Pistachio Honey Baked Brie Wreath
There’s something truly magical about bringing a warm, shareable appetizer to the table during a gathering. It instantly draws people in, creating a focal point for conversation and connection. For years, I’ve been on a mission to create the ultimate festive centrepiece, and this Pistachio Honey Baked Brie Wreath is the result. After testing this recipe five times, I finally got the balance of textures and flavours just right—the crisp, buttery pastry giving way to gloriously molten cheese, all topped with the satisfying crunch of pistachios and a luscious drizzle of honey. It looks incredibly impressive, but we’ll find it’s a straightforward process that delivers a spectacular result.
This isn’t just another baked brie; it’s a beautifully crafted cheese wreath that elevates any occasion. The combination of creamy, earthy brie with sweet honey and salty, nutty pistachios is a classic for a reason, but shaping it into a wreath makes it feel extra special. We’ve added a subtle hint of fresh rosemary, which infuses the entire dish with a wonderful, pine-like aroma as it bakes, filling your kitchen with the scent of the holidays. It’s the kind of dish that works beautifully for a Christmas Eve nibble, a New Year’s Eve party, or simply a cosy weekend treat when you want to indulge.
Recipe Overview
This recipe transforms a simple wheel of brie into a stunning edible wreath. We wrap the cheese in flaky, all-butter puff pastry, top it with crunchy pistachios and fresh rosemary, and bake it until the cheese is wonderfully gooey and the pastry is golden brown. A final drizzle of honey adds a touch of sweetness that ties everything together. I found that a slightly higher oven temperature for a shorter time gives the pastry the best rise while ensuring the brie becomes perfectly melted without splitting and turning oily.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15-20 minutes
- Total Time: 30-35 minutes
- Servings: 8-10 people as an appetizer
- Difficulty: Easy
Why You’ll Love This Pistachio Honey Baked Brie Wreath
- Genuine Flavour: The rich, creamy brie provides a mellow, earthy base. This is beautifully contrasted by the salty, vibrant crunch of roasted pistachios and the sweet, floral notes of the honey. A sprig of rosemary adds a fragrant, woody aroma that makes it feel exceptionally festive.
- Ready in Under 35 Minutes: From start to finish, this impressive appetizer comes together in about half an hour, making it an ideal choice when you need a spectacular dish without spending hours in the kitchen.
- Flexible Recipe: You can easily adapt the toppings to your liking. Swap the pistachios for walnuts or pecans, or use fresh thyme instead of rosemary. A sprinkle of dried cranberries or a little orange zest can also add a lovely festive touch.
- Great for Holiday Gatherings: Its wreath shape makes it a natural centrepiece for Christmas or New Year’s celebrations. It’s also a fantastic addition to a dinner party cheese course, served alongside some crisp apple slices and crackers. If you’re planning a full spread, it sits nicely next to savoury bites like my Salmon Cakes Canned Salmon Recipe.
- Family Tested: This recipe always gets compliments whenever I make it. My family now requests it for every festive get-together, and they often hover by the oven, waiting for me to pull out the bubbling, golden wreath.
Ingredients You’ll Need
For the best results, I recommend using a good quality all-butter puff pastry; the flavour is so much richer than versions made with other fats. When it comes to the cheese, a full-fat Brie will give you that desirable gooey, melty texture. I often use Président as it’s reliable and widely available.
- 1 x 375g sheet of ready-rolled all-butter puff pastry, chilled
- 1 x 500g wheel of Brie cheese
- 75g shelled raw pistachios, roughly chopped
- 1 medium free-range egg, beaten
- 2 tbsp runny honey, plus extra for drizzling
- 1 sprig of fresh rosemary
- A pinch of sea salt flakes
- Flour, for dusting
Ashley’s Tip: Ensure your puff pastry is very cold, straight from the fridge. Warm pastry is difficult to handle and won’t puff up as nicely in the oven. If your kitchen is warm, you can even pop the wrapped brie in the freezer for 5-10 minutes before baking.
