Mascarpone and Passion Fruit Dessert Cups
Mascarpone and Passion Fruit Dessert Cups Recipe
I spent almost four years working at a gourmet cheese shop. While most days consisted of cheese prep and care, bar and food service, and lots (and lots) of cleaning, occasionally there would be slow days. To pass the time, we would make snacks for ourselves. This became one of my favorite parts of my job. I mean, who doesn’t love snacks?
We took our recent product obsessions, cheese we had way to much of, or ingredients that needed to be used and created fun little snacks for ourselves. And if we would find something that worked, we would make lots and sell them in the cheese case.
While it was a great way to repurpose cheese and other products that need to be used, it taught me how to be adaptable with ingredients and to not be afraid to experiment in my own kitchen.
The owner of our shop came up these mini dessert cups of layered nuts and cookies, fruit curd and sweetened mascarpone cheese or fresh chèvre. They were such a hit with customers, and such a great idea that I took the technique back to my own kitchen.
My favorite fruit/cheese/crust combination to use is passion fruit curd, mascarpone sweetened with honey and a crust of Marcona almonds and crispy oat tea cookies.
Mascarpone cheese
Mascarpone cheese is a fresh Italian cheese that is milky, slightly sweet and just a touch tangy. It has a texture somewhere between softened butter and crème fraîche. Many people know it from tiramisu, but can be used in so many other recipes - whipped for frostings, blended to make creamy salad dressings and dips, or mixed in with grits, polenta or soups.
Mascarpone and Passion Fruit Dessert Cups
by Megan | April 2019
- Prep time: 15 minutes
- Cook time: 0 minutes
- Inactive time: 0 minutes
- Total time: 15 minutes
Servings: Makes twelve 2-oz. cups or six 4-oz. Cups
Ingredients:
Crust
- ½ cup Marcona almonds
- ½ cup crushed oat crackers, butter crackers or graham crackers
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted Filling
- ¾ cup mascarpone cheese
- 1 - 2 tablespoons honey, depending how sweet you like it
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup passion fruit curd
Assembly
- Twelve 2-oz. plastic condiment containers or six 4-oz. Ball jars (with lids)
Instructions:
- In a food processor, pulse together the Marcona almonds and crackers until you have fine crumbs.
- Add in the melted butter and pulse a few times to combine. You are looking for something that resembles wet sand.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the mascarpone cheese and honey together, adding more honey to achieve your desired level of sweetness. Add a sprinkle of salt and set aside.
- To assemble, spoon a heaping ½ tablespoon into each cup and smush down with a clean finger or the back of a spoon to form a crust layer on the bottom of the cup.
- Spoon a ½ tablespoon of the passion fruit curd on top of the crust and gently spread evenly.
- Spoon a ½ tablespoon of the sweetened mascarpone on top and spread evenly to cover.
- Sprinkle a little of the crust mixture on top and cover with lid or plastic cap.
- Keep in the fridge until ready to eat. These will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes:
- Since it is a fresh cheese, mascarpone doesn’t have a very long shelf life. Make note of its expiration date before you make these cups, so you’ll know how long they will last in the fridge.
- These cups are also fully customizable! Use any flavor of jam or curd you have on hand. Strawberry, lemon, rhubarb, apple, etc. The sky’s the limit!
- Using 2 oz. plastic cups will give you a 2-3 bite snack. If you’d like them larger, use a 4 oz. Ball jar and use twice as much filling per jar.
- I love Effies Oat Cakes and Rare Bird Passion Fruit Curd for this recipe.
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