There are people out there who long ago decided that all desserts go better with whipped cream. I was one of them. But I’ve changed my whip, uh, I mean tune, to mascarpone. Yum. Everything goes better with mascarpone. Maybe the fact that it is a fresh, very rich cow’s milk cheese with double or triple cream (try 83% milk fat) has something to do with it. I won’t argue with you.
For dessert purposes, it’s best mixed with powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Add to taste; I use about a tablespoon of the sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla per 500 grams (1/2 lb) of mascarpone. And for heaven’s sake, make sure you get the real stuff, like Polenghi. Look at the ingredient list. It should say something like full fat soft cheese; anything else is fake. Mascarpone is magnificent as a profiterole filler; it’s sublime accompanying any pie or cobbler. My favorite combination, though, is mascarpone with homemade hot fudge sauce. It doesn’t get any more life-is-perfect than that.
Grow. Cook. Eat. Repeat. 
I’ve wanted to try that for awhile…and you may have just been the catalyst for me to go ahead and do it 🙂
I made a full Italian meal last week. I am big on mascarpone! The Cooks Illustrated Tiramisu is also big on mascarpone – not to mention rum. I advise using two thirds of the rum and all of the marscapone!
xoxoxo
S
Hey, glad to hear it. How did the gnocchi turn out?
The gnocchi were very delicate and tender. Easy to make but time consuming. I think it’s all about the homemade tomato sauce.
The eggplant parmigiana, also care of Cooks Illustrated, is/was delicious.
Love to all