Baked Brie with Cranberries and Pears

By CheeseDiva

Ingredients

• 2 pears, peeled and cored
• 1 cup fresh cranberries
• 1/4 cup water
• 3 Tbs brown sugar
• 1 tsp orange zest
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 1 lb wheel of brie
• 1 sheet puff pastry
• 1 egg yolk

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350.

Roughly chop the pears into 1/2-inch pieces. Combine pears, cranberries, water, and brown sugar in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes – the cranberries will begin to pop as they heat up. Add the orange zest and ginger and cook another 5-10 minutes, or until the fruit has broken down into a chunky sauce. Taste and add additional sugar if needed. Remove from heat – as the mixture cools, the pectin from the cranberries will start to gel and thicken a little more. At this point, you can refrigerate the mixture to use later.
To prepare the cheese, slice the cheese in half so that you have two wheels. Unfold the puff pastry and place one cheese wheel in the center with the cut side facing up. Top with the cranberry and pear mixture, and then place the second piece of cheese on top (cut side down). Gather the pastry up around the cheese, and pinch the edges to seal. Make sure there are no gaps, or the cheese will seep through when it melts! Flip the whole thing over so that the smooth side is on the top.
In a small bowl, combine the egg yolk and 2 Tbs water, Brush this mixture over the top and sides of the pastry. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or until pastry is browned.
Let rest for at least 10 minutes before serving.
Yields 12 servings