The 2 Ingredients You Need To Whip Up Mascarpone At Home

If you've ever had Italian desserts like a classic tiramisu or a good cannoli, you know the creamy luxury that is mascarpone cheese filling. Mascarpone cheese's high butterfat imparts a signature pillowy richness to these and countless other desserts and savory recipes. When shopping for the dairy product at the grocery store, though, you might have noticed that mascarpone cheese can come at a high price since it is often imported from Italy and is less of a common household ingredient in the United States. The good news is you do not need to let the cost stop you from using the ingredient. You can actually whip up mascarpone super easily at home with just two simple items: lemon juice and heavy cream.

Heavy cream, which is composed of about 36% to 40% milkfat, forms curds when combined with acidic lemon juice and gentle heat on the stovetop. The citrus' acid (as is the case with enzymes like rennet used to make cheese) coagulates the heavy cream and naturally separates the dairy's curd from the whey. The result is a velvety rich cheese that is easy to make with minimal ingredients and equipment. Though you could technically combine lemon juice with whipping cream (which contains about 30% milkfat), lighter cream versions will make for a mascarpone with less of a buttery flavor and mouthfeel. So, it's best to go with the full-fat stuff when making it at home.

To make homemade mascarpone cheese, just add 2 cups of heavy cream to a saucepan over medium heat. Once you have your cream simmering, use a candy thermometer to monitor it until it reaches a temperature between 180 and 185 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, lower the stove temperature and add in a tablespoon of lemon juice and let the cream thicken for a few minutes until it coats the back of a wooden spoon. Once thickened, remove the acidified cream from the heat, let it cool for about 30 minutes, and then strain it through cheesecloth and refrigerate overnight.

The result will be a creamy, milky soft cheese that is divine for spreading on toast, dolloping onto blueberry cornmeal pancakes, or as a dip for fresh peaches. Though mascarpone is often compared with cream cheese, it usually has around double the fat content and is much softer and more neutral in taste. The lemon juice used to make mascarpone has a relatively subtle flavor impact, and the dairy product is more milky than tangy. While mascarpone is easy and economical to make at home for baking anything from stuffed shells to whipped cannoli pie, in a pinch you can substitute crème fraîche or other dairy creamy products. But in our humble opinion, you should really give the two-ingredient cheese a try in your kitchen.