For me, festive food means cheese. Lots of cheese. Last year our Christmas cheeseboard was eaten weeks before Christmas came around, we just couldn't wait! The King of all cheeses has to be a baked Camembert - gooey deliciousness.When I was contacted by Laura Ashley and asked to write a recipe for their blog, I knew exactly what I wanted to try out. What's better than cheese, than cheese wrapped in pastry? This is the perfect appetizer for those times you have guests but don't know what to feed them, and despite it being a tad messy, would work at a Christmas drinks party. You will need:CamembertPuff PastryCranberry sauceEggThe how to is really simple. I'm a firm believer in cutting the odd corner here and there - there's absolutely no shame in reaching for pre-rolled pastry! Lay the pastry out on the greaseproof paper in comes wrapped in and plonk your Camembert in the middle. Do a quick check that the pastry will fold over the cheese - if not, use a rolling pin to just roll the pastry out a little larger. Next up, spoon on a good amount of Cranberry sauce over the top of the Camembert. You'll want to use two to three tablespoons of sauce to ensure it really comes through with the cheese once cooked. Fold the pastry over the cheese fairly tightly, being sure to cut off any extra pastry - it wont cook fully if there are big overlapping pieces of pastry. Liberally brush on a beaten egg to help the pastry form a gorgeous glaze. Pop in the oven on about 180C for 30 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown. Serve straight from the oven with warm crusty bread. We ate it alongside some cured meats and caramelised onion jam for an extra treat. Delicious. If this is a little too much for you, then you can take one step back and go for a simple baked Camembert. Take it out of the packaging, pop it in a cheese baker like this one (you could poke in a few garlic cloves and sprigs of rosemary, or simply a small brush of olive oil and rock salt) and bake in the oven for about fifteen minutes, or until it is soft in the middle.
