Camembert with figs & hazelnuts

Camembert au figues et noisettes

We used to buy these prepared camembert cheeses at one of the two famous cheese specialty shops in town ("Betty" in Toulouse/France). The owner was kind enough to share the (simple) recipe with us.

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Make the filling 1-2 days ahead!
Assembly time: 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 camembert cheese - kept in the refrigerator
standard 250 grams (1/2 lb), 10 cm (4 inch) diameter
125 gram (4.5 oz) mascarpone
a standard 250 gram tub is enough for two standard camemberts
75 grams (3 oz) dried figs
keep one fig for decorating the top of the cheese
do not use dried figs that were harvested in biblical times and are hard!
75 grams (3 oz) shelled, whole hazelnuts
to remove skins, wrap warmed up hazelnuts in a dish towel and let them sit for 5 to 10 minutes. Then rub vigorously in the towel.
keep one or two hazelnuts for decorating the top of the cheese

EQUIPMENT & SUPPLIES

medium size bowl (1 liter / 1 quart)

PREPARATION / DIRECTIONS

Make the filling:
cut the hazelnuts into large pieces (half or quartered; just in half if the nuts are small)
remove the stem from the figs and cut the figs into pieces that are about 1 cm (3/8 inch) in size
put the mascarpone in the bowl, mash it, and blend in the nuts and figs
keep in the refrigerator for at least one day, for the flavors to blend.

Assemble the camembert:
cut the (cold) camembert at half height into two round slices
put the mascarpone mix in the middle of the bottom half of the cheese
work the mascarpone mix across the cheese, to get even thickness and a straight edge
the filling should make a layer of about 2 cm (3/4 inch)
put the other half of the cheese back on top of the mascarpone, and clean up the edge of the filling
decorate the top of the cheese with a small fig (stem removed, butterflied) or several hazelnut halves
put back into the fridge

SERVING

Take out of the refigerator 30 minutes before serving.