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As the self-proclaimed brie queen, I have done brie every way you can think of. I’ve baked it, boarded it, drizzled it with honey, wrapped it – you get the point. When I came up with the idea for a brie cake, I had no idea how much I would fall in love with it. Then you guys made it go viral and I knew I wasn’t the only one! Now 7 versions and counting later, I feel like it’s time for a brie cake series where you guys can see them all in one place. So, without further ado, enjoy browsing.
Table of contents
What Is A Brie Cake?
A whole brie wheel, sliced in half, filled with flavored whipped brie, stacked back together, and frosted on the outside like a bare layer cake – and that is it! Served cold, just like a real cake. You can slice it into wedges or cut straight across, whatever you prefer – there’s no wrong way to do it. And the layers? Gorgeous. That’s where you get to see the filling (and the personality) of each brie cake.
What Do You Serve It With?
Toasted baguette or ciabatta, always. My favorite way is pan-toasted in olive oil – lay the slices flat and let them go until golden. Feeding a crowd? A baking sheet with a good drizzle of olive oil in the oven does the job. Crackers work too, honestly anything you’d normally put out with brie. And the baklava brie cake comes with its own honey butter phyllo crisps that would be incredible alongside any version in the series.
Browse the Brie Cake Collection
Same technique, completely different directions. Browse all seven and find your flavor.
Fig, Pistachio and Honey
The one that started the whole series. A whipped fig jam and brie center inside a sliced wheel, topped with fresh figs, pistachios, chives, and honey. The flavors are a classic combination for a reason, and the assembly is one of the most forgiving of the seven – which makes it the right call if this is your first brie cake. It is also the most adaptable: the fig jam filling is year-round, and the fresh fig topping swaps easily when figs are out of season.
- Best for: First-timers, dinner party appetizers, any occasion.
- Gifting: Yes, assembles cleanly and holds well boxed.
- Season: Year-round. Fresh figs for the topping are best late summer through fall – swap in caramelized pears, blackberries, raspberries, even roasted grapes.
- Make-ahead: Assemble up to 24 hours ahead. Add all toppings right before serving.
Orange, Fig, and Pistacio
This is the fig cake dressed for the holidays. Whipped fig and orange brie inside the wheel, finished with dried mandarin slices, a piece of honeycomb, pistachios, and a sprig of rosemary on top. Everything here is dried or pantry-stable, which makes it one of the most reliable picks in the series – no seasonal ingredient dependency, and wraps up in a gift box like it was made for it.
- Best for: Holiday gifting, Thanksgiving, Christmas, hostess gifts.
- Gifting: Yes, one of the cleanest shippers in the series.
- Season: Year-round. Dried mandarins and fig jam mean no seasonal limitations.
- Make-ahead: Assemble up to 24 hours ahead. Add toppings right before serving or boxing.
Dirty Martini (Blue Cheese and Olive)
For the table where someone is definitely ordering their martini extra dirty. Whipped brie with blue cheese, Castelvetrano olives, and chives packed into the center, finished with blue cheese-stuffed olives on top. This is the only fully savory version in the series – nothing sweet about it – and it lands exactly where a cocktail hour appetizer should. It is also an excellent gift for the person who considers blue cheese the best thing on any board.
- Best for: Cocktail parties, holiday entertaining, savory-leaning crowds.
- Gifting: Yes, holds and transports well.
- Season: Year-round.
- Make-ahead: Assemble up to 24 hours ahead. Add olive topping right before serving.
Bada Bing Cherry
Whipped brie mixed with cherry jam in the center, finished with more whipped brie, crushed pistachios, and fresh bada bing cherries on top. Sweet, but not overly sweet, and gorgeous – the dark cherries against the white frosted exterior are hard to argue with. It also boxes beautifully, which makes it a consistent top pick for gifting.
- Best for: Gifting, spring and summer entertaining, Mother’s Day, bridal showers.
- Gifting: Yes – assembles and boxes cleanly.
- Season: The cherry jam filling is year-round. Fresh bada bing cherries for the topping are in season late spring through summer. Outside that window, good-quality jarred or Luxardo cherries work as a substitute.
- Make-ahead: Assemble up to 24 hours ahead. Add cherry topping right before serving.
Fresh Truffle
Triple cream brie whipped with fresh black truffle, layered inside the wheel, and finished with hand-shaved truffle arranged into a flower on top. This is the one you make when you want to stop the room – and it also happens to travel exceptionally well. Truffle is one of the rarest ingredients in the world, and this is the brie cake that reflects that. If you have never bought fresh truffle before, read The Fresh Truffle Buyer’s Guide before you shop. If you are deciding between brie cakes for a gift and want to make an impression that sticks, this is the one.
