Lemon mascarpone cream is super quick and easy, delightfully creamy, a little bit tart and a little bit sweet, and makes almost anything more delicious.
Ever since making this mascarpone frosting recipe, I've been a little bit obsessed with using mascarpone in desserts.
Ok. So if you're Italian, or have visited Italy for 5 minutes (me too!), you're maybe rolling your eyes right now because it's not like mascarpone and desserts is a new thing.
But I'm not Italian and, even though I spent one glorious week in Italy a few years ago, Mascarpone cheese is not something those of us in the US can even find in a lot of grocery stores.
This is changing. Thankgod. Because mascarpone is marvelous. Marvelous mascarpone! Someone should name a brand that. Perhaps they have?
I digress.
This summer (I am writing this in September of 2025), my husband and I bought a sailboat and tried to live on it for 6 weeks. Well, I mean, we DID live on it for 6 weeks, but it was rough. We still own the sailboat, but are no longer trying to live on it and if you want to read all about it, you'll find the whole story in my newsletter.)
Anyhoo. One of the things you do when living on a sailboat is try to focus on super simple recipes that take only a few ingredients, not much equipment, and very little time.
And that, my friends, was where lemon mascarpone cream was born. It's so easy to make and so good on, well, everything that I did kinda start putting it on everything. But, I do have my favorites.
xo
-Rebecca
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Ingredients needed to prepare this recipe
- Mascarpone cheese is an Italian cheese that's similar to cream cheese but with a milder flavor and an exceptionally rich and creamy consistency.
- Fresh squeezed lemon juice
- Lemon extract OR lemon oil (not pictured). Scroll down to read more about the difference between these two options.
- Vanilla extract. I feel that vanilla in lemon desserts is a must because it rounds out the sharp edges of lemon, giving the whole thing a smoother mouthfeel.
- Salt. This recipe includes more salt than you might be expecting. Salt is an excellent compliment to both sweet and sour, intensifying the flavor while adding balance. And also, yes, I forgot to add it to the photo above. Just make sure you don't forget to add it to your lemon mascarpone cream! 🙂
- Heavy whipping cream. Choose cream that is at least 30% milkfat. Do not use light cream or half and half.
- Powdered sugar. Aka, confectioners sugar.
What's the difference between lemon extract and lemon oil?
Lemon extract is made by infusing lemon peels into alcohol. Lemon oil is made by cold pressing lemon rinds making it much more concentrated than lemon extract. The brand I like is Boyajian Pure Lemon Oil, which uses 225 lemons in every 3.4 ounce bottle.
Either one can be used in this recipe just be aware that lemon oil is more concentrated, so you'll want to use less. Also, be aware that there are two very different, kinds of lemon oil. One is olive oil that's been infused with lemon which is great for salad dressing, pasta dishes, or simply drizzled over grilled meat or veggies. But, it's not the kind of lemon oil you want to use in baking. For baking, look for cold pressed essence of lemon.
Variations and substitutions
This is one of those recipes for which you can play around with making mascarpone cream in many different flavors! Add additional flavoring in addition to or instead of the lemon juice and lemon extract or lemon oil. Here are a few ideas to get you started...
- To make chocolate mascarpone cream: Omit the lemon juice and lemon extract or oil and add some unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably dutch process. Dutch process cocoa powder has a smoother less bitter flavor than natural cocoa powder which works better for this recipe. Start by adding ¼ cup along with the powdered sugar. Taste and add another tablespoon or two if you want more chocolate flavor. This would be sublime spooned over vanilla loaf cake or chocolate loaf cake.
- Fruit-flavored mascarpone cream: Add some pureed fruit or fruit jam in addition to the lemon juice and lemon extract or oil or instead of it. If using a berry with seeds, like blackberries, strain the puree through a fine mesh strainer before adding it to the frosting. Or, take a cue from this raspberry cream cheese frosting and mix in fruit jam, jelly, or fruit curd.
- Extracts: Use any other kind of extract you like instead of or in addition to lemon and vanilla extract. Good options include almond extract, caramel flavor, maple extract, and coconut extract.
