At times you need desserts which please nearly everyone. When professional pastry chefs make dessert for hundreds of people or a baking enthusiast makes dessert for a party of 10, a dessert is needed which appeals to everyone.
Desserts made with mascarpone cream belong in this class. Nearly everyone likes the sophisticated flavor of mascarpone cheese, making it a perfect choice to use for large groups of people. What is especially nice about mascarpone cream is that it harmonizes excellently with an incredible amount of other flavors. Making it possible for a professional pastry chef to make one batch of mascarpone cream and turn it into a variety of desserts. The baking enthusiast at home can make desserts in a glass by filling verrines (glasses) with mascarpone cream and finish some with one type of coulis and fruit and some with a complete different flavor profile.
For this tart I ordinarily use a hazelnut crust, since I especially like the buttery flavor of the nuts paired with the mascarpone cheese. For some applications I like to add liquors or certain essence to the mascarpone cream to highlight other components in the dessert. However, for this tart, I made the cream aux naturel. The ganache however is complimented with a little cassis or black current liqueur.
Getting it all together!
The hazelnut tart dough can be made weeks in advance if frozen. Defrost the dough overnight in a refrigerator and bake as required. The dough makes double of what you need for one tart, divide the dough in half and prepare one tart ring. Roll the remaining dough about 3 credit cards thick and cut in circles. When baked fill with ganache, lemon curd, crystallized chocolate….The mascarpone cream can be made a week in advance as well and kept in the freezer. Fill one mousse ring with a dimension smaller than the tart ring with the mascarpone cream, about one third full. Fill the rest of the cream in small silicone domes for a decorative element on the surface of the tart. Remove both from the freezer once the tart shell is baked and cooled.
For the red effect, spray the tart with red tinted cocoa butter or use a sieve filled with dehydrated raspberry powder.
Hazelnut tart dough
Yield: Hazelnut tart dough for 2- 8 inch (20 cm) tarts
| 2 sticks | (8 oz) | Unsalted butter , soft | 240 g |
| 1 Cup | (4 oz) | Powdered sugar | 120 g |
| 1 | (1) | Large egg | 1 |
| ½ teaspoon | ( ½ tsp) | Salt | 2.5 g |
| 1 teaspoon | (1 tsp) | Vanilla extract | 2.5 ml |
| 1 Cup | (4 oz) | Hazelnut flour | 120 g |
| 2 Cups | (9 oz) | All purpose –pastry flour | 270 g |
- In a bowl mix the butter until creamy and smooth. Add the powdered sugar and combine well. Scrape the bowl and add the egg, salt and vanilla extract. Mix until thoroughly combined.
- Mix in the hazelnut flour. Add all the flour at once and mix until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Chill the dough until firm. About 30 minutes in the freezer or chill overnight in the refrigerator.
- Roll the dough on a floured surface about 3 credit cards thick.
- Line the tart ring. Prick the dough with a fork and place in a 375°F (180°C) oven. After a few minutes check the tart, if bubbles develop prick the dough. Bake until golden brown. About 15 minutes and let cool.
Ganache with cassis liquor
| ¼ cup | (2 oz) | Heavy cream | 60 g |
| 1 Tbsp | ( ½ oz) | Invert sugar | 15 g |
| 3 oz | (3 oz) | 52-54% chocolate, chopped | 90 g |
| 1 Tbsp | (.5 oz) | Cassis liquor | 15 g |
- In a saucepan bring the heavy cream and invert sugar to a boil.
- Place the chocolate in a bowl and add the boiled cream in 5 increments. Stir with a spatula. Add the liquor.
Mascarpone cream
| 2 | (2) | Gelatin leaves | 2 |
| ¾ Cup | (6 oz) | Whipping cream (34-36 %fat) | 180 g |
| 4 | (4) | Large egg yolks | 4 |
| ¼ Cup | (2 oz) | Water | 60 g |
| 6 Tablespoons | (3 oz) | Extra fine granulated sugar | 90 g |
| 8 oz | (8 oz) | Mascarpone cheese | 240 g |
- Place the gelatin leaves in very cold water and set aside.
- In a cold bowl whisk the whipping cream to very soft ribbon consistency. Absolutely do not whip to a peak! Set aside.
- Fill a saucepan with a small amount of water and bring to a boil and then turn to a low simmer. In a bowl whisk together the egg yolks and measured water. Add the sugar and whisk well. Place the bowl over the simmering water and whisk constantly until the yolk mixture reaches at least 165°F (74°C). Remove from heat.
- Remove the gelatin leaves from the water and squeeze well to remove excess water. Whisk the gelatin into the yolk mixture. Add the mascarpone cheese and vanilla extract and whisk smooth.
- Add the soft whipped heavy cream and gently fold into the above using a spatula. Fill into an oiled and sugared ring mold immediately, about one third to half full. Use the remaining cream for small silicone domes.
