This is another melted Camembert dish this time with the cheese in the centre of tear and share cranberry brioche balls. This is an excellent sharing dish for a New Year’s eve feast. It’s also a great ‘breaking the ice’ type of starter.
Prep time: 20 minutes/Cook time: 20 minutes/Serves: 8 (+proving time)
Ingredients:
4 large eggs
1½ tbsp full-fat milk
350g (12oz) strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
7g fast-action dried yeast
30g (1oz) caster sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp chilli flakes
200g (7oz) dried cranberries, chopped
200g (7oz) unsalted butter, cubed and softened
250g (9oz) camembert with a wooden case (remove any paper or plastic)
To finish:
1 egg, lightly beaten
generous pinch of sea salt
2 tbsp fine-shred orange marmalade
Method:
Whisk the eggs and milk in a jug to combine. Add the flour, yeast, sugar and salt to another bowl and mix until well combined. Add the chilli flakes and cranberries and mix through. Make a well in the centre of the flour bowl, add the egg mixture and bring the dough roughly together. The mixture will look quite wet and more like a very thick cake batter, but don’t worry.
Transfer the mixture to a stand mixer with a dough hook attached. Slowly add the softened butter a bit at a time, mixing after each addition to make sure it is incorporated before adding more. Then knead the dough on a fast setting for 10 minutes. Cover, pop into the fridge and leave to prove overnight.
Line a large baking tray with some baking paper. Take the bottom half of the camembert wooden case and place in the centre of the baking tray. Put the cheese back in the fridge.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knock back. Roll into a sausage shape and divide into 5 equal pieces. Divide each piece into 5 equal pieces so you have 25 little dough balls in total. Pinch each ball into the centre, turn seam-side down and roll around in your hand to create a smooth ball. Arrange the first 10 around the wooden cheese case and then the following 15 around them, leaving small gaps to allow them to prove. Cover with some greased cling film and leave to prove at room temperature until doubled in size.
Pre-heat tour oven to 190°C (170°C Fan/375°F/Gas Mark 5). Take the cheese out of the wrapper and pop into the wooden case. Brush the dough balls with the beaten egg and sprinkle all over the salt. Bake for 20 minutes. Add the marmalade to the hot cheese and serve.
