Peaches and Mascarpone Spelled Dessert

Last week I had planned to make a cake and ice it with (what I thought was) a recipe using mascarpone cheese. I bought two containers of mascarpone just for this. Until I went to the recipe to see what else was in it - only to find it had no mascarpone at all. What?!?

Totally confused, I searched the magazine and found zero uses for mascarpone cheese in an icing. How I misled myself into this belief is beyond me, but hey, I am chalking it up to fate. It is a great excuse to use mascarpone in other applications. Yesterday was the first one, and I came up with an idea for a tart. 

Peach Mascarpone Tart with Tarragon Shortbread Crust

On Mascarpone

Peach Mascarpone Tart
with Tarragon Shortbread Crust

If anyone in the blogging world does not yet know what mascarpone cheese is, the simple explanation is that it is an Italian version of cream cheese. While I have absolutely nothing against good old Philly cream cheese, mascarpone just has a better flavor, a different flavor, a better feel, just more depth of character. If Philly is your everyday face, then mascarpone is your totally dressed-up face. This is my own feeling on the matter. Still, maybe you get the picture.

Unlike Philly, one thing to caution about mascarpone: it is best not to over beat it, as it becomes grainy very easily. That said, mascarpone can strengthen and stabilize whipped cream so that it will stand up to refrigeration for days without weeping or losing its shape and texture. This makes any pie with a whipped cream topping (Key Lime, anyone) a total breeze to make slightly in advance rather than having to do things last minute. Pipe rosettes of this stable whipped cream onto a cheesecake for decoration. Use it between cake layers. It has been the most wonderful discovery I've made in years. To make this wonderful stable whipped cream, here is what I do:

Mascarpone Whipped Cream

 

Mascarpone Whipped Cream

Mascarpone Whipped Cream is shown atop a Cherry Custard Tart in the photo at right.

Makes about 3 cups

1 cup heavy whipping cream
6 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
8 ounces mascarpone cheese, AT ROOM TEMPERATURE

With a mixer, beat the one cup of whipping cream until it holds very soft peaks. Add in the confectioners' sugar and beat until it holds stiff peaks. Stop the mixer and add in the mascarpone cream. Beat again just until combined. Beating too long will cause the mascarpone to look curdled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, I so totally lost my train of thought there, but my goal is to tell you about the wonderful dessert tart I came up with yesterday. It was one of those experiments that went totally right. While rich, it was not terribly sweet, and totally full of flavor. I called it Peach Mascarpone Tart with Tarragon Shortbread Crust. A mouthful to say, but wait till you taste it. 

I used a 9-inch tart pan with a removable rim, so I could set the finished tart onto a fancy plate for serving. The only aspect of this dessert that I would do any differently is to ensure that the crust is pressed all the way up the sides of the tart pan's rim. The reason for this is that when I filled the shell with the mascarpone filling, it reached higher than the crust. The filling is just the slightest bit runny, and with the peaches set on after the filling, it reached much higher. It did not overflow or leak when baking, however I did have to go all around the pan, loosening the filling and crust from the fluted rim of the tart pan. Not horrible, but it was a bit time consuming. Some of the crust still stuck a bit, which you can see on the photo at top of page. Made absolutely no difference to the flavor though!

If you use a tart pan that does not have a removable rim, also be sure to press the crust mixture high, which ensures the slices can be cut and removed for serving with ease. The tart is not terribly thick / deep, so the portions are easy to handle, even after a large meal.  

For the St. Germain liqueur, if not using, sprinkle a little water into the crust, if needed, and for the filling just substitute a teaspoon of vanilla and a little water, if needed.

Peach Mascarpone Tart with Tarragon Shortbread Crust

Peach Mascarpone Tart
with Tarragon Shortbread Crust

Makes one 9 or 10-inch tart

CRUST:
⅔ cup all-purpose flour
⅓ cup cornstarch
1½ teaspoons finely minced fresh tarragon
5½ tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
⅓ cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon St. Germain elderflower liqueur, optional

FILLING:
1 cup (8-ounces) mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
2 egg yolks
3 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons St. Germain elderflower liqueur, optional
-----
1½ cups sliced peaches, fresh or frozen

Make crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Have ready a tart pan.

Whisk together the flour, cornstarch and tarragon in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, Cream together the butter and confectioners' sugar. Stir in the flour mixture and mix lightly to combine. Add in the elderflower liqueur and toss lightly. Pour into the tart pan and using fingers, press into bottom and sides. Bake for about 20 minutes, until the crust is lightly golden. Remove from oven and cool.

While crust cools, make the filling: In a smaller mixing bowl combine the mascarpone, egg yolks, sugar. Mix together with a fork, or extremely briefly with a hand mixer, to just combine. Add in the liqueur, if using. If not, just add a little vanilla.

If using fresh peaches, peel and slice the peach(es) into thin wedges, as the filling is not deep. Have them ready.
Pour the filling mixture into the cooled crust and set the peach wedges on top. The peaches might be substituted with berries, if preferred. Bake the tart until the filling is just set, about 20 to 25 minutes. Cool completely before serving. 

