Substitute for Mascarpone

Mascarpone is cream thickened with acid and drained, so it is mostly butterfat with very little protein or acidity. That gives it three jobs in recipes: it adds richness without sourness, it holds a soft shape when chilled (the layers of a tiramisu), and it melts into hot food without curdling. A swap has to supply the fat and either the set or the heat stability, depending on the dish.

Tiramisu and cold desserts

Cream cheese loosened with heavy cream is the most reliable swap. By USDA’s figures, cream cheese is about 34 percent fat and heavy cream 36 percent, so 6 ounces of one plus ¼ cup of the other gives an 8-ounce mix that is about 35 percent fat. It holds up between soaked ladyfingers and slices cleanly. The cream cheese tang comes through faintly; a little extra sugar, or a splash of the marsala the recipe already uses, covers it.

Ricotta with cream makes a lighter filling for crostata or stuffed French toast. It is fine in a dessert that bakes or is eaten with fruit, but it slumps in tiramisu.

Risotto, pasta and soups

In hot dishes mascarpone’s job is to enrich and thicken at the end. Crème fraîche does the same with a sour edge that suits lemon, mushroom or pea risotto. Stir it in off the heat. Heavy cream also works here: use about half the weight of the mascarpone and simmer for a minute to reduce it, since cream is thinner.

Frosting and cheesecake

For frosting, the cream cheese and cream mix behaves like a soft cream cheese icing; add the cream a spoonful at a time and stop when it holds a peak. In baked cheesecake, mascarpone is often only part of the filling, so swap the mascarpone portion for cream cheese and add 1 tablespoon of heavy cream per 4 ounces.

When not to substitute

Classic tiramisu built on mascarpone, egg yolks and sugar alone depends on its sweetness and lack of tang; every swap tastes a little more like cheesecake. Plain mascarpone served with figs or berries is also defined by its flavor. In those cases it is worth finding the real cheese.

Common mistakes

• Using reduced-fat cream cheese. It is wetter and sets poorly, so tiramisu layers run.
• Whipping the mix on high speed. Both mascarpone and the cream cheese blend can break into grainy fat.
• Adding cold cream to cold cream cheese all at once. Lumps form that never beat out; soften the cheese first.
• Boiling a sauce after adding crème fraîche or mascarpone. Flavor dulls and the sauce can turn oily.