Easy Italian Lemon Mascarpone Tart - Recipe Winners (2024)

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Easy Italian Lemon Mascarpone Tart - Recipe Winners (1)

Italian lemon mascarpone tart is creamy, tangy, lemony and delicious. Our friend Elle gave us this recipe and it’s one that she makes throughout the year. Elle uses a quality store bought artisan pastry which makes this super quick to put together.

War and Peace

Although the Italian lemon mascarpone tart recipe reads like war and peace with so many instructions it really is just a case of making and blind baking the pastry shell, make the filling in a food processor, then baking.

Candied Lemons

Although the candied lemon slices are optional we think they are worth the couple of minutes it takes to prepare them. They bring an extra lemon hit to the party that plays on your tongue. Also they look fabulous on the tart!

2 Minute Sour Cream Pastry

This recipe makes a beautiful short pastry that is both flaky and melt in the mouth. We find this pastry to be a great allrounder for both sweet and savoury pies.

What Tart Tin to use?

The original recipe for this Italian lemon mascarpone tart used a 25 cm x 2.5 cm (10 inch x 1 inch) round tart tin. We changed this to make in a rectangular tart tin 35 cm x 12 cm x 2.5 cm ( 14″ x 4 1/2″ x 1″) because of a platter we had wanted to serve the tart on for a luncheon. Using the rectangular tart tin then left us with a cup of the lemon mascarpone mixture left over. We simply baked the custard in a small ramekin and hid it for a late night treat.

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What’s your favourite tart recipe?

We would love to hear from you in the comments below when you make this Italian lemon mascarpone tart.

Easy Italian Lemon Mascarpone Tart - Recipe Winners (12)

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Italian lemon mascarpone tart is creamy, tangy, lemony and delicious. Quick to put together and quicker still if you use a store bought pastry.

Ingredients

pastry

  • 125 ml sour cream(4 ounces)
  • 250 g plain (all purpose) flour(9 ounces)
  • 200 g cold butter, cubed(7 ounces)

filling

  • 250 g fresh ricotta cheese(9 ounces)
  • 250 g mascarpone cheese(9 ounces)
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 2 large whole eggs
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon rind
  • 80 mls fresh lemon juice(3 fl ounces)

lemon slices

  • 1 lemon, thinly sliced into rounds
  • 1/3 cup castor sugar
  • 1/3 cup water

Instructions

Sour Cream Pastry

  • Put the butter and flour into the bowl of a food processor, then pulse until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add the sour cream and pulse again until the dough just forms a ball.
  • Form into a flat disk, cover with cling film and refrigerate for 20 mins.
  • Roll dough out to fit a round tart pan 25cm x 2.5cm (10” x 1”) size tin, using a fork poke holes all over the pastry and then fit the pastry into the tin and chill again for 60 minutes.
  • Preheat oven to 200c (390f ) bake not fan.
  • Trim the excess pastry from the tin using a sharp knife.

Blind Bake

  • Line the pastry case with a double layer of foil and fill with sugar to the top of the tin – we have found sugar to be a wonderful weight for pastries as it manages to fill into the corners and creases of pans and can be reused without loosing any of its qualities. Doubling the foil helps with lifting the sugar from the case without breaking.
  • Blind bake the pastry case for 15 minutes, then remove the foil and sugar. Return to the oven for another 5 minutes or until the pastry is pale golden and the bottom is dry.
  • While pastry is blind baking prepare the lemon mascarpone mixture.
  • Reduce the oven temperature to 170c (340f )

Lemon filling

  • place ricotta and mascarpone into a food processor and process until smooth
  • add sugar, eggs and yolks, lemon rind and juice and process again
  • put the tart tin on the middle oven shelf
  • carefully pour the mixture into the pastry
  • bake for 30 minutes or until just set
  • there should be a slight wobble to the centre when you jiggle the tin
  • remove from oven and allow to cool in the tin, then refrigerate still in the tart tin (mixture thickens up as it cools)
  • remove from tin
  • serve and enjoy!

Lemon slices

  • put water and sugar into a frypan over medium heat
  • cook until mixture starts to turn golden brown
  • slide in lemon slices and cook for a couple of minutes then turn slices over
  • cook until slices are well coated with the toffee
  • remove slices and place on a sheet of baking paper to cool
  • arrange slices over the top of the tart

Notes

  • allow several hours in the refrigerator to cool and set.

