Mascarpone Cheese

There seems to be a lot of recipes/methods for making Mascarpone Cheese on the internet. I have made a few batches over the last few weeks and am getting good results using the following method:

Ingredients:
1 pint heavy whipping cream (I used the Wal-Mart brand ultra pasteurized at $1.62)
1 large lemon (from Winn Dixie for $.79)

You will also need the following equipment


A double boiler
A colander
Some cheese cloth (enough to line the colander with four layers)
2 8-12 cup paper coffee filters. (Larger would be even better)
A spoon to stir the cream (I use a wooden spoon for this)
A cooking thermometer (I use an “instant read” thermometer)
A bowl big enough to put colander into

Squeeze 1 Tbsp of lemon juice and put aside.
Put the cream into the double boiler and heat cream to 190 degrees stirring slowly but steady after the water comes to a boil. (This is one time it is ok for the top pan to sit in the water in the bottom pan).
While gently stirring add the lemon juice and continue stirring for 5 minutes. (You should notice the cream starting to coat the spoon with a thicker layer of the cream)
Remove from heat and take the top pan out of the boiler and let it cool for 20 minutes. (or until the temperature cools to below 120)
Line your colander with 4 layers of cheese cloth and place one coffee filter on top of the cheese cloth.Put the colander into the larger bowl.
Pour the cooled cream into the coffee filter and let sit for 30 minutes until it is close to room temperature.
Cover bowl with plastic wrap and put into the refrigerator for 6-12 hours.
(The longer it sits, the thicker it becomes)

(Optional)If you need a really stiff product, take the some paper towels and put them in the bottom of a one quart plastic container and put the second coffer filter in on top of them.
Spoon out the center of the Mascarpone from the colander and place it in the fresh filter then put the remainder on top of that. Cover and place back into the refrigerator for another 6-8 hours until it is the desired consistency.

Remove the cheese from the filter and put into the container of your choice, stir well then cover and store until ready to use. The sooner you use it the better the flavor.

Yield: ??? I haven't measured the yield yet but my guess it is close to 14 oz as there is very little water draining off. I'll update this when I figure it out. (Update May 1. My last batch had a yield of 11 oz.)

Average shelf life 1 week.