How to Assemble a Charcuterie Board With Baked Camembert

Collect all of the ingredients for your board. This will include 2-3 types of cheese, varying in texture and sharpness. For the baked camembert, make sure to have camembert cheese, as well as honey, rosemary, and pistachios. Otherwise, ensure that you have your favorite nuts, cheeses, fruits and berries, dried fruits, crackers, and protein such as prosciutto, salami, or smoked salmon. Extras such as olives or pickles made great additions to the board. Also ensure that you have a large enough wooden chopping board as a surface for the ingredients. In terms of kitchen supplies, you will need a kitchen knife, various bowls, and an oven.

- Variety of cheeses

- Nuts, dried fruits

- Protein, such as prosciutto, salami, or smoked salmon

- Herb garnishes (such as rosemary sprigs)

- Kitchen appliances (oven, toaster, knives, etc.)

- Wooden chopping board as surface

To make the baked cheese, take a small baking dish and place your camembert in it. Drizzle enough honey to cover the surface of the cheese, and toss a few pistachios on top. Garnish with rosemary sprigs, and bake in the oven at 180 degrees celsius, or 350 fahrenheit for 12 minutes. Once finished, place on the board.

While the cheese is baking, start assembling the board. If using olives or pickles, start by placing a small bowl somewhere on the board. Something to keep in mind when assembling the board is to start with bigger elements, then use smaller ingredients as fillers for empty spaces. Ensure that you are spacing out the bigger elements of your board.

Start cutting your cheese. Cut the cheese into medium bite sized pieces, and arrange on the board, spreading out the cheese types. For triangular blocks of cheese, try cutting slices, then alternating the direction they face on the board, for an aesthetically pleasing arrangement. For rectangular blocks, cut into slices and layer a train of pieces, alternating directions with each row. Leave space for the baked cheese!

Next assemble the fresh fruit. Grapes and various berries go very well on charcuterie boards. Lay strands of grapes or handfuls of berries next to your arrangements of cheese. It is important to group everything together, rather than spreading out each element across the board. This creates the challenge of creating balance.

Next add your form of protein, if using it. Any cured meats are best assembled by rolling up individual slices, and assembling them on the board in a row. This makes for easy picking, when consuming the board.

Now arrange your crackers, or mini toasts. I find that it’s best to lay these out in a row, in order to pack a lot in, without taking up too much surface area. This also makes for easy picking when consuming the board.

By now your board should be quite full. This is the best time to add small piles and handfuls of dried fruits, small berries, and nuts, to fill in the small open spaces. Use these ingredients to completely cover the remainder of the board.

Now you can enjoy your charcuterie board! Try and experiment with combinations of cheeses with nuts, fruits, and proteins.