Mascarpone Frosting (2024)

This is the best mascarpone frosting recipe ever. It is so versatile and can be used as a dip, a mascarpone cake filling, or as a frosting on cakes and cupcakes. This recipe for mascarpone frosting with half and half is fluffy and light and is not overpowering to any recipe.

For the most part, I love sweets and have a serious weakness for desserts in general. I love me a good cream cheese frosting like I put on my carrot cake and on my cinnamon rolls recipe.

However when it comes to cake frosting and fillings, I'm really really picky! In all honesty, I think they are too sweet and overpowering. That's why I LOVE this recipe for frosting with mascarpone cheese. I use it in my recipe for Lemon Berry Mascarpone Cake (seriously, that cake is amazing), and it can be used for so much more!

So what does mascarpone frosting taste like? My mascarpone cake filling recipe is light, fluffy and mild. It's not dense like a buttercream or a cream cheese frosting. It's just the perfect and most easy mascarpone dessert recipe ever!

There are so many delicious desserts with mascarpone including Italian mascarpone desserts like tiramisu and cannoli. Mascarpone trifle is something amazing and decadent. Not only is mascarpone cheese used in desserts, but it can also be used in savory recipes like pasta.

🧁 Ingredients

The ingredients for mascarpone cheese frosting are:

• mascarpone cheese
• half and half
• powdered sugar
• vanilla

I formulated this recipe without heavy whipping cream. You can easily substitute whipping cream for half and half in the recipe no problem. I just really like how it comes out with the half and half.

A little note on wonderful crema mascarpone... Where do you buy mascarpone cheese? My answer... Aldi! If you don't have one near you, I'm truly sorry. Aldi mascarpone cheese is so good and super reasonably priced!

You can always order some mascarpone from Amazon if you can't find any near you.

🔪 Instructions

How to make mascarpone frosting (easy peasy!):

This mascarpone recipe is very easy and straight forward. Make sure your ingredients are cold when making this recipe.

With a KitchenAid stand mixer and the whisk attachment, measure the mascarpone cheese, half and half, vanilla and powdered sugar in the mixing bowl.

Turn the mixer on medium speed and whisk the ingredients together until it forms stiff peaks. This will probably take 1-2 minutes. At first it seems runny, and like it won't come together, just be patient. It should come together to form that lovely sweet mascarpone cream after a few minutes.

Once the stiff peaks form, your mascarpone topping is ready!

🍰 Serving suggestions

This is the best mascarpone cream for cake filling or for frosting cakes and cupcakes. It's also divine in a berry trifle. My favorite way to use it is for the filling for my Lemon Berry Mascarpone Cake.

This is an easy mascarpone dessert if you just have some fresh fruit ready to dip into it. YUM!

Storage

Mascarpone frosting does need to be refrigerated. Since this recipe contains milk and milk products, it is best practice and safe to refrigerate it.

It can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also freeze it in an airtight container for up to 3 months.

📖 Variations

• Lemon Mascarpone Frosting- If you want to make this mascarpone frosting with lemon, add the zest of one lemon + 1 tablespoon of fresh squeezed lemon juice AFTER the frosting begins to form soft peaks.
• Maple Mascarpone Frosting- Substitute the vanilla with 1 ½ teaspoons of maple flavoring
• Chocolate Mascarpone frosting- Add 3 tablespoons cocoa powder + 1 tablespoon of extra half and half

FAQ's

Why is my mascarpone icing runny?

when it comes to how to thicken mascarpone frosting (or any frosting for that matter), the best way to do so is to add cornstarch to the powdered sugar before whisking the ingredients together. This process is called stabilizing frosting. Add 1 teaspoon of cornstarch to this recipe and that should help with runny frosting.

I don't stabilize this frosting recipe at all. I like it how it is and I haven't had any problems with it. You might want to consider stabilizing it if you plan to use it as decorative icing or if you want to pipe it onto cupcakes

What's the difference between mascarpone and cream cheese?

I would say the biggest difference between cream cheese and mascarpone is the texture and tang. Cream cheese is much more tangy than mascarpone and mascarpone is much milder in flavor.

The texture of cream cheese is heavier and more dense than mascarpone. If using cream cheese in frosting, it must be at room temperature so that it doesn't end up chunky. However, mascarpone works better at colder temperatures and you don't really have to worry about it being chunky, it should be very smooth.

What is a good substitute for mascarpone cheese?

If you are looking for a mascarpone substitute for this recipe, I would suggest cream cheese. If you use cream cheese, note that it will be more of a tangy flavor. Also make sure to bring the cream cheese to room temperature before whisking the ingredients.

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📖 Recipe