If you can't find mascarpone cheese, you can substitute cream cheese plus a little bit of sour cream or Greek yogurt and increase the amount of heavy cream. Here are the amounts to use:
- 8 ounces cream cheese, full-fat, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons sour cream or plain Greek yogurt, full-fat
- 2 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
Delicious ways to serve lemon mascarpone cream
Spoon this luscious mascarpone whipped cream over fruit, cake, pie, or parfaits. Or, thicken it up with some additional powdered sugar and pipe it onto cupcakes or spread it over a layer cake. Honestly, I think you could put it on almost anything and it would make it more delicious, but here are a few of my favorite ways to use lemon mascarpone cream:
Grilled apricots with lemon mascarpone cream: Earlier this year, for the newsletter, I grilled apricots with honey and then topped them with lemon mascarpone cream and a crush of gingersnaps and it was one of the dreamiest summer desserts I'd ever eaten. And SO easy!
Simply cut apricots in half and brush them with a bit of oil. Grill or roast them until they are caramelized and blackened in spots. Set them on a platter, sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper, and let them cool to room temperature. Drizzle with honey, and top with lemon mascarpone cream and crushed gingersnaps.
Vanilla loaf cake with lemon mascarpone cream
This simple vanilla loaf cake is one of my most used recipes. It's delicious on it's own but is also a kind of blank canvas for dressing it up with a generous spoonful of lemon mascarpone cream.
Also try lemon mascarpone cream on:
- Buttermilk pancakes, extra fluffy blueberry pancakes, or lemon ricotta pancakes
- Try it on this lemon elderflower cake instead of lemon cream cheese frosting
- Add a bit of lemon flavor to orange olive oil cake or orange poppy seed cake by using lemon mascarpone cream instead of plain mascarpone frosting.
- Pipe it onto raspberry cupcakes
- Spread it over lemon berry snack cake
Step-by-step photos and instructions
Use an electric mixer to beat the mascarpone, lemon juice, lemon extract or lemon oil, vanilla, and salt for a couple of minutes until the mixture is blended and completely smooth.
With the mixer running on medium speed, slowly pour in the cream.
Continue to beat until the mixture thickens enough to hold a soft peak, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl from time to time.
Add some of the powdered sugar and mix on medium-low speed to blend. Check the consistency and as much more powdered sugar as you like to reach the desired consistency.
If using this as a frosting, or to pipe onto cupcakes, add enough additional powdered sugar to create a stiff, spreadable consistency that holds its shape. To keep it closer to a sauce-like consistency, add less.
Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container until ready to use. Lemon mascarpone cream will keep well in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
A few more desserts that use mascarpone cheese
If you give this recipe a try, let me know! Scroll down to rate this recipe and leave a comment for me.
Happy baking!
📖 Recipe
Lemon Mascarpone Cream
Lemon mascarpone cream is super quick and easy, delightfully creamy, a little bit tart and a little bit sweet, and makes almost anything more delicious.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (16 ounces, 454 grams) mascarpone cheese
- ¼ cup (2 ounces/ 56 grams) fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract OR ½ teaspoon lemon oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups (16 ounces/ 454 grams) heavy whipping cream
- 1 ¾ cups - 2 ½ cups (198 grams - 283 grams) powdered sugar, more to taste
Instructions
- Add the mascarpone, lemon juice, lemon extract or lemon oil, vanilla, and salt to a mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until the mixture is blended and completely smooth.
- With the mixer running on medium-low speed, slowly pour in the cream. Continue to beat until the mixture thickens enough to hold a soft peak, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl from time to time. If you lift the beater from the frosting, a peak will form that slowly folds over onto itself. Be careful to not over mix or the frosting might curdle or split.
- Add 1 ¾ cups powdered sugar and mix on medium-low speed to blend. Check the consistency and add as much additional powdered sugar as you like to reach the desired consistency. If using this as a frosting, or to pipe onto cupcakes, add enough powdered sugar to create a stiff frosting that holds its shape. To keep it closer to a sauce-like consistency, add less.
- Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container until ready to use.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 28 Serving Size: ¼ cupAmount Per Serving: Calories: 84Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 19mgSodium: 43mgCarbohydrates: 7gFiber: 0gSugar: 7gProtein: 0g
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