Creamy Homemade Mascarpone
The easiest recipe without any hard-to-find ingredients
Mascarpone is a creamy, silky smooth soft Italian cheese made from cream, coagulated by the addition of an acid. Here you can find the easiest recipe without any hard-to-find ingredients. Homemade mascarpone will help you to cook an amazing tiramisu or other Italian desserts.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup heavy cream, preferably without any additives (240 ml),
- 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice.

Note: makes about 170g (6 oz).
Process:
- pour the heavy cream into a saucepan, and place it on the stove over medium heat,
- bring the cream almost to a boil (87° C / 190° F, just below the boiling point cream becomes very steamy), stir frequently to prevent scorching,
- once it reaches the desired temperature, reduce the heat to the lowest setting,
- pour in the lemon juice and stir continuously until the cream becomes very thick and coats the back of a spoon (about 5 minutes),
- remove the saucepan from the heat and allow it to cool down slightly (about 15 minutes),
- line a finemesh strainer or sieve with a clean cheesecloth or coffee filter and place it over a bowl,
- pour in the thickened cream,
- once the cream has cooled completely, cover it and move the strainer and bowl to the refrigerator for 12 hours,
Note: for a softer cream cheese you can remove it sooner, but 6 hours is minimal. At that point you’ll finish with crème fraiche the French version of mascarpone, that is a bit thinner and less firm - once done, peel off the cheesecloth or the coffee filter and put the cream cheese in a container with tightfitting lid.


Storing:
Cream cheese can be kept in the refrigerator for up to three days.
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