Mascarpone substitutes
The best substitute for mascarpone is cream thickened with lemon: Heat 2 cups heavy cream to 85C, stir in 1 tbsp lemon juice, hold 5 min until it coats a spoon, then drain in muslin overnight in the fridge. Genuinely how mascarpone is made and the result is excellent, but it needs a thermometer and an overnight drain, so it is not a same-day fix.
Why it matters. A very rich Italian cream cheese, around 40 percent fat, barely acidic and almost buttery. It whips into tiramisu without weeping. Ordinary cream cheese in its place is noticeably tangier and firmer.
BestCream thickened with lemon
●●●●●Heat 2 cups heavy cream to 85C, stir in 1 tbsp lemon juice, hold 5 min until it coats a spoon, then drain in muslin overnight in the fridge
Keeps the fat, texture and flavour roles.
Genuinely how mascarpone is made and the result is excellent, but it needs a thermometer and an overnight drain, so it is not a same-day fix.
Cream cheese + cream + butter
●●●●○8 oz cream cheese beaten with 1/4 cup heavy cream and 2 tbsp softened butter until completely smooth
Keeps the fat, texture and flavour roles.
Raises the fat close to mascarpone's level and loosens the texture, but the cultured tang of cream cheese still comes through.
Clotted cream
●●●●○1:1, beaten briefly to loosen
Keeps the fat, texture and flavour roles.
Comparable fat and a similarly sweet, buttery character. It is firmer and slightly granular, so beat it before folding into anything.
Cream cheese
●●●○○1:1
Keeps the fat and texture roles; loses flavour.
Firmer, leaner and noticeably tangier. A tiramisu made with it tastes sharper and sets harder than it should.
Creme fraiche
●●●○○1:1
Keeps the fat and texture roles; loses flavour.
Similar richness but much looser and distinctly sour, so it will not hold layers in a tiramisu. Better in a hot sauce than in a dessert.
Blended ricotta + cream
●●●○○Blend 1 cup full-fat ricotta with 2 tbsp heavy cream until completely smooth
Keeps the fat and texture roles; loses flavour.
Much lighter, and grainy unless you blend it hard. It lacks mascarpone's buttery richness, so a dessert made with it tastes thinner.
Greek yogurt + cream
●●○○○1/2 cup full-fat Greek yogurt whisked with 1/2 cup heavy cream, then chilled
Keeps the texture role; loses fat and flavour.
Far leaner and much more acidic, so it will not set a layered dessert. It works as a spoonable topping and nothing more.
Other dairy substitutes
Measuring by weight instead? Use the kitchen converter.