Creamy homemade mascarpone cheese is an easy homemade cheese recipe that’s fun to make right in your own kitchen — use it in all sorts of authentic Italian recipes, both sweet and savory — and save a lot of money while you’re at it!
You know I love me a good DIY project. This one was especially satisfying because mascarpone, the creamy Italian soft cheese, is such a high end product. It can be hard to find, and it’s expensive when you do find it. You probably know it as a critical ingredient in Tiramisu, and I l love to sneak it into Risotto to give it a rich finish. I blend it up with whipped cream as a topping for my No Bake Black Bottom Cheesecake Squares and it’s even in my Roasted Fig Ice Cream!
What is mascarpone?
Mascarpone is called a ‘cheese’ in the technical sense, but it is very close in flavor and texture to a British clotted cream, so it’s perfect on scones and biscuits, too. To qualify as a great DIY project a recipe has to be relatively easy to pull off, and the finished product has to be a spot on version of the original. This homemade mascarpone ticks both boxes deliciously.
What you’ll need to make homemade mascarpone cheese
- a clip on thermometer
- and a piece of cheesecloth for draining the cheese.
How to make mascarpone cheese:
- The first step in making mascarpone cheese is to bring heavy cream up to a boil in a pot on the stove.
- You’ll add lemon juice, which coagulates and thickens the cream. There won’t be any actual curds, because heavy cream doesn’t curdle like milk does.
- You’ll drain it to remove any whey (the thin liquid leftover) and then you are left with an incredibly rich cheese.
Most cheese making recipes specify using heavy cream that has not been ultra-pasteurized
It’s one of those truisms that gets passed from recipe to recipe. Ultra-pasteurizing just means that the milk is flash heated to a higher point than regular pasteurization. Almost all heavy cream is ultra-pasteurized nowadays, because it results in a longer shelf life, so finding anything else can be a challenge.
I actually made my first batch with ultra-pasteurized heavy cream ~ and it worked!
The batch of cheese made with regular ultra-pasteurized cream turned out almost identical to the next batch I made with the non-ultra-pasteurized cream I found at Whole Foods. The only difference I could tell was that the ultra-pasteurized cream resulted in a lightly softer end product. So make what you will of that. Common wisdom says to use non ultra-pasteurized cream.
Homemade Mascarpone
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy cream, non-ultra-pasteurized is preferable
- 1-2 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
- Pour the cream into a small heavy bottomed pot and heat on medium until it reaches 190 degrees F on a candy thermometer. Heat the cream gently so it doesn't scorch.
- Add the lemon juice, and keep the cream at 190F for another 5 minutes, stirring gently. I found it easiest to keep moving the pot on and off the flame to maintain the temperature. The cream will thicken and coat the back of the spoon.
- Let the cream cool to room temperature, which will take about half an hour.
- Line a mesh strainer with several layers of cheesecloth, and set that over a bowl to catch the dripping whey. Pour the cream into the cheesecloth. Cover loosely with plastic and refrigerate for 8 hours.
- Remove the cheese from the cheesecloth and keep in a tightly closed container in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- Makes approximately 1 1/4 cups. Plan to use the cheese within a week or so.
Thanks for pinning this Homemade Mascarpone Cheese!
Can you use lime instead of lemon to make mascarpone?
I have no idea, why don’t we try?
Can I freeze this? I have a Foodsaver vacuum machine (takes all the air out then seals it).
OHHH!!! “Lime instead” just opened a new road in my thoughts!! I instantly thought Mexican food (Mexican 7 Layer Dip) or some tropical dessert… All you wonderful foodie minds out there send me your ideas Please!! Thank you to Sue also for this wonderful mascarpone recipe with all the info on DIY!
Just saw this recipe and have made it before served over pasta, very good.
Can I use oven to set the temperature to 190 and then put the heave cream pan in the oven? It’s hard to keep the temperature to 190 above stove.
That’s worth a try Jane!
I’m going to use my sous vide to get the cream to reach and stay at 190 – that’s the beauty of a sous vide and you don’t have to worry about the cream burning or taking the pan on and off the stove. Just set it to 190 and it stays there. I also use my sous vide to make yogurt.
Hi Sue,
Thank you so much for this recipe. Mine came out all right and I am thrilled because I use mascarpone to make sponge cake that my daughter loves.
One question, more out of curiosity. My mascarpone has a stronger lemony taste than commercial mascapone. Do you know why commercial mascapone doesn’t have any scent or taste of lemon? Thanks.
Hey Lauren ~ I believe that’s because commercial mascarpone is made with citric acid, a natural chemical similar to lemon juice, but without the fresh lemon flavor. You can actually easily buy citric acid and try that yourself. I bet your sponge cake is wonderful!
Thanks for posting this recipe; I’m definitely going to make my own. I found this site because I was searching for why mascarpone is so expensive – I still want to know why it’s so expensive? Does it come all the way from Italy maybe?
Great question, Faith, I just bought some the other day that was made in Wisconsin, but it was still expensive!
Where can I find non pestorize cream.?
If you have a health food store nearby, check there, Aynur.
I don’t have cheesecloth, can I use a coffee filter in my strainer? I’m excited to try this!
I think a coffee filter would take a lot longer, and I’m not sure it’s big enough, Pamela, but more power to you if you try!
Great Recipe! The cheese is great! I plan on making mascarpone ice cream with fig!
That sounds amazing, I have a recipe for you! https://theviewfromgreatisland.com/roasted-fig-gelato/
190 degrees… Celcius or fahrenheit? ?
Im from Denmark (europe) we use celcius
that’s 190F Christina, I just updated, thanks!
This looks terrific.. two questions.. we have our own cows – can we use the cream that we skim from our cow milk when pasteurizing this to make the mascarpone? and second, do you know how many ounces of mascarpone each recipe makes?
thanks!
I’m sure the cream from your cows will make a spectacular cheese, Estelle — how lucky you are! And I think the recipe makes about 8 oz of mascarpone. Have fun!