Christine Flynn’s Baked Cheese with Hot Honey
A round of cheese, baked until ooey and gooey, gets a drizzle of honey with a little heat. Think of it as a grown-up grilled cheese that’s just as simple.
Serves 4–6
Preparation time 15 minutes
Cooking time 25 minutes
Ingredients
- 8 oz époisses, camembert or brie cheese
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 Tbsp dry white wine
- 2 Tbsp hot honey
- Charred bread or crackers
Hot honey
- 1 cup pure liquid honey
- 1 Tbsp white vinegar
- 2 to 3 long red chilies, halved lengthwise
- 1 tsp dried red chili flakes
- 1 tsp Aleppo pepper
- Pinch salt
Method
Hot honey
- In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, combine all the ingredients.
- Bring the mixture to a simmer, then remove the saucepan from the heat. Let cool to room temperature.
- If you prefer a smooth hot honey, use a fine-mesh sieve to strain out the solids as you transfer the honey to a 16-oz jar with a tight-fitting lid. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use. If you use a clean spoon when dipping into the hot honey, it will keep in the refrigerator indefinitely.
Baked cheese
- Preheat the oven to 425 F.
- Remove the cheese from its round wooden box. Wrap the entire box in aluminum foil. Return the cheese to the foil-wrapped box and place it on a rimmed baking sheet.
- Using a paring knife, poke a small hole in the top of the cheese and push in the garlic clove. Drizzle the wine into the hole and over the top of the cheese.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.
- Drizzle the cheese with the hot honey. Serve immediately with charred bread or crackers. It’s unlikely that you will have
any leftovers — we’re talking hot cheese here, after all — but you can store any remaining cheese in an airtight container in the fridge for
up to 4 days.