Nutrition Information

Yield

8

Serving Size

1

Amount Per Serving Calories 531Total Fat 43gSaturated Fat 25gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 14gCholesterol 230mgSodium 369mgCarbohydrates 30gFiber 0gSugar 27gProtein 9g

Nutritional information provided here is only intended as a guide.

Cooper

Cooper like most retrievers loves soft toys and anything else he can grab, that includes socks, knickers, shoes……………………………. In the background you can see the paddocks have turned brown as the drought starts to bite even into the coastal areas of Australia.

Easy Italian Lemon Mascarpone Tart - Recipe Winners (13)
Easy Italian Lemon Mascarpone Tart - Recipe Winners (14)

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Easy Italian Lemon Mascarpone Tart - Recipe Winners (2024)

FAQs

Why didn't my lemon tart set? ›

A custard with both eggs and starch needs to be thoroughly cooked. The reason is that yolks contain an enzyme which liquidifies starch. It doesn't happen outright, but will happen while your tart is cooling. The only way to prevent it is to heat the mix high enough so the enzyme is deactivated.

What do you use mascarpone for? ›

Mascarpone is an Italian soft cheese that adds a creaminess to sauces and pasta dishes, with a light acidity to cut through its high fat content. Mascarpone also adds creaminess to cheesecakes and other chilled desserts, helping them set better and keep sturdy.

Is mascarpone sweetened? ›

Mascarpone cheese is a soft, slightly sweet and a tad bit tart, spreadable cheese often described as an Italian sweet cream cheese. Mascarpone is probably most well-known as the key ingredient in Italian desserts like tiramisu and cannoli.

Why is my tart not setting? ›

If the filling is runny and flowing out of the tart when you cut into it, then it is likely that the curd was not cooked for quite long enough.

Why is my lemon tart so runny? ›

If your lemon curd hasn't thickened, it may not have been heated enough. It can take up to 30 minutes of constant stirring to cook lemon curd, especially if it's a large batch. Remember that curd will thicken more once cooled. If your cooled curd is not thick enough, you can reheat it to thicken.

Is mascarpone good or bad for you? ›

Although mascarpone is a high-fat cheese, it does have some benefits including being satiating and a good source of calcium.

Is mascarpone healthier than cream? ›

No, mascarpone cheese is not healthier than cream cheese as it contains 25% more fat than cream cheese. Yet mascarpone cheese is only preferred for its extra smooth texture. You can use cream cheese and mascarpone cheese for salty and sweet dishes.

How do Italians eat mascarpone? ›

Mascarpone isn't just for panettone or tiramisù. Slathered on crostini or whipped into spaghetti, it's more sumptuous than butter — add a little sugar, and it's even more enticing than cream.

Does Aldi's have mascarpone? ›

ALDI BelGioioso Fresh Mascarpone Cheese, Cup Same-Day Delivery or Pickup | Instacart.

What to eat with mascarpone? ›

  1. Tomato & mascarpone risotto. A star rating of 4.7 out of 5. 209 ratings.
  2. Chicken pasta bake. A star rating of 4.7 out of 5. 674 ratings.
  3. Vanilla mascarpone & cranberry babka. A star rating of 5 out of 5. 1 rating.
  4. Maple pear, pecan & mascarpone roulade. A star rating of 4.7 out of 5. 10 ratings.

How do you fix a runny tart? ›

Last resort to fix a runny pie
  1. Remove the filling from the pie and add it to a saucepan on the stovetop.
  2. Add a bit of cornstarch (refer to the table above for measurements) and gently heat it to a boil.
  3. Turn the heat down and let the fruit simmer for a few minutes to activate the cornstarch.
Sep 13, 2022

Why is my tart dough so soft? ›

Very soft, difficult-to-mould pastry: Either too little flour or too much water or fat was used, the pastry was not kneaded together until smooth or the pastry was still too hot and soft to roll out (to remedy this, allow to stand or knead gently for 1–2 minutes).

Why did my lemon filling not set? ›

I think you didn't cook it long enough after adding the eggs. Lemon pie filling has to be almost so thick you can cut it with a knife before you pour it into the shell or it won't set up. So you cook it until it becomes that thick.

Why did my custard tart not set? ›

Custards firm up as they cool, so if you're after perfectly clean, sharp slices, your pie needs to be fully set—and the only way to accomplish this is with an overnight rest in the fridge. Cover the pie with plastic wrap or foil, chill overnight, and bring to room temperature before serving.

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