How to Make a Pistachio Honey Baked Brie Wreath
The process of creating the wreath shape is quite enjoyable. We’re simply cutting the centre out of the brie and wrapping the resulting ring in strips of pastry. It’s a little like arts and crafts, but with a much more delicious outcome!
- Preheat and Prepare: Preheat your oven to 200°C (180°C fan). Line a large baking tray with baking parchment.
- Prepare the Brie: Place the wheel of brie on a chopping board. Use a round cookie cutter or a small, sharp knife to carefully cut out a circle from the centre, about 5-6cm in diameter. You can bake this centre piece alongside the wreath or save it for another use. You should now have a brie ring.
- Cut the Pastry: Lightly dust your work surface with flour and unroll the puff pastry sheet. Using a sharp knife or a pizza cutter, slice the pastry into long strips, about 2-3cm wide.
- Wrap the Brie: Take one strip of pastry and begin wrapping it around the brie ring, slightly overlapping the pastry as you go. Continue with more strips until the entire ring is encased in pastry. Gently press the seams to seal them. I find that tucking the ends underneath helps create a neater finish.
- Assemble the Wreath: Carefully transfer the pastry-wrapped brie ring onto your prepared baking tray. Brush the entire surface evenly with the beaten egg. This will give it a lovely golden sheen once baked.
- Add Toppings: Sprinkle the chopped pistachios over the top of the wreath, gently pressing them into the pastry so they adhere. Finely chop the leaves from the rosemary sprig and scatter them over the top along with a small pinch of sea salt flakes.
- Bake to Perfection: Place the tray in the preheated oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the pastry is deeply golden brown, puffed up, and crisp. You may see a tiny bit of cheese starting to ooze out, which is a good sign it’s melted inside.
- Serve Warm: Remove the wreath from the oven and let it cool on the tray for about 5 minutes. This is an important step, as it allows the cheese to set slightly so it doesn’t spill everywhere when cut. Drizzle generously with honey just before serving.
Tips From My Kitchen
- Temperature Control: The key to a great puff pastry is temperature contrast. Keep the pastry and the brie as cold as possible until they go into the hot oven. This creates steam that makes the pastry layers separate and puff up beautifully.
- The Secret Step: I learned that gently scoring the top of the brie rind in a few places *before* wrapping it in pastry can help it melt more evenly and prevents it from bursting aggressively in one spot. Don’t cut too deep, just a few light slashes will do.
- Make-Ahead: You can assemble the wreath a day in advance. Follow the steps up to wrapping the brie in pastry, then cover it tightly with cling film and refrigerate. When you’re ready to bake, just brush with egg, add the toppings, and bake as directed, adding a couple of extra minutes to the cooking time.
- Storage: Baked brie is best enjoyed fresh and warm. If you do have leftovers, they can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. Reheat gently in an oven at 160°C for 10 minutes until warmed through. The microwave will make the pastry soggy, so I don’t recommend it.
Equipment You’ll Need
You don’t need any highly specialised tools for this recipe, which is part of its charm. Here are the basics:
- Large baking tray
- Baking parchment
- Sharp knife or pizza cutter
- Small round cookie cutter (optional, but helpful)
- Pastry brush
- Chopping board
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Not Sealing the Pastry Properly: If there are gaps in your pastry wrapping, the molten cheese will find its way out during baking. Take a moment to gently pinch any seams together to create a good seal.
- Overbaking the Brie: If baked for too long, brie can split and become oily rather than creamy and gooey. Keep a close eye on it; as soon as the pastry is a deep golden brown, it’s ready to come out.
- Skipping the Rest Time: I know it’s tempting to dive in straight from the oven, but letting the wreath rest for 5 minutes is crucial. It gives the super-hot, liquid cheese a moment to calm down, making it perfectly gooey and scoopable rather than a runny mess.
