How To Make Homemade Mascarpone Cheese With Only 2 Ingredients (VIDEO)
Welcome to my Italian kitchen! Today I’m gonna tell you all about making mascarpone cheese, a basic ingredient for desserts and all sorts of recipes. Mascarpone is a creamy cheese spread usually used in tiramisu or cannoli. It’s really simple to make yourself at home. All you need is 2 ingredients: heavy cream and lemon juice. I’ll walk you through the easy steps to whip up a batch of your own homemade mascarpone! I recommend using a pastry bag or squeeze bottle and a food thermometer.
The History of Mascarpone Cheese
While the Mascarpone cheese is thought to have originated in the 12th century, the earliest written record of it is found in the Summa lacticiniorum. This is a book published in Turin on July 9, 1477 that covers all types of milk, cheesemaking and cheeses from both Italy and abroad. The work was authored by Pantaleone da Confienza (1438-1496 although the date is uncertain), from Vercelli, who was an advisor to Ludovico of Savoy and through his travels accumulated significant experience and knowledge about cheeses.
The name MASCARPONE, which remains the same worldwide, could have two possible origins.
The more evocative reference is to the phrase “Mas que bueno,” meaning “more than good,” uttered by a Spanish governor in the 13th century upon tasting the cheese.
The other possibility is that Mascarpone derives from the Lombard word “mascherpa,” or “mascherpia,” meaning ricotta or cream cheese. Indeed, according to journalist Gianni Brera, the exact name should be “mascherpone” and not “mascarpone.”
Homemade Mascarpone Recipe
The ingredients for homemade mascarpone cheese are just 2: heavy cream and lemon juice.
The process is very simple: just heat the cream and add the lemon juice.
The most difficult action, if it can be called that, is the filtering or, better, finding the right cloth for filtering, because then the cheese does everything on its own! The perfect cloth must have a weave that is neither too fine and wide, which would prevent the separation of the whey from the mascarpone, but also not too dense that it would not allow draining. In the video I used a normal kitchen towel, and it worked perfectly!
Watch my homemade mascarpone cheese video tutorial, where I explain everything in detail!
Homemade Mascarpone Ingredients
For about 300 g of Mascarpone Cheese, you will need:
- 500 ml whipping cream or heavy cream (30-40% fat content)
- 7.5 ml lemon juice or 1.5 g citric acid
Tools You Will Need
- 1 5ml syringe
- 1 Instant Read Cooking Thermometer
- 2 glass mixing bowls
- 2-3 Kitchen towels
How To Make Homemade Mascarpone Cheese
Start adding the heavy cream to a saucepan. Heat the cream to 82-85 °C (180-185 °F). Use a thermometer to monitor the temperature, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, squeeze the lemon (1) and strain the juice (2). Measure 7.5 ml of lemon juice with a syringe (3).
Once the heavy cream reaches 82 °C (180 °F), turn off the heat and continue mixing for 3–4 minutes as the temperature decreases to 60 °C (140 °F).
Return the saucepan to heat and raise the temperature back to 82-85 °C (180-185 °F) to further thicken the cream. Once 82-85 °C is reached again (4), add the lemon juice or citric acid and mix well for 1–2 minutes until thickened. Remove from heat while continuing to stir and allow to cool slowly to 55-60 °C (130-140 °F).
Transfer the cream to a glass bowl and cover it with a lid that is not completely airtight (5). Cover with a cloth and let sit at room temperature for 3 hours. Check after the required time that the cream has thickened like yogurt.
To further thicken, place a clean cloth over another glass container and use tweezers to keep it elevated. Carefully add the mixture (6), avoiding contact with the bottom to allow the mascarpone to drip and separate the fat from the liquid (7). Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.
The next day, the mascarpone will be ready. Transfer to an airtight glass or ceramic container. It can be enjoyed immediately or stored covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
The Mascarpone cheese can be used to prepare delicious Italian desserts requiring this ingredient! See below:
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How To Make Homemade Mascarpone Cheese With Only 2 Ingredients
Equipment
- 1 5ml syringe
- 1 Instant Read Cooking Thermometer
- 2 Glass mixing bowls
- 2 Kitchen towels
Ingredients
- 500 ml whipping cream or heavy cream 30-40% fat content
- 7.5 ml lemon juice or 1.5 g citric acid
Instructions
- Start adding the heavy cream to a saucepan. Heat the cream to 82-85 °C (180-185 °F). Use a thermometer to monitor the temperature, stirring occasionally.
- Meanwhile, squeeze the lemon and strain the juice. Measure 7.5 ml of lemon juice with a syringe.
- Once the heavy cream reaches 82 °C (180 °F), turn off the heat and continue mixing for 3–4 minutes as the temperature decreases to 60 °C (140 °F).
- Return the saucepan to heat and raise the temperature back to 82-85 °C (180-185 °F) to further thicken the cream.
- Once 82-85 °C is reached again, add the lemon juice or citric acid and mix well for 1–2 minutes until thickened.
- Remove from heat while continuing to stir and allow to cool slowly to 55-60 °C (130-140 °F).
- Transfer the cream to a glass bowl and cover it with a lid that is not completely airtight. Cover with a cloth and let sit at room temperature for 3 hours. Check after the required time that the cream has thickened like yogurt.
- To further thicken, place a clean cloth over another glass container and use tweezers to keep it elevated. Carefully add the mixture, avoiding contact with the bottom to allow the mascarpone to drip and separate the fat from the liquid. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.
- The next day, the mascarpone will be ready. Transfer to an airtight glass or ceramic container. It can be enjoyed immediately or stored covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- The mascarpone can now be used to prepare tiramisu or other desserts requiring this ingredient!
