Strawberry Lemon Mascarpone Tart with Graham Cracker Crust

Today, I bring you this heavenly Strawberry-Lemon Mascarpone Cream Tart.

It is pretty much my ultimate summer dessert – a whipped Canadian Mascarpone filling smoothed into a buttery, crumbly graham cracker crust, piled with juicy, plump strawberries. You seriously can not go wrong here.

It’s cool, creamy and fresh, featuring the best of local cheese and farmer’s market berries.  And it’s so pretty, don’t you think?!

The only part that requires the oven is the crust – the cheesecake-like filling is no-bake, and the berries are simply sliced and lightly glazed with melted jam.

I love the light, milky flavour the Mascarpone imparts, and, of course, the sumptuous texture. The lemon adds a lovely freshness, but doesn’t steal the show.

And speaking of show… here’s the video!

This recipe is very versatile, so feel free to swap in blackberries, raspberries, cherries, or peaches – really, whatever is sweet and beautiful at your local market (just switch the jam flavour to match).

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Strawberry-Lemon Mascarpone Cream Tart

Ingredients

  

For crust:

• 1 ¼ cups graham cracker crumbs
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• ¼ cup melted butter

For filling:

• 475 grams 16 oz Canadian Mascarpone, room temperature
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice + 1 tsp finely grated zest
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

For topping:

• 454 grams 1 lb fresh ripe strawberries, halved
• ¼ cup strawberry jam

Instructions

 

For crust:

• Preheat oven to 350ºF. In a medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter, stirring until the mixture resembles wet sand and holds together when you press it between your fingers. Dump it into a 9" tart pan with a removable bottom and use your hands and/or a flat-bottomed measuring cup to press the crumbs firmly into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Bake 10 minutes, until crust is fragrant and a shade darker. Cool completely on a wire rack.

For filling & topping:

• Meanwhile, with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the mascarpone, sugar and cream until light and fluffy, about a minute, pausing to scrape down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in the lemon juice, zest and vanilla extract. Scrape filling into cooled crust, smoothing it evenly to the edges with a spoon.
• Top the tart with halved strawberries. In a small saucepan (or in the microwave), heat the jam until melted. Gently brush over berries. Chill for 2 hours until filling and glaze are set.

Last Updated on August 24, 2015 by Jennifer Pallian BSc, RD