life, If you did not exist?

We have Marie Harel to thank for the cheese, Eugène Ridel for the round wooden box that makes it such a pleasure to bring to the table, and Brillat-Savarin for the verse. The recipe is Anita Clarke's – and it is one of those ideas so simple and so good that you wonder why you ever ate camembert any other way.

Baked Camembert with Garlic and Thyme

Make slits in the top of the cheese and push in slivers of garlic and fresh thyme leaves. Put it back in its wooden box, drizzle a little olive oil over the top — or a splash of white wine if you prefer — cover with foil and bake in a hot oven for 25 minutes. Remove the foil for the final ten minutes to let the top colour develop slightly.

Break into it with crusty bread. It is for sharing, and it is completely moreish.

One thing I have learned since first making this: the Camembert needs to be ripe. As it approaches its sell-by date at the supermarket, it is exactly the right time to buy it. The texture softens, the flavour deepens, and the whole thing melts properly in the oven. An underripe camembert will disappoint.

You might wonder why camembert rather than brie, which is superficially similar. The answer is fat content and paste. Camembert has a higher fat content and a softer, more yielding interior — when it hits the heat it melts from the inside out, producing that characteristic molten centre that makes the whole exercise worthwhile. Brie can be baked, but its lower fat content and firmer paste mean it tends to soften rather than flow. You end up with a warm cheese rather than a molten one. The wooden box matters too — it holds the shape as everything inside liquefies. Without it, you have a spreading problem and a very messy oven.

This makes a very good starter or a relaxed supper. The smells whilst it cooks will have your guests in the kitchen before you've called them.

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This recipe is part of my Cheese Hub collection.
This baked camembert recipe is also featured in my French Recipes, a collection of French recipes from a former Limousin restaurateur — confit, braises, fish, gratins, and van life French cooking from Casa Adora and the road.

Find more recipes and food adventures here.

Wonky photos, proper food, genuine adventures — The Flexible Chef