Making Homemade Mascarpone Cheese

!±8± Making Homemade Mascarpone Cheese

Making homemade mascarpone cheese requires only two, count them, two ingredients!

I'm on a roll here folks. Once I figured out that making ricotta cheese was easy, I set about looking for answers to my other "cheesemaking" questions...and here's another seriously easy cheese for you to make.

Ingredients:

· 2 cups heavy whipping cream

· 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Start with 2 cups of heavy whipping cream in the top of a double boiler. If you don't have a double boiler, use a pan of water on the stove and a stainless steel bowl that will fit into the pan and touch the water. Bring the water in the pan to a boil.

Place the bowl of heavy whipping cream over the boiling water.

Whisk gently until your cream reaches 120 degrees (Fahrenheit). You don't want to do this fast, it should take 15 - 20 minutes.

Whisk in 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice (don't use the stuff in a bottle, please...) Continue to gently whisk over the heat until the cream reaches 180F. Everything will thicken and coat a spoon. Cook for an additional 5 minutes, then remove the bowl from the pan and place it on a cooling rack for 20 minutes. You'll see more thickening as it is cooling in the refrigerator overnight.

Mascarpone does not make large curd like cottage cheese or ricotta cheese.

Once it has cooled, pour the mixture through a strainer lined with 4 - 6 layers of cheesecloth. You can use a coffee filter if you like. Because you will be straining overnight in a refrigerator, your strainer needs to fit inside a bowl, and the entire contraption has to find room in your fridge! Cover it with plastic wrap. I place it directly on top of the "cheese" so minimize any oxidation. Once the cheese has drained to your satisfaction, store it for up to 4 - 5 days.

Easy Recipes:

Crostini - Mix half a cup of mascarpone cheese, half a cup of parmesan cheese, add a pinch of Marjoram, salt, and pepper, spread over sliced Italian bread, broil until golden, and you have yummy crostini! Perfect for serving with soup or just a glass of wine.

Strawberry Tart - Bake a sheet of puff pastry. Cover with slightly sweetened mascarpone cheese (do this to your taste), top with strawberries that have been mixed with a little bit of sugar. Do this in a bowl ahead of time so the strawberries begin to juice a little bit. Spread the strawberries over the mascarpone cheese. Drizzle about a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar over the top. Be prepared to swoon!

OR!

You can immediately make tiramisu. That's what I'm going to do.