Creamy Homemade Mascarpone

The easiest recipe for soft Italian cheese 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.

Preparation time:
40 min
Cooking time:
6 h
Total time:
6 h 40 min
Cuisine:
Italian
Category:
Recipe yield:
7 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 cup heavy cream, preferably without any additives (240 ml),
  • 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
Creamy Homemade Mascarpone

Process

Mascarpone preparation process

  • pour the heavy cream into a saucepan, and place it on the stove over medium heat,
  • bring the heavy 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,
  • Creamy Homemade Mascarpone
  • once the cream has cooled completely, cover it and move the strainer and bowl to the refrigerator for 12 hours,
    Note: for 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, which 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.

How to store mascarpone

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

Creamy Homemade Mascarpone
Calories (25 grams): 93
Proteins: 0 g
Fats: 9 g
Carbs: 0 g

Published updated