Homemade mascarpone

Create this triple-crème cheese in the comfort of home.
1½ cups
30M

Strictly speaking, mascarpone is classified as a triple-crème cheese. It originates from the Lombardy region of Italy, where it’s made by curdling local milk with either citric or acetic acid to produce, what is essentially, a luscious thick cream with a high-fat content. It is very easy to make your own, and costs approximately a third to a half of what you’ll pay in-store.

Things to do with mascarpone

Bake a cheesecake, replacing some of the cream cheese with mascarpone.

Make a tiramisu, the classic Italian trifle of coffee and liqueur-soaked savoiardi biscuits layered with a mascarpone cream.

Stir spoonfuls into a risotto at the end of cooking for a little extra richness.

Dollop mascarpone on desserts, cakes and warm fruit pies.

Drizzle with honey, scatter with crushed hazelnuts and serve with something crisp like a biscuit for a little treat for one.

Looking for more creamy desserts?

lemoncakewithlemon mascarponefrosting

Lemon layer cake with lemon mascarpone frosting

Ingredients

Equipment
Marscapone

Method

1.Fill a medium saucepan one-third with water; bring to the boil. Place cream and milk in a medium heatproof bowl; place the bowl over the pan. Heat cream mixture until it reaches 85°C/185°F on a cooking thermometer. Remove thermometer, then the bowl from the pan; cool for 10 minutes.
2.Stir tartaric acid and the water together in a small cup. Gently stir mixture into cream mixture; stand for 20 minutes. (The mixture will form fine loose curds and look curdled.)
3.Line a medium sieve with two layers of muslin; place over a medium bowl. Gently ladle cream mixture into the bowl; cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight until mixture has drained and thickened. Transfer mascarpone to a sterilised airtight container; refrigerate.

You can thin the consistency of the mascarpone by gently stirring a little of the drained whey back into it. To use the mascarpone, gently stir it rather than whisking it, otherwise it may become grainy.

Note