Mascarpone Hearts for Mum

I’ll never forget the first time I tasted mascarpone, the luscious fresh Italian double-cream cheese made from cow’s milk. It was in the early 1970s at the back of a house in Marrickville, in Sydney’s inner west. An Italian friend of mine had taken me there one Sunday morning to meet his friend, the cheesemaker Umberto Somma. At the time Umberto was still working out of a tiny cottage-style factory and producing cheeses Australians had never heard of such as fresh ricotta, bocconcini (“little mouthfuls”), stracchino, provolone and mozzarella. It was Umberto who pioneered the rich luscious dessert cream, mascarpone. Umberto hailed from a small town outside Naples and arrived in Australia with only a few shillings in his pocket and a 90 litre copper pan.  The pan was vital because with it he intended to start making the cheeses for which his family had become renowned throughout his native Italy. He set to work on the banks of the Hawkesbury River just outside Windsor.  At first, he would tip the excess whey from the cheese into the river so that no-one could see it (if he hadn’t done so, the Agriculture Department would have fined him). Then a disaster occurred.  The river flooded and swept away all his cans and equipment.  He had to move out to Wetherill Park where he worked at night making ricotta cheese (made from re-cooked whey). “I used a wood fired to heat the milk and only worked at night because if I worked at night, I would have been reported to the health authorities,” he once told me.  Fortunately he was surrounded by other Italians who kept quiet about his cheesemaking. Gradually he saved up enough money, sorted out his legal problems and bought the modest factory in Marrickville.  Since his death in 1988, the business has been run by his family (wife Teresa, and two sons, Joe and Max) and the factory has been expanded and modernised. Today, mascarpone is widely available in supermarkets throughout Australia – but I’d rather a fresh batch from Paesanella any day, as many of the supermarket brands can be quite salty and too dense. Apart from tiramisu, the famous layered Italian dessert of coffee-soaked biscuits and mascarpone, there are many ways in which you can use it – see today’s recipe for Rockpool’s fabulous Strawberry Mascarpone Cake. At Lucio’s restaurant in Paddington, Sydney, there’s a divine Torta di mascarpone e arancio (orange cake layered with mascarpone and served with and orange cardamom sauce). You’ll find the recipe in Lucio’s cookbook. For an indulgent dessert for Mother’s Day, whisk together 2 egg yolks with 2 tablespoons caster sugar.  Fold in 500g fresh mascarpone and 3 tablespoons Tia Maria or brandy or Grand Marnier.   Whisk the egg whites until stiff and fold them through the mascarpone mixture. Spoon into a serving dish or coeur a la creme (heart-shaped) moulds and serve with soft fresh fruits such as strawberries, blueberries, raspberries , apricots and mangoes.  If you are using the coeur a la creme moulds, line them with muslin and set them on a tray in the fridge overnight.  Next day, turn out of the moulds and remove the muslin. Note: mascarpone requires a light hand – if you over-beat it, it will quickly turn to butter.  Best to use a hand-held whisk, and never beat it.