This looks like a perfect summer dessert – cool, melts in your mouth… and the fresh berries couldn’t sound better on a warm evening!! (So come on, warm evenings!! ;0) ) Guess we’ll just have to practice making these now (and gobbling them up!) so we’ll be good and ready when those warmer evenings finally get here!
Your mascarpone cream recipe is incredible, Chef!! My cousin is coming into town at the end of this month and she has requested “something yummy” when she comes down, but she wants something with no nuts. This just might be the perfect solution!! Thanks, Chef!!
This is amazing, and beautiful! I have tasted this, and it is light and simply fabulous!
Great job Chef Eddy!
All your pastries are just amazing. I think I’m gonna try this mascarpone cream this weekend… I cross my fingers!
Hi Chef Eddy,
This dessert is just simply beauitful and so inviting, you are a great pastry artist
First of all,This tart is amazing. Nice color and contrast. Your hazelnut tart dough works with almost anything. Cool website . Your book is one of my familys’ favorite….stay blessed not stressed.
The “Mascarpone Cream Berry Tart” is a classy dessert. With the arrival of Summer, this dessert can become an instant success, especially with the bountifulness of berries. I can see many possibilities already. Thank you for posting it.
Arthur
I like how you add layers of flavor, hazelnut, chocolate, marscapone and berries. The aesthetics are very pleasing 🙂
The desert that you made has a to the very first a nice look to the eye, it attracts the customer to a very delicious mouthwatering desert. The berries make the tart have a nice feel to the cake. The tart can go well with a romantic dinner for two, it has a very nice touch to a wonderful mouthwatering taste.
THis desert is not only a joy to the eyes, but a scrumpious taste that my family enjoyed as i recreated it for them. thanks for all the incredible knowledge you provide.
This tart looks incredible I can pratically tastes the soft texture of the Mascarpone. The tart is a seasonal image that represents spring and summer, very beautiful Chef. I have showned it to many of my friends and they say it is fantastic.
hello chef lika your rcepies are ecxelentes a lo macximo . on e cuestion , mascapone can be substitut whit sour cream and cream chees is only curiosity on case dont have mascapon echees .
tank you chef .
Chef Eddy, this wonderful tart reminds me of a beautiful summer afternoon.
It’s both delicious and so fresh! You always amaze us!
Chef Eddy,
I like how you used several elements that can be varied and therefore transpire into different delectable delights. Mascarpone cream is one of my favorites, which a rich and smooth texture. Simply delicious, but also with the berries creating a more seasonally appealing dessert versus the more decadent flavors of the fall and winter months.
This is a good tart chef eddy. Is this the strawberry mascarpone tart that you mentioned? It seems that strawberry mascarpone tart would known be the mascarpone cream berry tart.
Hi chef. I make this cream often and it’s delicious. However Recently i tried to make another cream using beaten mascarpone and creme anglaise! I had my mascarpone at room temperature overnight. When i tried to beat it with the sheet on low speed for a few turns It turned out grainy like it had curdled and not creamy as i was expecting… As a result the cream was a disaster. either i used a low quality cheese or i made somthing wrong(Should i have beaten mascarpone while it was cold?) Any ideas? Thanks a lot!
Did you use an airbrush to apply the red accent?
Chef this sounds so amazing! I never really thought of mascarpone in a tart. Its fabulous with tiramisu so I’ll definitely try this one! But if we do not have silicone molds would it work well in mini tart pans? Or what could we use in place of if we did not have silicone molds?
Wow what a crowd pleaser this dessert is. This is built with delight in every aspect. Haselnut tart dough, ganache with cassis liquor and mascarpone cream. Wow.
The cocoa butter spray makes this one even more elegant. This is such a great combination of the texture of the tart dough crust followed by the extra creamy marscapone center. Choosing the hazelnut tart dough would be a perfect pairing. I have not tried that combination yet.
I have tried this before and I am in Love with this Mascarprone cream tart! I am going to try this again and this time I will do the spray of cocoa butter to add effects to it! Thank you for the creative idea.
Looks so good. Will have to try it.
I love berries and mascapone cheese what a good marriage this is. stunning!
Hi Chef ,
I tried this tart was really delicious. Actually I have never used mascarpone cheese other than use it in tiramissus. But now I ve learned another way to use it in pastries. I run out of my Halal gelatin leaves and i have only the powder can you let me know how I can substitute the leaves with powder?
I want to give mascarpone another chance, and this may be its last one. I made a tart before and I don’t know if it wasn’t prepared right or what was wrong with it, but I only had a few bites u tip I put my fork down for good. Mascarpone please don’t let me down again. Also how did you get the red finish on top?
I have always heard of mascarpone but never worked with it until taking plated dessert. I found this tart to be delicious and I am a lover of berries and I’m always willing to try almost anything that consist of them.
I enjoy using marscarpone because of its versatility as an ingredient and the ability to pair easily with a variety of other ingredients. I especially like matching the creamy taste with bright, tart, sweet berries. The chocolate ganache is a nice hidden gem in this tart.