To make the classic mascarpone and cream dessert, first of all we have to prepare the berries. The main filling in this case will be strawberries, so they need to be washed, dried and divided into two equal parts. Half of the strawberries should be cut into small cubes, and in this form they will act as the main component of the berry filling for this dessert. Of course, it is very desirable to use fresh strawberries, because after defrosting, the berries become not very sweet and also flabby, so they will not be particularly tasty and will not be able to look beautiful and appetizing as part of the dessert.
The second part of the strawberries should be chopped with a blender, adding to it about a tablespoon of powdered sugar, although it is better to determine the amount of sugar yourself, based on the taste of your berries. If you want the strawberry sauce to be especially tender, rub it through a sieve to remove small seeds, however, it is not very important for strawberries, whereas with raspberries or blackberries, this procedure is obligatory. For the strawberry sauce, it is acceptable to take thawed berries, which I actually did, since fresh strawberries are too expensive and not very tasty in winter, and frozen supplies help to significantly save on cooking desserts.
Mascarpone Cream
Now let’s take care of the cream, and for this cream should be chilled beforehand, and mascarpone cheese, on the contrary, is better to take out of the fridge, so it has time to heat up, because the cream will be beaten faster when chilled, and mascarpone in heat will become softer and more pliable for the mixer whiskers. My advice is to choose in the store the proven cream with the fat content not less than 33%, because I have had situations in my life when for economy purposes you take an unfamiliar product, and it does not end up being beaten properly, however, in that case I am saved by a bag of cream enhancer, which I always have on hand just in case.
You should whip the cream at maximal mixer speed, taking a tall bowl, because cream tends to splash around, though you can also cover the bowl with a towel, which will prevent dirtying the kitchen, or get a special whipping tray with a half-open lid, which is pictured in my picture. At first, the cream will be liquid for a while, and in this state, it will spread quite actively, but when the cream begins to thicken, the “bombing” process will stop immediately, and in about a minute you should get a lush, dense and steady creamy mass. If you have enough heavy cream and a powerful mixer, then in any case, they should whip in 5 minutes, but if there are doubts about the successful outcome, then prepare a cream consolidator and add it in case the whipped cream turned out a bit sloppy.
It is not necessary to wash off the cream from the mixer whisk, and you can immediately proceed to whip the mascarpone with the remaining powdered sugar (80 g). At this stage it is not necessary to work with a mixer for a long time, as mascarpone won’t get beaten to a lushness, and our task is only to make the cheese mass become soft and all sugar will evenly dissolve in it.
Now we can put the mixer away, because we won’t need it later on, and instead we have to get equipped with a spatula or a spoon and mix the whipped cream with mascarpone. And you have to do it not just randomly, but according to certain principles: add the cream to the cheese in small portions and knead the mass in one direction confidently, but gently, so that the cream does not settle.
Mascarpone desserts with strawberries
So, let’s start assembling the portioned desserts by selecting a nice serving dish from which it will be convenient to eat them with a spoon. I like to use low glasses, but you can also use crème glasses, goblets or small vases, preferably made of clear glass, so that you can fully appreciate the resulting beauty. At the bottom of the serving dish, put the sliced strawberries and fill about a quarter of their height.
Then pour in 2 to 3 tablespoons of strawberry sauce and gently spoon the strawberries into the sauce so that there are no voids at the bottom of the glass. Even though I didn’t have the sweetest or softest winter strawberries, which are sometimes called “plastic” because of their taste and consistency, once mixed with the sweetened sauce, the filling was quite successful, and the desserts were pleased with their summer flavor and aroma.
Tip! Mascarpone desserts like this can be made not only with strawberries, but also using other fruits and berries, for example, a similar filling is made with raspberries or blackberries. In addition, you can add fresh cherries, blueberries or blackcurrants to it, but the amount of sugar must be determined independently, based on how sour your berries are. As for the fruit, they should have delicate flesh, for example, you can try to take kiwi or bananas, although apricots and peaches will do best, and in winter they can be used in canned form.
Place the mascarpone cream on the strawberry filling, tamping it down slightly, then smooth the surface of the desserts.
Decorate the finished desserts to your liking, for example, I used fresh blueberries and raspberries, although this is not a cheap treat, so as an alternative I can suggest colored sugar sprinkles, coconut shavings, nut crumbs, and finely grated white or dark chocolate. Immediately after that, the desserts can be served, as they do not need to soak and cool, which is very convenient, because such beauty will be quite difficult to defend from their home sweet tooth I got only 6 desserts with strawberries and mascarpone from this number of ingredients, but the portions were quite large, so you can slightly reduce them, and then you will have more desserts.
The mascarpone dessert with berries is easy and quick, so in about half an hour you will enjoy thick creamy cream accompanied by refreshing sour-sweet berries, and believe me, all the trouble of making it is worth it, because you can hardly find such a delicious and natural delicacy in stores and restaurants. It should be noted that, although this dessert is much lighter than a variety of pastries, cakes and pies, however, it has nothing to do with diet food, because its caloric content is 271 kcal per 100 grams due to high-fat dairy products – cream and mascarpone cheese. Bon appetit!