When I think of creamy, spreadable cheeses, the first one that pops to mind is the Italian classic, Mascarpone. It has a luscious texture that our conventional cream cheese just can’t replicated. (I first heard of Mascarpone when I watched the movie Kate and Leopold. Hugh Jackman’s character, Leopold, prepared breakfast for Kate (Meg Ryan) by spreading Mascarpone on toast and then topping with blueberries. It has since become one of my favorite breakfasts.) If you are a fan of Mascarpone from the store, you will absolutely love homemade Mascarpone cheese.

Don’t worry, this is a very easy recipe to prepare. You will amaze your friends and yourself with this creation.
My favorite recipe is from Home Cheese Making Recipes for 75 Homemade Cheeses by Ricki Carroll.
Mascarpone with Culture
- 1 quart light cream (or half and half), avoid homogenized
- 1 packet direct set crème fraîche starter
- Gently heat the cream to 86F in a pot placed in a water bath (can fill the sink with water that is 10 degrees warmer than the desired temperature of the cream or can place the pot of cream in a larger container partially filled with water on the stove top).
- Add the starter and mix thoroughly (I generally stir for one full minute)
- Cover the pot with cream and culture and let set undisturbed for 12 hours at room temperature (remove from heat source) or until coagulated.
- If you want a thicker curd (and I do), ladle the cream curd into a colander lined with butter muslin and drain in the refrigerator for 1 – 4 hours. Check periodically for the desired consistency.
- Cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 weeks (though in our household, it never lasts that long).
- Recipe makes approximately 1 pound of Mascarpone.
If you are not certain where to buy crème fraîche starter, New England Cheesemaking carries it. Though some specialty stores are now offering cheesemaking cultures/starters. For this recipe, I used one packet of starter from New England Cheesemaking.

So friends, that is it. Simple. Easy to prepare. Delicious. Marvelous Mascarpone is something you can make at home with just two ingredients. Who knows, maybe this spreadable cheese will be a new breakfast favorite?

Reblogged this on Living The Simple Life and commented:
Delicious and simple
Wow, that’s easy! Mascarpone costs a fortune in the cheese bazaar at my local grocery stores! Thanks for linking up with the Clever Chicks! I’ll be featuring you this week!
Cheers,
Kathy Shea Mormino
The Chicken Chick®
It really is! And you are right about the price if you buy it in the store. Incredibly expensive for just a 6 oz. container. One of our favorite ways to enjoy it is to blend it into a quiche (if you mix eggs, cream, and mascarpone in a blender, then pour that over your sauted veggies, you will end up with a very light and fluffy quiche). So glad you enjoyed the post and thank you for the feature!
Thanks for the recipe!! Hopped over from the ChickenChick link up!
You are welcome. Thank you for visiting!
Thanks for sharing this! I’ve chosen it as my FAVORITE for From The Farm Blog Hop, so you’ll be featured this week 🙂
Thank you. I am glad you enjoyed the post.
I tried this . Following exact instructions but did not get any curds. What can I do to fix it?
Allow the mixture to set a little longer. If using the culture recommended in the post, there actually is a little bit of vegetarian rennet in it…so that should help with curd set.
This is so easy to make and the flavor is wonderful. Enjoy!