Delicious Variations to Try
Once you’ve mastered the basic technique, this brie wreath is wonderfully adaptable. Here are a few variations we love:
- Spicy & Sweet: Add a generous pinch of chilli flakes along with the pistachios before baking. The gentle heat is a fantastic contrast to the sweet honey and creamy cheese.
- Fruity & Rich: Instead of honey, spread a thin layer of fig or apricot jam over the brie before wrapping it in pastry. Top with chopped walnuts and dried cranberries for a different but equally festive feel.
- Savoury & Glazed: For a less sweet version, use chopped pecans and fresh thyme. Once out of the oven, drizzle with a high-quality balsamic glaze instead of honey. This is a brilliant accompaniment to a glass of red wine.
What to Serve With Your Pistachio Honey Baked Brie Wreath
This cheese wreath is a standalone star, but it’s even better with the right accompaniments for dipping and scooping. Think about a mix of textures and flavours.
- Crackers and Bread: Sturdy crackers, like water biscuits or seeded oatcakes, are great for scooping up the melty cheese. Slices of toasted baguette or crusty sourdough work wonderfully too.
- Fresh Fruit: The crisp, fresh sweetness of sliced apples (like a Braeburn or Granny Smith) and pears cuts through the richness of the cheese beautifully. A bunch of red grapes on the side also adds freshness.
- Drink Pairings: For wine, a crisp white like a Sauvignon Blanc or an unoaked Chardonnay is a great match. If you prefer red, a light-bodied Pinot Noir won’t overpower the delicate brie. For a celebratory feel, you can’t go wrong with a glass of Prosecco or Champagne. A sparkling apple or cranberry juice is a lovely non-alcoholic alternative. It would be a great starter before a main course of my Grilled Lamb Chops Recipe Tender.
Frequently Asked Questions
Pistachio Honey Baked Brie Wreath
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat and Prepare: Preheat your oven to 200°C (180°C fan). Line a large baking tray with baking parchment.
- Prepare the Brie: Place the wheel of brie on a chopping board. Use a round cookie cutter or a small, sharp knife to carefully cut out a circle from the centre, about 5-6cm in diameter. You can bake this centre piece alongside the wreath or save it for another use. You should now have a brie ring.
- Cut the Pastry: Lightly dust your work surface with flour and unroll the puff pastry sheet. Using a sharp knife or a pizza cutter, slice the pastry into long strips, about 2-3cm wide.
- Wrap the Brie: Take one strip of pastry and begin wrapping it around the brie ring, slightly overlapping the pastry as you go. Continue with more strips until the entire ring is encased in pastry. Gently press the seams to seal them. I find that tucking the ends underneath helps create a neater finish.
- Assemble the Wreath: Carefully transfer the pastry-wrapped brie ring onto your prepared baking tray. Brush the entire surface evenly with the beaten egg. This will give it a lovely golden sheen once baked.
- Add Toppings: Sprinkle the chopped pistachios over the top of the wreath, gently pressing them into the pastry so they adhere. Finely chop the leaves from the rosemary sprig and scatter them over the top along with a small pinch of sea salt flakes.
- Bake to Perfection: Place the tray in the preheated oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the pastry is deeply golden brown, puffed up, and crisp. You may see a tiny bit of cheese starting to ooze out, which is a good sign it's melted inside.
- Serve Warm: Remove the wreath from the oven and let it cool on the tray for about 5 minutes. This is an important step, as it allows the cheese to set slightly so it doesn't spill everywhere when cut. Drizzle generously with honey just before serving.
Notes
I really hope you give this Pistachio Honey Baked Brie Wreath a try for your next get-together. It’s one of those recipes that brings me so much joy to make and share, and it never fails to make an impression. It’s a wonderful centrepiece that tastes as good as it looks. Let me know how it turns out for you in the comments below – I’d love to hear about it!
Happy cooking,
Ashley Rivera
