I’ve been struggling to find interesting recipes lately, so this Mascarpone Blueberry Tart was a welcome discovery. Originally from New Hampshire From Farm to Kitchen, I changed the ratios somewhat, but the idea is basically the same — a graham cracker crust filled with whipped mascarpone and cream, sweetened with maple syrup and topped with fresh blueberries.
The recipe starts with a typical graham crust. You can buy graham cracker crumbs or grind the crackers yourself in the food processor. Putting the crackers in a zipper bag and crushing with a rolling pin is also an option.
The filling is a mixture of mascarpone cheese and heavy cream whipped with an electric mixer until thickened. With only 2 tablespoon of maple syrup, the filling is not very sweet, but my family didn’t think it needed more sugar (and neither did the original authors, whose version actually called for 8 oz mascarpone and 8 oz and was even less sweet).
As for the berries, the original recipe says to brush them with melted apple or currant jelly. I’m not an apple jelly fan and couldn’t find currant, so I just tossed the berries in some sugar and they were fine.
Overall this is a great flavor and texture combination, but you may want to play around with the size of the tart and the ratios of filling to berries.
- Mascarpone Blueberry Tart
- 1 ½ cups (5.3 oz) or 20 graham cracker squares
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 6 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
- 1/4 scant teaspoon salt (omit if using salted butter)
- 5 oz container mascarpone cheese (140 grams)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup (40 grams)
- 1 cup cold heavy cream (240 grams)
- 1 pint blueberries
- ¼ cup currant or apple jelly, melted (optional)
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Process graham crackers to make crumbs, then add sugar, butter and salt and pulse until mixed. Press into bottoms and up sides of a 9 inch tart pan or a 9 inch round springform pan. Make the sides thicker than the bottom. Bake for 5 minutes.
- To make the filling, put the mascarpone, vanilla and maple syrup in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until mixed. Add the cup of cream and beat with the whisk attachment until mixture fluffs up. Pour into crust and refrigerate overnight or for at least 4 hours.
- Spread the berries over the cheese mixture, then brush them gently with the melted jelly.
This looks like a great way to use blueberries which are in season now. I have never used mascarpone. Do you like it better than cream cheese?
Yum!!
If only my little niece would eat fruit…