Every so often I stumble upon a recipe that just blows my socks off! This is one of those recipes! Not only is it freaking delicious, it’s also one of the easiest appetizers I have ever made! Even though it’s a super easy appetizer to make it’s fancy enough to serve guests! Everyone will gasp with delight when you pull this cheesy pastry out of the oven.
If you are a cheese lover and adore puff pastry, you are going to love, love, love this unique appetizer! Add some fresh rosemary, a couple cloves of freshly minced garlic and a drizzle off honey for just a touch of sweetness and you will think you have died and gone to heaven with your very first bite.
Since there are only a few ingredients needed for this recipe I recommend using the highest quality, fresh ingredients you can get your hands on for the best flavor.
If you need some fresh Rosemary, stop on by. I have a yard full of it!!! I have more than I can use in my lifetime!
HELPFUL HINT: Rosemary has a very pronounced flavor and can easily dominate all the other flavors in a dish. Reduce the amount of Rosemary to 1 teaspoon if you are using dried instead of fresh.
I used a combination of Gruyere and Fontina cheeses. The Gruyere has a sharp flavor. If you like Swiss cheese you will like Gruyere cheese, their flavors are quite similar. You could use all Gruyere or all Fontina cheese but I like using both in this recipe. The Fontina adds a creamy, smoothness that compliments and mellows out the sharpness of the Gruyere cheese. Plus it melts really well which makes it perfect for this recipe.
Start by preheating your oven to 425°F. Unfold the thawed puff pastry dough and roll out the dough with a rolling pin until the folds are smooth. Place the dough in a well seasoned cast iron skillet.
If you don’t have a cast iron skillet you can use a pie pan instead. Just be sure to give it a good spritz of non-stick cooking spray before you add the puff pastry to the pie pan so the dough doesn’t stick. It’s not necessary to grease a well seasoned cast iron skillet.
Cut the cheeses into 1 inch cubes.
Pile the cheese cubes in the center of the puff pastry.
In a small dish stir together the minced garlic cloves with the chopped Rosemary. Sprinkle over the cubed cheese.
Drizzle the cheese cubes with a little honey.
You may think the honey is a strange ingredient to add to a savory profile but don’t skip adding the honey. It adds a lovely unexpected hint of sweetness that creates a more complex flavor profile that you will really enjoy. Trust me on this, add the honey!
Use your hands to gently fold the dough up and over the cheese cubes.
Brush the puff pastry dough with beaten egg.
Sprinkle the dough with a little Demerara cane sugar. If you are not familiar with Demerara sugar, it’s a large crystal finishing sugar. You can find it at most major supermarkets in the baking isle where they stock the regular sugar.
Bake the tart for 25-30 minutes, or until cheese and puff pastry turns a deep crispy golden brown and almost starts to burn in a few spots.
Top with an extra drizzle of honey on top, and some coarse black pepper after you pull it out of the oven.
Serve piping hot with sliced sour dough French bread for dipping into the gooey, melty cheese.
I served this up to my favorite group of lady friends. I call them the Fab Five! They are truly fabulous ladies!!! This appetizer was a HUGE hit! We all dove right in and gobbled it up! I served this with Mimosas and got no complaints just lot’s of “yums” and lot’s of “oh my gosh this is so flipping good.” I am so blessed to have such a wonderful group of friends! I wish you were here Michelle to share this delicious treat with us!!! I promise to make it for you the next time you visit!!!
Life is so much better when you can share it with good friends.
Cheesy Baked Puff Pastry
Ingredients
- 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
- 5.3 oz Gruyere cheese
- 8 oz Fontina cheese
- 1 tbsp fresh Rosemary, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsp honey
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 tsp Demerara cane sugar
- 1 loaf sour dough baguette, sliced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Unfold thawed puff pastry dough and roll out dough with a rolling pin until smooth.
- Place dough in a cast iron skillet or a pie pan.
- Cut cheeses into 1 inch cubes.
- Place cubed cheese in the center of the puff pastry.
- In a small dish stir together minced garlic and chopped Rosemary. Sprinkle over the cubed cheese.
- Drizzle cheese cubes with honey.
- Fold dough up over the cheese cubes.
- Brush dough with beaten egg.
- Sprinkle dough with Demerara sugar.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, until cheese and puff pastry turns crispy golden brown and almost starts to burn in a few spots.
- Top with an extra drizzle of honey on top, and some coarse black pepper.
- Serve piping hot with sliced sour dough French bread for dipping into the gooey, melty cheese.
A HUGE shout out to Tieghan Gerard at Halfbakedharvest.com for this outstanding recipe! I will be serving up this utterly delectable appetizer a lot!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you Tieghan for sharing this recipe, it’s absolutely FANTASTIC!
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