Mascarpone cheese is the decadently delicious kissing cousin of cream cheese. We’re going on an Italian field trip adventure whether it’s in your DNA ancestry or not. (FYI: My ancestry includes Canadian and a host of European countries that all funneled through Ellis Island. I bet some of you are my cousins!)
You can use mascarpone cheese interchangeably with any recipe that calls for cream cheese like Cranberry Sour Cream Pie.
I have also used it for Lemon Sour Cream Pie, Raspberry Cream Pie, Peanut Butter Maxx, Blueberry Cream Pie, etc. I could do this all day.
To me, mascarpone cheese was love at first bite! I could never figure out why it was so much more expensive than cream cheese so I rarely bought it. Well, now that I know it’s heavy whipping cream and lemon juice I am stoked. All we need now is about 10 minutes in cooking time and some patience while the mascarpone transforms in the fridge.
The first step is heating the heavy cream and lemon juice and once simmering keeping it at 180 degrees for about 6 minutes. The cream will stick to the back of a spoon as shown below.
After the creamy mixture has cooled pour it into a muslin or cheesecloth lined strainer. I prefer muslin because I can wash and reuse it over and over. The mascarpone will need to strain about 8 to 10 hours in your refrigerator, so I usually make it in the early evening.
The next morning you’ll have the most decadent creamy homemade mascarpone cheese you have ever tasted! It will be hard to not devour the goodness.
Here is your perfect Italian creamy cheese; you are going to LOVE it!
Have some grand fun in your kitchen today!
Homemade Mascarpone Cheese
Ingredients
- 3 cups heavy whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 large piece of muslin or several layers of cheesecloth
Instructions
- Place cream into a medium size sauce pan and heat over medium heat to 180 degrees and simmer for about 3 minutes.
- Add the lemon juice and keep at 180 degrees for another 3 minutes. You may need to adjust temperature on the burner. If it is getting too hot pickup the pan from the burner to let the temperature go down for just a few seconds.If the temperature dips down below the 180 degree mark you do not need to re-start time. Sometimes I let it go about 30 seconds more at the end.
- Remove pan from heat and let cool about 1 hour at room temp or in refrigerator for about 45 minutes.
- Place muslin or cheesecloth into a strainer/colander and place over a bowl to catch liquids. Pour the cooled "mascarpone" and place it into your refrigerator for 8 to 10 hours. The longer you strain it the thicker it will get. This will yield about 16 ounces (2 cups) of mascarpone cheese. Store in airtight container for up to two weeks.