- Best for: Special occasions, formal dinner parties, high-impact gifting.
- Gifting: Yes, one of the top gifting picks in the series.
- Season: Fresh black truffle is at its best December through March. There are some substitution alternatives. See the recipe page for details.
- Make-ahead: Assemble up to 24 hours ahead. Add truffle topping right before serving.
Classic French Radish
My personal favorite in the series, and the one nobody expects. A Saint Angel brie – square, not round, which is exactly what makes it so interesting to slice into – filled with whipped radish and chive butter, then frosted in triple cream and finished with mini radishes, edible flowers, and honeycomb. I am a sucker for the classic French pairing of crisp radishes, cold butter, and flaky salt, and this takes that combination and turns it into a centerpiece people genuinely do not know what to make of until they taste it. It is also the most elegant-looking of the seven and works as a savory birthday cake in a way no actual birthday cake can.
- Best for: Spring entertaining, tea parties, savory birthday cakes, dinner party centerpieces.
- Gifting: Yes, assemble and pipe up to a day ahead; pull the edible flowers and honeycomb before refrigerating and add fresh before serving.
- Season: Year-round, with spring as the sweet spot when radishes are at their best and edible flowers are easy to source.
- Make-ahead: Assemble and pipe up to 24 hours ahead. Hold all toppings and add right before serving.
Baklava with Honey Butter Crisps
Baklava energy, brie format. The whipped center is packed with dates, walnuts, and pistachios, and the whole thing is topped with crispy phyllo strands and a honey drizzle. The honey butter phyllo crisps served alongside are what push it into full baklava territory. This is the most textural version in the series and the one that makes the most noise when it lands on the table – though the phyllo does mean this one is built for same-day serving. The cake itself holds; the crisps do not.
- Best for: Same-day entertaining, spring and summer parties
- Gifting: Not ideal – the phyllo crisps need to be baked and served the same day or they lose their crunch. The cake itself transports fine; the crisps don’t survive the fridge though.
- Season: Year-round.
- Make-ahead: The brie cake assembles up to 24 hours ahead. The phyllo crisps are a day-of bake – as close to serving as you can manage. Full breakdown on the recipe page.
An Edible Gift
Six of the seven box and transport well – the exception is the baklava, which is a same-day situation because of the phyllo. For everything else, the assembly can be done a day ahead, the whole cake chills overnight, and the toppings go on right before it gets boxed. I use specific gift boxes from Amazon that fit a standard brie wheel perfectly.
Not Sure What Flavor To Gift?
The orange fig or the cherry are the safest picks out of these brie cakes and universally loved. So if you aren’t sure what they would like or if they aren’t into the stronger flavor profiles of the other ones, this is the way to go.
The truffle is the right call if you know the person will appreciate it. Depending on the fresh truffles you pick, the flavor can vary. These have a very savory umami flavor that I have found people either love it or they hate it.
The dirty martini is for the friend that dives into the blue cheese on a charcuterie board or orders dirty martinis when you go out. If that is your person, this one is the winner!
If you want something that looks like it took you far more effort than it did, the radish butter is the one. The square brie and the piped frosting make it look so unique. But make sure they are a fan of the peppery vegetable.
The baklava is a little more last minute and a little more complicated, but it is still a great gift – it just takes a little more planning. If you are going to someone’s house and you know it will be getting eaten pretty quickly, get the cake fully assembled and prepped ahead leaving off the toppings – there are plenty of prep tips on the recipe page to help. Then add the phyllo topping and box it on your way out the door. Just don’t put it back in the fridge once the topping is on, the phyllo will lose its crunch.
Frequently Asked Questions
A brie cake is a sliced brie wheel filled with a flavored whipped brie center, reassembled, and frosted on the outside with more whipped brie – like a bare layer cake, but made entirely from cheese. It is served cold, holds its shape when sliced, and can be made a day ahead. Every version in this series follows the same base technique with a different filling and topping.
No. The brie wheel itself is never heated. Some versions in this series include components that bake separately – the baklava version has phyllo crisps that go in the oven on their own – but the cheese stays cold throughout. Every brie cake here is a no-bake recipe at its core.
Yes, and in most cases it is actually the better approach. The assembled cake needs time in the fridge to set before the toppings go on, so building it the evening before gives you a cleaner result and nothing to do at serving time except finish the top. Each recipe page covers the specific timing and what holds versus what needs to be added last minute.
Thinly sliced baguette works with every version in the series. Crackers are also a good option. The fully savory versions – the dirty martini and the radish butter – pair naturally with cured meats on the same board. For the sweeter versions, keep accompaniments simple so the brie stays the focus.
