If you need a fancy-schmancy, looks like it came from a fancy-schmancy bakery, look no further! Triple Berry Lemon Mascarpone Tart is the dessert for you!
Trolling Pinterest I came across the most eye catching dessert from Nerds with Knives. A beautiful tart topped with scrumptious berries. I had to investigate. Color me surprised when I found the recipe to be super easy, and it could be made ahead.
I have mentioned make ahead recipes a lot in my posts, I don’t want to spend time when entertaining in the kitchen, and if I have to take a dish to an event, I don’t want to have the stress of last minute preparation. What if it’s a flop? What if you don’t have time to make something else? Lord know you don’t want to show up empty handed, or worse yet with store bought…..yikes…who needs that stress?
Easy, make ahead, delicious, and eye catching my 4 keys to recipe success. This tart was all of those. I made this as my sweet dish for my brothers recent party and I did not bring home even a sliver!! My savory dish……Chicken Ranch Pasta Salad was a hit too! Click here for the recipe.
In my many years in a kitchen I have worked with lots of different ingredients, but I have never made anything with mascarpone cheese? No particular reason, just never have…… Well, I have been missing out! Mascarpone is Italian cream cheese. Smooth, creamy, slightly sweet , and a bit tangy. It was perfect for this tart.
I followed the original recipe pretty closely, although I did use pre crushed grahams cracker crumbs. First off, I had them in the pantry, second I’m kinda lazy sometimes and dragging out the food processor and then having to wash it seems like some unnecessary work to me.
Triple the berries was another other change. Three different berries made a pretty color contrast and the mint leaves made them all pop. My third change was the name Triple Berry Lemon Mascarpone Tart.
Making this recipe I did discover that I am in desperate need of a hand held mixer! I did have to drag out my stand mixer, which is a slight pain in the ass, as mine is stored in a bottom cupboard, but it was the right, and only tool I had for the job. Trust me when I say, that will change very soon!
Even having to drag out the big gun, the recipe was easy to assemble. As I have mentioned in the past, I am no pie crust maker, so the graham cracker crust was right up my alley, plus it bakes in 10 minutes. That the only asking in this dish.
The filling was also a breeze to make, then spread into the prepared crust. I popped it in to the frig overnight, in the morning I placed the berries on top and decorated with mint leaves. Does anyone actually eat the mint leaves???? Whatever they are pretty!
Since I was taking this for a party, I didn’t cut into it, so Tim has not tasted it yet. We are going to friends tonight and I made this again……It’s just so darn pretty, so he will get a taste tonight. I hope Tim and our friends Kari and Tim like it as much as I did.
Looking for an easy dessert to impress? Triple Berry Lemon Mascarpone Tart is just the ticket!
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Triple Berry Lemon Mascarpone Tart
Ingredients
- For the Crust:
- 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- For the Mascarpone Filling:
- ¾ cup whipping cream
- 1 – 8 ounce container mascarpone cheese
- 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- ½ cup lemon curd
- 1 zest from half a lemon
- 2–3 teaspoons lemon juice (optional, to taste)
- For the Berry Topping: Note: use whatever berries you like best
- 1/2 pint strawberries, hulled and sliced or halved
- ½ pint raspberries
- 1/2 pint blackberries
- Mint leaves for garnish
Instructions
- For the crust (you’ll need a 9½-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom):
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F
- Combine graham cracker crumbs, the salt, sugar and melted butter and mix until well combined.
- Place the crumbs into the tart pan and evenly spread the crumbs so that they cover the bottom of the pan and sides. Press down on the bottom firmly to make a compact layer. Use your fingers to pinch and press some of the crumbs around the inside edge of the pan to cover the sides evenly and create a rim about a ¼ inch thick. Bake the crust until it’s golden brown and smells nutty, about 10 minutes. Set the baked crust on a rack and let cool. Note: The crust can be made up to a day ahead and stored at room temperature, wrapped well in plastic.
- For the Lemon Mascarpone filling:
- Beat the cream and cream cheese together on high speed with a hand mixer or a stand mixer until soft and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the softened mascarpone cheese and powdered sugar and beat on medium speed until mixed well (don’t over-beat, mascarpone can separate). Add the lemon curd and lemon zest and mix on low until just combined. Taste and if you want more tartness, add the lemon juice.
- Pour the cream mixture into the cooled tart crust and level it with an offset spatula or butter knife. Chill for at least 3 hours (overnight is fine too). Top the tart with the berries and garnish with mint leaves if desired. Serve chilled.
