Summer Fruit in Mascarpone Cream

Recipe from pastry chef and cookbook author Elinor Klivan

Husband-Tested in Alice's Kitchen

4-5 servings

Well, you know how it’s been outside. It’s just too hot to bake anything. I made this dessert for some friends for a birthday celebration instead of baking a cake. I used a mixture of pitted cherries from Lost River Market & Deli, blueberries and raspberries from our garden and gooseberries from the farmers market. However, this mascarpone cream mixture could be used with any summer fruit. This dessert will definitely make a great impression with your guests. Assemble this dessert in glass goblets or tall sundae glasses so the gorgeous layer of fruit show through. Mascarpone is a rich, fresh, creamy cheese found in the dairy case. The original recipe called for cassis, which is a blackberry liqueur. I didn’t have any, so I substituted framboise, a raspberry brandy. You could use brandy or leave it out altogether, if you like, because the cream and the fruit are the stars of this delicious treat.

Ingredients:

2- 3 cups summer berries (gooseberries, cherries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries) or summer fruit, (peaches, nectarines, plums) cut up

8 ounces chilled mascarpone (can be found in the dairy case usually near the cream cheese)

1/2 cup chilled heavy cream

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon cassis (blackberry liqueur) or framboise (raspberry brandy) or brandy (optional)

Directions:

Have ready 4 or 5 glass goblets. Set aside some of the fruit for the garnish.

In a large bowl, whisk the mascarpone, heavy cream, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and cassis liqueur until smoothly blended.

Using half of the mascarpone cream, divide it evenly among the 4 or 5 goblets. Dividing the fruit evenly, spoon the remaining over the cream. Spoon the remaining cream over the fruit. Top each serving with the reserved fruit. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or as long as overnight. Serve cold.