What to do with Mascarpone cheese?

You may have noticed the desserts at the top and bottom of the last post. If you are wondering what they are and how they are made, read on. If not, then skip this post and read something else. (-:
Mascarpone is used in some tiramasu recipes. Due to the cost and limited availability of Mascarpone, ricotta is often used instead. Cannolis are usually made from ricotta impasata or mascarpone. Fresh berries mixed into mascarpone is a real treat with any meal.

The Blackberry Mascarpone dessert was an attempt at combining the fresh berry and mascarpone with a "finger food" dessert.Blackberry Mascarpone on shortbread cookie

I made the Mascarpone the night before and set it in the colander to drain over night. In the morning I put it in a bowl and added 3 Tbs of blackberry mash. (fork smashed blackberries and two tsp of sugar) I then put it in a quart plastic container lined with paper towels and a coffee filter and let it drain another 6 hours in the fridge.

Put the mascarpone on a shortbread cookie and top with a whole berry.
Dust with powered sugar and serve.

This may be made substituting any in season berry you have available.

Yield: 24 cookies


Key Lime mascarpone fillo cups

This dessert was born out of a "mistake". While making the mascarpone, I added too much lemon juice and it had a slightly sour taste. Instead of throwing it out, I added a Tbs of powered sugar and 2 Tbs of Key Lime juice and mixed well. I purchased the frozen mini fillo cups (15 for $2 at Winn Dixie) and filled them with the mascarpone. Topped with some lime zest for color, this dessert was a hit at work. (Did I hear: "May I have another?" more than once?)

Yield: 30 with some left over.