Make it Monday: Mascarpone

Recently I posted about my friend Rob and his adventures in homemades. He sent me home with a recipe for mascarpone and it wasn't 24 hours until I had my skillet on the stove ready to go.

It comes from the now-concluded make it from scratch blog, originally from baking obsession.

Mascarpone Cheese
Makes 12 oz

2 cups whipping cream
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Bring 1 inch of water to the boil in a wide skillet. Reduce heat to medium low so the water is barely simmering. Pour the cream into a medium sized heat resistant bowl, then place bowl into the skillet. Heat the cream, stirring often, till it reaches 190F. If you do not have a thermometer, wait until small bubbles keep trying to push up to the surface.

It will take about 15 minutes of delicate heating to reach this temperature. Then add the lemon juice and continue heating the mixture, stirring gently, until the cream curdles. It will coat the back of your wooden spoon thickly, and you will see a few whey streaks when you stir.

Remove the bowl from the water and let cool about 20 minutes. Line a sieve with 4 layers of dampened cheesecloth and set over a bowl. Transfer the cream mixture to the lined sieve. Do not squeeze or press on the cheese.

Once cooled completely, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate in the sieve, overnight or up to 24 hours. It will firm up and become thick and creamy. Keep refrigerated and use within 5 days.

 

I used my cheese to make mini tiramisus with cookie bottoms, soaked in espresso, with mascarpone (whipped with vanilla & sugar) and topped with cocoa powder, served in mini glass dishes.