Mascarpone Ice Cream
Mascarpone Ice Cream is delicious, creamy, and rich with a luxurious texture that you will absolutely love.
We’re making this easy mascarpone ice cream with soft, sweet Italian cheese, heavy whipping cream, and a rich egg yolk custard base. A hint of vanilla adds the perfect amount of flavor.
Mascarpone makes amazing ice cream! I don’t know if you’ve ever considered adding cheese to ice cream before, but I promise you that mascarpone cheese is delicious in this ice cream recipe!
Mascarpone Ice Cream is one of our more sophisticated ice cream flavors, and it’s wonderful when served at a dinner party, with fresh berries or a drizzle of honey. If you love this ice cream flavor, you’ll want to try Tiramisu Ice Cream next.
We love serving a scoop on top of this strawberry crumble. It’s also amazing served with a slice of homemade peach pie.
It also makes an amazing Affogato. Readers also love it on Apple Pie A La Mode.
Looking for more gourmet ice cream recipes? Check out our whole recipe index, or start with Bananas Foster Ice Cream or Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream.
Why You’re Going to Love this Mascarpone Ice Cream Recipe
Classic, Extra Creamy French-Style Recipe: A base of rich custard makes the most creamy and rich ice cream, and the addition of mascarpone takes it to a whole new level.
Easy Ice Cream Instructions: We’ll show you how to make mascarpone ice cream in your ice cream maker, step by step. No ice cream maker? There are instructions here for making no-churn mascarpone ice cream too.
Italian Flair: Italy really knows what they’re doing when it comes to frozen desserts! They brought us gelato, Neapolitan Ice Cream, and Semifreddo too.
And, It’s incredible on baked desserts, like cherry cobbler.
What Is Mascarpone Cheese?
Mascarpone cheese comes to us from Italy. It’s a soft cheese, made by adding acid (traditionally, lemon juice) to heavy cream and allowing the mixture to strain and set.
The resulting product is a smooth, mild cheese that is easy to spread or whip into desserts.
You’ll find this Italian specialty cheese called for in recipes for Tiramisu, some Risottos, and Italian-style cheesecakes.
Ingredients in Homemade Mascarpone Ice Cream
Egg Yolks – These create the base for our ice cream custard. We’ll gently heat the egg yolks to cook them into a creamy egg yolk ice cream base.
Granulated Sugar – For sweetness and amazing ice cream texture, plain, white, granulated sugar is a perfect choice.
Whole Milk – Hot milk is used to temper the egg yolks.
Salt – Just a bit of salt balances the sweetness and makes everything taste a bit brighter.
Mascarpone Cheese – 8 ounces of mascarpone goes into this homemade ice cream recipe. It typically comes in tubs that are 8 or 16 ounces, so look for the smaller one. If you buy the 16-ounce container, save the other half to spread on toast in the morning, or make up a pan of tiramisu. Yum!
Heavy Cream – Making ice cream with both heavy cream and whole milk is what gives us the best creamy texture.
Vanilla Extract – Vanilla is a must for almost all of our ice cream recipes, but it is especially important in this one. It elevates the simple flavors of milk, sugar, cream, and mascarpone cheese.
You’ll also need a mixing bowl, a saucepan, a mesh strainer, your ice cream maker, and a shallow container or loaf pan.
How to Make Mascarpone Ice Cream from Scratch
Start the ice cream making process the day before by making sure that the bowl for your ice cream maker has at least 24 hours to freeze solid. When you use it, you shouldn’t hear anything sloshing around in the bowl.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and granulated sugar until smooth and pale yellow in color.
- To a saucepan, add the milk and salt and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Be sure not to let the milk boil. Add about 1/2 cup of the hot milk to the egg and sugar mixture and whisk constantly until combined.
- Add the tempered egg mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining milk. Heat on low, stirring constantly, until the ice cream base has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Now that your custard is made, remove it from the heat. Add the mascarpone cheese to the custard and stir until the mascarpone has melted.
- Strain the mixture into a bowl to remove any little pieces of cooked egg that might be there. Then add the heavy cream and vanilla extract to the bowl, and stir to combine. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, pressing it to the surface of the base to avoid a skin forming. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
- Churn the ice cream mixture in the bowl of your ice cream machine according to your manufacturer’s instructions (mine took about 25 minutes), until it is thick and the consistency of soft-serve ice cream.
- Spoon the ice cream into a shallow container or a loaf pan. Press plastic wrap or wax paper to the surface of the ice cream. Freeze for at least 4 hours, or until solid.
- Remove the ice cream from the freezer about 5 minutes before serving so that it softens enough to be easy to scoop.
These numbered steps match the numbered photos above and are for illustration purposes. For the complete list of ingredients and instructions for making mascarpone ice cream, please see the recipe below.
How to Store Mascarpone Ice Cream
Store this homemade Mascarpone Ice Cream in the freezer in an airtight container with a piece of parchment paper or wax paper pressed on top.
Stored properly, homemade ice cream will stay fresh for about 1 month.
Tips for Making This Mascarpone Ice Cream Recipe
Use quality ingredients – When making homemade ice cream, you’ll want to make sure you are using high-quality ingredients for the best outcome.
