Fall Harvest Board with Warm Baked Brie and Apple Butter

The Fall Harvest Board is a cheese board for 8 that puts a hot baked brie in the middle and builds the season around it. Most boards are served cold, which is fine in July but a little flat when the weather turns. One warm cheese in the middle changes the whole temperature of a board, and it gives everyone a reason to stand around it. Around the brie you place aged gouda and blue cheese, prosciutto and salami, apple butter, dried figs, toasted pecans and almonds, and sliced apples and pears. It fits on a 20 by 10 in (50 by 25 cm) board and takes only a little more work than a cold one.

Why this works

• The baked brie is the focal point, and its heat softens the crackers and fruit that sit nearest to it.
• One warm cheese, two firm cheeses, two crunch items and one fresh item gives every bite a different balance.
• Gouda and blue go on opposite edges, so their flavors do not blend on the board.
• Prosciutto and salami curl around the warm dish, not across it, so the hot cheese stays easy to reach.
• Apple butter sits beside the blue cheese, because sweet fruit and a sharp, salty blue are the combination guests remember.

What to know about the ingredients

You need an 8 oz baked brie, warm. Use a wheel you can bake in a small dish, and keep it in the oven while you build the rest of the board. Aged gouda has caramel notes and a firm, slightly crystalline texture, and it should be cut into wedges or slices. The blue cheese should be one you enjoy on its own, since it is the sharpest item on the board.

Prosciutto and hard salami give you one soft cured meat and one firm one. Apple butter should be thick and spreadable, not a sweet syrup. Dried figs, toasted pecans and almonds add chew and crunch, and seeded crackers hold up under a spoon of warm brie. For the fresh part, use apples and pears, sliced thin enough to eat in one bite.

If you cannot find aged gouda, another firm aged cheese works. For the meat-free version, the recipe uses roasted squash cubes and spiced chickpeas in their place.

Fall Harvest Board

Print recipe Save to Pinterest

One warm cheese in the middle changes the whole temperature of a board.

Serves8

Ingredients

Cheeses

• Baked brie, warm — 8 oz (225 g)
• Aged gouda — 9 oz (250 g)
• Blue cheese — 5 oz (150 g)

Meats

• Prosciutto — 4 oz (120 g)
• Hard salami — 4 oz (120 g)

Sweet

• Apple butter — 5 oz (150 g)
• Dried figs — 5 oz (150 g)

Crunch

• Seeded crackers — 9 oz (250 g)
• Toasted pecans and almonds — 5 oz (150 g)

Fresh

• Apples and pears, sliced — 16 oz (450 g)

Instructions

1. Bake the brie first and set the hot dish a little above the center of a 20 by 10 in (50 by 25 cm) board, on a trivet if the wood is thin.
2. Place the gouda and blue at opposite edges, as far from each other as the board allows.
3. Curl the prosciutto and salami into a river that runs around the warm dish, not across it.
4. Set the apple butter in a small bowl beside the blue cheese, which is the pairing people remember.
5. Fill the rest with sliced fruit, crackers, pecans and figs, working from the center out until no wood shows.

Notes

• Slice the fruit at the last minute, or toss it in lemon juice and it will hold for two hours.
• No meat: add 200 g / 7 oz roasted squash cubes and 150 g / 5 oz spiced chickpeas.

How to build it

1. Bake the brie first. Set the hot dish a little above the center of the 20 by 10 in board, on a trivet if the wood is thin. Wooden boards can scorch.
2. Put the gouda and blue at opposite edges, as far apart as the board allows.
3. Curl the prosciutto and salami into a river that runs around the warm dish, not across it. Loose curls look fuller than flat slices.
4. Set the apple butter in a small bowl beside the blue cheese.
5. Fill the rest with sliced fruit, crackers, pecans and figs, working from the center out until no wood shows.

Slice the fruit at the last minute. If you must cut early, toss the slices in lemon juice and they will hold for two hours.

How to store, freeze and make ahead

The recipe lists no make-ahead schedule for the full board, so plan to assemble it shortly before serving. The cold parts can be set out first, with the brie baked while guests arrive so it is still warm. Keep the cheeses and meats refrigerated until you start, and store leftover cheese wrapped in the refrigerator. Do not slice the fruit early unless you toss it in lemon juice, in which case it will hold for two hours. Warm brie does not keep its texture once cooled, so serve it fresh.

What to serve with it

A crisp white wine, hard cider or a light red works with the apples, pears and aged gouda. Sparkling apple cider is a good no-alcohol choice. If you are serving this as a meal, add a bowl of soup or a simple green salad.

Variations

• A different warm cheese: bake a flavored brie instead of a plain one, such as an apple butter version.
• More fruit: add grapes or pomegranate seeds around the gouda.
• Another firm cheese: use an aged cheddar in place of the gouda.
• No meat: add 200 g / 7 oz roasted squash cubes and 150 g / 5 oz spiced chickpeas.

For a baked brie to put in the center, the Apple Butter and Thyme Baked Brie and the Spiced Pear Baked Brie both fit the theme, and the Holiday Showstopper Board is the next step up for a larger table. You will find them all in Baked Brie and Cheese Boards.