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Quick and Easy Peach Parfait

My son and his wife were visiting last week, and whenever they come to visit they come with tales of wonderful foods they've eaten or created themselves. We are all foodies of the highest order and we all cook, except my husband who leaves that aspect to me in general. He is still willing to try most of my experiments!

Peach Tarragon Parfaits with Mascarpone Cream

My son, Kenneth, is good at seeing a recipe somewhere and then winging it afterwards, using his own little twists. I had never seen this before, but on the off chance he did find this somewhere online - which obviously he did - I went online to search and found a Sandra Lee recipe. Hers is slightly different from what Kenneth did at my house last week, and plus, with me in the kitchen there were even more changes involved. 

The dessert Ken made was presented parfait style, with layers of peaches, biscotti, and mascarpone whipped cream. Ken said he had made this once before, and when we went to the grocery to pick up the needed items, he was going to go for canned peaches. Since it is summer and there are peaches available in every grocery in town, I suggested using fresh peaches. While it might be good with canned or frozen peaches, fresh are always better, in my book. When he started to prepare the dessert, he asked if I had tarragon. As it happens, my tarragon plant this year is growing lushly, so I had plenty.

Tarragon is an herb that I like to have available, but rarely use, so having something new to use it in was exciting. Tarragon has a slightly anise-like flavor, and is good in various applications, but I had never, ever thought to use it in a dessert before, so I was curious. 

Ken was reluctant to use fresh peaches at first, but as it turned out, the peaches we got were perfect. Perfectly ripe and juicy, he sliced the peaches into wedges, and left them slightly thick. This turned out to make eating difficult, as one of the larger wedges was far from bite-sized. The desserts he created were extremely large portions - really way too much for one, and possibly more than enough for even two people. Still, most of them went; a testament to the great flavors.

Tarragon Herb and Macerating Peaches

The peaches were macerated in a goodly bit of Gran Marnier Liqueur (Ken did not measure), and while I am sure this could be made with some other flavoring agent (fruit nectar was suggested on the Sandra Lee video), I think possibly some orange juice would also do the job. Since Grand Marnier is very sweet and almost the only sweetener going into this dessert, making a simple syrup, flavored with orange peel and tarragon would also be an excellent substitute. When I asked Ken how much tarragon to chop for the mixture, he just said "lots!" I chopped at least 3 tablespoons worth (after chopping = 3 tablespoons) and threw that all in with the peaches and Grand Marnier. 

Peach Tarragon Parfaits with Mascarpone Cream

The cookie layer he used was biscotti. The only kind available here in town were lemon flavored and he was uncertain, but I felt that lemon flavor would add dimension. The Grand Marnier is orange flavor and would play nice with the lemon biscotti. Plus, grating a fine bit of lemon zest over the top would look great and just tie everything together. The biscotti we found here were mid sized, at about 6 or 7-inches long. I have seen little 4-inch biscotti and I have seen far larger ones at about 9 or more inches. If the biscotti you find are longer or shorter, you may have to play with the amounts as desired. These 7-inch ones were just the perfect amount per serving.

Peach Tarragon Parfaits with Mascarpone Cream

Peach Tarragon Parfaits with Mascarpone Cream

Makes 2 servings (multiply as needed for more portions) 

1 large, ripe peach
1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, minced
¼ cup Grand Marnier liqueur 
2 plain or anise biscotti, about 7-inches apiece or equivalent amount
4 ounces (¼ cup) cold whipping cream
1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar
4 ounces mascarpone cheese, at room temperature

GARNISH:
fine shreds of lemon zest
tarragon sprigs or whole leaves for decoration

At least 1 to 2 hours before assembling the desserts, cut the peach into thin wedges and place in a bowl with a tight fitting lid (a zip-top bag will also work). Top with the minced tarragon and the Grand Marnier liqueur and seal the bowl. Shake to distribute the herbs and liqueur and allow the mixture to macerate for at least one hour, or two if possible. Shake the bowl often to make sure all the fruit is evenly flavored.

If using the 7-inch size biscotti, and they are individually wrapped (mine were), just use a meat tenderizer mallet with a flat side and whack the biscotti gently to break into crumbs. This does not have to be tiny crumbs, as the cookie will soften when mixed with the juicy fruit and the whipped mascarpone. Place ½ of one biscotti in the bottom of each of two bowls or parfait glasses.

In a small mixing bowl, whip the cold whipping cream until it just begins to hold shape. Add the confectioners' sugar and continue to beat until it will hold shape well. Do not over beat. Now add the 4 ounces of mascarpone cheese all at once, and beat very briefly, only just until the mascarpone is incorporated. If you are not yet ready to assemble the dessert, cover and refrigerate this whipped mixture until needed. 

When ready to assemble, drop about ¼ of the whipped mascarpone cream into each bowl or glass, atop the crumbled biscotti. Top with ¼ of the peach mixture per glass, including juices. Repeat with another ½ crumbled biscotti over top, then the remaining peaches and juices and then top with the remaining whipped mascarpone cream. 

The cream can be piped into the bowl or glass, for a fancier presentation if desired. Top with fine shreds of lemon zest and a sprig of tarragon for garnish.



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.