Monday, May 16, 2016

Baked Brie with Bruleed Pears and Candied Pecans



Have you ever had an experience when someone asks you
to make a recipe that they think you have made before, and
you don't have that recipe in your arsenal?  

Well, that just happened to me.  My friend asked me to make
my Brie with sugared pears, and I asked if she meant my
that I serve with sugared pears, and she said that wasn't
the one.  I think she must have remembered something
that someone else had made, but maybe I could come
up with something to please her for her luncheon.


I decided that I wanted to use my torch to brulee the pears
rather than broil or bake them, or pan fry them.  


I have actually had my little kitchen torch for a long time,
but I couldn't get it to fill.  My son in law was over, and I
knew that he could figure it out, and he did!  Hooray!!!
Wish I would have asked ages ago, and I do mean ages!




With the soft textures of the warm cheese, and the bruleed pears,
I wanted a little crunch, so I added sugared pecans - so, so easy,
and the perfect touch.


Start by removing the top rind, and poking holes
with a fork.


Cover the top of the Brie with brown sugar,


then bake until the Brie is soft and runny. 
 See how that sugar has melted
and run down into the holes?  Wow!!


Then ripe Bartlett pears are dipped in sugar and placed
in a fan shape on top of the baked brie.


The pears are now caramelized and lightly cooked from
the torch.  The finishing touch is topping it with sugared pecans.

To tell the truth, I was tempted to just do my Brie en Croute,
but when she had said that wasn't the one, I was glad I played
around and came up with a new idea.  Everyone wanted to just
eat the appetizer and never move on to the main dish (although
that was fantastic too!)  Four of us ate the whole thing!  I am
making it again for Mother's Day dinner.  It is so simple, yet
fabulous.

Baked Brie with Bruleed Pears and Candied Pecans

6 inch wheel of Brie
1-2 T. brown sugar
2 ripe Bartlett Pears
1/4 C. white sugar

2 C. pecans
1/2 C. white sugar
1/4 C. water

1 baguette, cut, and toasted

Heat oven to 350.

With a sharp knife, remove the top of the Brie.  Poke the
Brie with a fork, and spread the brown sugar on the top of
the cheese.  Place the cheese in an ovenproof dish.  (I put
a piece of parchment paper under it, which you can see
in the picture, but I wouldn't do that again.  It made it
hard to cut the cheese into wedges.)

Bake for 15 minutes.  The cheese should be soft and melted.

While cheese is baking, place the 1/2 C. white sugar in a frying
pan with the 1/4 C. water.  Bring it to a boil and add the pecans.
Stir constantly.  The syrup will boil and get thick and all of
a sudden the moisture will all boil out, and it will turn sugary.
Pull it off the heat, and pour onto a piece of tinfoil.  Break
the clumps apart while they are hot.

When the cheese is melted, remove from the oven and 
top with sliced pears that have been dipped into the 1/4 C.
white sugar.  Use a kitchen torch to brulee the sugar on
the pears. 

Top with the pecans, and serve warm with toasted baguette.

You can also serve with additional sugared pears.

Mix 1 T. powdered egg white with 2 T. cool water.  Whisk
until smooth.  Paint the egg white on a clean, ripe pear.  Sprinkle
white sugar over the surface.  Set aside until the egg white dries.




This one will wow everyone, and it is so super simple.
We all fell in love with it!




Jacqueline
Jacqueline

Chocolat - French for Chocolate. I adored chocolate from a young age when I had to sneak in the cupboard to find where my mother had hidden the Nestle's Chocolate Chips. Having read about the famous chocolat shoppes in Paris, when I finally got there I was determined to try a chocolate from every Paris shoppe. I invite you to share my adventures in creating, in travel, and in life.

10 comments:

  1. This is one of my favorite that you have made. Notice I said one because I love everything you make but this one I need to try an share with my family. Thanks for posting this. I can't wait to make it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jacqueline, I make a baked brie en croute with apricot preserves and it is always a hit. This one looks just as tempting with the pecans and pears!! I can just imagine the contrast of the sweet pears and the cheese, and the crunch of the pecans. Oooh--sounds delicious! Linda

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yum!!! It looks so delicious and beautiful! I'll have to try it!
    Hugs, Betsy

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love brie with fruit and nuts and my go-to is usually apricot preserves and toasted almonds but this sound delicious too! I need to get one of those little torches :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. This recipe looks amazing. I can't wait to try it! I am missing all your tablescapes. Are you not going to do as many as you used to do? Great post!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I can certainly see why the entire brie was eaten, I sounds delicious.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Another wonderful dish Jacqueline. We love brie cheese and pears. I have several torches, so I shall be trying this soon.

    ReplyDelete
  8. It looks so easy to make! I'll have to give it a try!😋

    ReplyDelete
  9. It looks so easy to make! I'll have to give it a try!😋

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh YUMM -- That looks fabulous, and so pretty! I just printed out the recipe so I can make this next time I have people over. Or maybe I won't even wait for that ... ! :) Thanks!

    ReplyDelete

Your comments are the highlight of my day! Leave a comment and then I can come and visit your blog. Have a wonderful day! Unfortunately I have had to block anonymous comments, hope you understand.

Follow me on Instagram