Mascarpone, a sweet Italian cream cheese, can be used to make a rich frosting for cakes. It can be mixed with sugar, cream, butter, and other ingredients, and can be flavored with nuts, fruit, or coffee. Mascarpone is also a key ingredient in tiramisu and cheesecake.
Using powdered sugar is just one way to frost a cake, and a baker can make a thick, rich frosting with ingredients like cream cheese. Originally from Italy, mascarpone is a type of thick, smooth cream cheese that is sweeter than most other cream cheeses. To make a proper mascarpone glaze, the cheese must first be mixed with a source of sugar to dilute the flavor of the product.
Generally, mascarpone is a very smooth textured cream cheese that is spreadable and comes in a tub. While suitable as a thickener for savory dishes, similar to cream, mascarpone also finds application in the sweet side of cooking, as an ingredient or similarly to a dollop of cream. The similarities in cooking with cream come from the fact that although mascarpone is considered a cream cheese, it is actually a fermented cream product.
Sugar is often needed to sweeten mascarpone frosted enough to be a cake topping. This sugar can be in different forms. For example, powdered sugar is a useful addition, which must be whisked into the cheese to mix it thoroughly. Maple syrup is another option, as are darker forms of powdered sugar like muscovado.
Often the mascarpone glaze contains added fats, such as cream or butter. For these frostings, the cream is whipped and the butter is beaten with the sugar before the cheese is added. Bakers recommend not mixing the mascarpone for the longer periods of time needed to get a smooth product, as the cheese could crack. One advantage of mascarpone frosting over other forms of frosting, such as buttercream, is that the baker can stack it high on the cake for a visually appealing look of richness and luxury.
Suitable additions to a mascarpone cream include chopped nuts such as pistachios or fruit that the baker has chopped very finely. Lemon or lime can also add flavor to the glaze, in the form of a juice or as a zest. A baker can also pound the mascarpone glaze with a spoonful or two of coffee powder, if the cake calls for a coffee dash.
Mascarpone glaze is a suitable topping for cakes such as carrot cakes and sponge cakes. The cheese itself is an essential ingredient in tiramisu, the Italian dessert with amaretti biscuits and coffee flavor. Cheesecakes can also use mascarpone as the main ingredient for the mass, due to its softness and light savory taste.
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