How to Make Homemade Mascarpone Cheese

Name: Homemade Mascarpone Cheese
Prep time: 720 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 740 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: Ice cubes for cooling; 2 cups of heavy cream; 1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice

Homemade mascarpone cheese, the luxurious Italian ingredient which is incredibly sweet and creamy can be created from the comfort of your own home.

Italian Cuisine

March 9, 2021

Difficulty Hard

Servings 4 people

Preparation 720 mins

Cooking 20 mins

Total 740 mins

Recipe Contents

Ingredients Directions Nutrition Equipments Tips

Ingredients

2 cups of heavy cream
1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice
Ice cubes for cooling

Directions

Place a saucepan over a medium heat and add the cream.
Bring the cream to a simmer 185°F.
Pour the lemon juice into the cream and whisk to combine.
Lightly simmer the cream for 10 minutes, stirring regularly, until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Fill a mixing bowl with water and add ice cubes, once the cream has thickened transfer the saucepan to the ice bath so that the base of the pan is in contact with the water.
Cool the cream in the ice bath, then line a colander with cheesecloth and set over a bowl.
Pour the cooled cream mixture into the cheesecloth, then transfer the cheesecloth and bowl to a refrigerator.
Allow the whey to separate through the cheesecloth overnight.
The following day the mixture will have become thick and creamy. Lightly squeeze the cheesecloth to remove any excess moisture then spoon the mascarpone into an airtight container.
Store the homemade mascarpone cheese in the refrigerator and use it within five days.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 1 Homemade Mascarpone Cheese

Serves 4

Amount Per Serving

Calories207

% Daily Value*

Cholesterol 82 mg27.3%

Sodium 23 mg1%

Potassium 47 mg1%

Protein 1.2 g2.4%

Total Fat 22.2 g28.5%

*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Tips

Ideally when making homemade mascarpone cheese use a cream which is at least 30% fat. This level of fat content produces the best results however any cream can be used as the base when making mascarpone cheese, whether that be single cream, double cream, heavy cream or whipping cream.
The acid used to denature the cream and cause thickening can be citric acid, tartaric acid, lemon juice or vinegar, within this recipe we have used lemon juice as it is readily available and imparts a pleasant flavoring.

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A base of cream is the distinctive ingredient which makes mascarpone superior to any other form of cream cheese. The fat within the soft, milky-white cream creates the outstanding richness, smoothness and sweetness which mascarpone is known for, ranging between 35-40% fat content.

Cream is brought to a high temperature then mixed with an acid such as citric acid, tartaric acid or lemon juice, the acid coagulates the cream to thicken the mixture. The mixture is then cooled and strainer creating the thick and creamy mascarpone cheese. This technique can easily be recreated at home using only two ingredients, follow our guide below for the full recipe.

Equipment for this recipe

Large Strainer

Saucepan

Whisker

Mixing Bowls

Cheesecloth

Where to buy mascarpone cheese?

Mascarpone can be found in most grocery stores amongst either the cream cheese or in the deli aisle. A soft cow’s cheese which is packaged into small white tubs and sold by 8oz and 14oz.

Store-bought mascarpone can be expensive or difficult to find depending on your location, instead follow our homemade mascarpone cheese recipe using just two simple ingredients to produce the luxurious mascarpone for yourself. An alternative process uses a bacteria culture within the warm cream to naturally ripen the mascarpone rather than adding an acid, producing a richer and creamier result.

What is mascarpone cheese used for?

Mascarpone originates in Northern Italy and is a popular ingredient throughout the region. The cheese is most famously used as a key ingredient in Italian tiramisu as well as other desserts such as torta caprese, mascarpone cake, cheesecake and fruit tarts. Mascarpone cheese recipes are generally desserts as the ingredient provides a smooth, creamy texture which pairs well with fruit and all things sweet.

There are still applications for mascarpone cheese within savoury recipes such as mascarpone based pizzas, cream sauce, mushroom pasta, risotto, mashed potatoes and savoury tarts. In savoury dishes mascarpone is best used as room temperature or stirring through a warm sauce at the end of cooking to maintain the cheeses richness and sweet flavour. Mascarpone can also be used as a substitute for a range of ingredients, such as when a recipe calls for whipped cream, cream cheese, creme fraiche or sour cream.

Is mascarpone cheese and cream cheese the same thing?

Photo By Rachel Ray Mag

Mascarpone is classed as a form of cream cheese although the method and ingredients are different to standard American cream cheese. The essential differences are that mascarpone is made from a base of whole cream whereas cream cheese uses a base of milk. Another key difference is that mascarpone cheese is cream and acid which is simmered and then strained, while cream cheese is curdled milk which has been blended and then strained.

Mascarpone is a thicker, spreadable consistency with a creamier mouth-feel due to the high fat content which makes it so luxurious, although cream cheese can act as a replacement it is also tangier in flavour which shows that there are many differences between the two ingredients.

What can be used instead of mascarpone cheese?

In situations where a recipe calls for mascarpone cheese and you don’t have any available then don’t panic, there are many ingredients which can act as a suitable replacement. For most recipes the best substitute for mascarpone cheese is cream cheese, cream cheese provides a similar consistency, texture and flavour, so much so that the two ingredients are often thought to be the same.

Another alternative is plain Greek yoghurt which mimics the sweet, smooth and creamy properties of mascarpone cheese. Yoghurt is best used in dessert dishes which don’t require heat as high temperatures will cause the yoghurt to curdle or split. Depending on the recipe whipping cream and sour cream can also act as substitutes for mascarpone however both are a thinner consistency so better suited to sweet recipes.

The closest replacement to mimic the subtle sweetness of mascarpone would be a combination of two ingredients, cream cheese and whipping cream. Blending one cup of cream cheese together with ¼ cup of whipping cream creates a mixture which is almost identical to the sweet creamy texture and flavour of mascarpone cheese.

Recipe byPetite Gourmets