Chill out – It’s very important for both churned ice cream recipes and no churn ice cream recipes that the base is very cold. Be sure to follow the chilling instructions in the recipe.
Let the Cheese Soften – For mascarpone ice cream, you should let the cheese soften to room temperature so that it will melt more easily into the warm custard.
Don’t skimp on the fat – High-fat milk and cream are essential when making homemade ice cream. Opting for a low-fat option often leads to icy ice creams and inconsistency in the texture.
Don’t go crazy with the add-ins – If you’re adding in additional ingredients, pick one or two and make sure they are chopped into pieces no larger than a blueberry or pea.
Don’t skimp on the sugar – Sugar not only adds sweetness to homemade ice creams, it also helps with the texture. Sugar is essential for the creamy texture of ice cream.
Is Mascarpone The Same As Cream Cheese?
The two seem very similar, but there are some distinct differences between Mascarpone and American cream cheese.
Mascarpone is made with heavy cream, while cream cheese is made with milk. This means that mascarpone has a much higher fat content, so it’s luscious and rich.
You might also be wondering if mascarpone is the same as ricotta cheese. These two are also very different. Both are made the same way, by adding acid to dairy, but ricotta is made with leftover whey from the cheesemaking process.
Since mascarpone is made from heavy cream, it’s the creamiest of all.
What Does Mascarpone Ice Cream Taste Like?
Made using this easy ice cream recipe, mascarpone ice cream tastes much like vanilla ice cream, but with an extra-rich texture, buttery notes, and a
Where Do You Find Mascarpone Cheese at the Grocery Store?
If your store carries mascarpone cheese, and most large retailers should, it will most likely be located in the deli section or the specialty cheese area of the store.
Look for it near other soft cheeses, or near other Italian cheeses.
In some stores, including Aldi, mascarpone is considered a seasonal item, sold primarily in the months before Christmas.
If you have an Italian grocery store in your town, be sure to check there for the biggest variety of tasty Italian cheeses!
No Churn Mascarpone Ice Cream Directions
You can make mascarpone ice cream without a machine. Here’s how:
Chill a shallow container or a loaf pan in the freezer while you follow the recipe instructions to create the mascarpone ice cream base.
Pour the ice cream mixture into the prepared pan and freeze for 3-4 hours. Stir the ice cream every 30 minutes for the first 2 hours. This will add air to the ice cream, and help to create a creamy, smooth texture.
Mascarpone Ice Cream Add-Ins and Variations
Add Fruit: Try adding raspberry compote, blueberry compote, or any other sweetened and gently cooked fruit that you’ve mashed or pureed. You can add fruit directly to the mascarpone ice cream base, or swirl it in when you add the churned ice cream to the freezer.
Add Flavor: Warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, or anise would be lovely in this recipe. You can also try almond extract in place of the vanilla extract for a more traditional Italian flavor. Honey can be added to this recipe to add flavor, but not as a replacement for granulated sugar.
Mix Ins: Try miniature chocolate chips, crushed waffle cone pieces, chopped shortbread cookies, or rainbow sprinkles!
More Homemade Ice Cream Recipes You’ll Love
- Neapolitan Ice Cream
- Lemon Custard Ice Cream
- Sweet Peach Ice Cream
- Pralines and Cream Ice Cream
- Chocolate Marshmallow Ice Cream
- Coffee Flavored Ice Cream
- Stracciatella Ice Cream
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Mascarpone Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 4 large egg yolks
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 8 oz mascarpone cheese
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Chill the ice cream bowl for at least 24 hours or until solid. You should not hear any water sloshing around when you shake the bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and granulated sugar until smooth and pale yellow in color.
- Add the milk and salt to a saucepan over medium heat. Bring the milk to a simmer and then remove from the heat. Be sure not to boil. Add about 1/2 cup of the hot milk to the egg and sugar mixture and whisk constantly until combined.
- Then, add the tempered egg mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining hot milk. Heat the saucepan on low. Stirring constantly, heat until the base has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. This should take a few minutes.
- Remove the custard from the heat. Add the mascarpone cheese into the custard and stir until the mascarpone has dissolved into the custard mixture.
- Strain the mixture into a bowl to remove any pieces of egg that may have cooked. Then, add the heavy cream and vanilla extract and stir to combine. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap making sure to have the plastic wrap touching the surface of the ice cream base. This will help keep it from forming a skin while chilling. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
- Churn the ice cream mixture in the bowl of your ice cream machine according to your manufacturer’s instructions (mine took about 25 minutes), until it is thick and the consistency of soft-serve ice cream.
- Spoon the ice cream into a shallow container or a loaf pan. Press plastic wrap or wax paper to the surface of the ice cream. Freeze for at least 4 hours, or until solid.
- Let sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
- If your mascarpone cheese has any liquid in the container, drain off the liquid first before using.
- It's helpful to let the mascarpone soften to room temperature before stirring it in.
- Homemade ice cream can be stored in the freezer for up to one month. Keep it in an airtight container with a piece of plastic wrap or wax paper pressed to the surface of the ice cream to keep ice crystals from developing.
