Hello dears!
I’ve bought a package of mascarpone cheese once a time ago, and now I see it expires next monday (08-03-2010).
The problem is that I’ve no time to make a tiramisù for the moment… I prefer to do it by the end of march or later.
What should I do?
Can I freeze it as it is (straight on the package) right now?
If is it possible how do I thaw it then? Can I use the microwaves with the thaw option (less than 250W)? What about times and other things?
Thank you very much!

I haven’t tried it, but it seems like it would work, I know you can freeze cream cheese which is similar in texture.  Better to give it a shot than to throw it in the trash! I would thaw it overnight in the fridge. You may need to whip it to restore texture, but you’ll be doing that anyway for tiramisù. By the way, in the states, we would read that date as August 3, 2010!

I have a little marscapone left from a Tiramisu last week.  I’m going to freeze a little, then thaw it.  I’ll report back in a few hours.  It doesn’t have the emulsifiers that cream cheese has, so I’m interested in seeing what happens.

By the way, the tiramisu in RHC is divine.  The only note I have for it is to not get too speedy about whisking the eggs over the double boiler, as they won’t get hot enough.  I was thinking I needed to whip them like I would for a genoise foam, and I was using a hand whisk, so I really went at them.  The whisking was cooling them faster than the double boiler could heat them!

I was also a little worried about the Marsala- I love savory Marsala sauces but I was having a hard time imagining it in something sweet.  Of course it was wonderful- the Marsala is even less noticeable than the liqueur in Rose’s other recipes, but it adds a full, round, mysterious background note that I very much enjoyed.

Yes, it is very good. I’ve already made it 2 or 3 times! Also, if you don’t want to use Marsala, I’ve found that Kahlúa works well, and of course goes with the coffee flavor.

Matthew, did you make your own ladyfingers?  Could you help me with mine?

I have made them three times now, twice with Wondra, but never has my batter been soft enough to flow easily out of the bag (checked opening, it is 3/4”), I always have to squeeze it.  The ladyfingers seem to be puffy and light, and they work out well, but I wonder if I’m missing something, texture-wise. 

Also, I can’t get a pearlized sugar top on them.  My first coat of powdered sugar just sits on top- doesn’t sink in.  After they are baked, you can blow off the sugar, it just looks like a cake that has been dusted with powdered sugar after baking. 

I did remember to add the warm water and weighed everything to the gram, yolks and whites separately, etc.  I’m stumped.

No, if anything, I would ask you for help your orange crown was so beautiful! I just used some I bought at an Italian market. You’ve watched Rose’s video, right?
http://www.realbakingwithrose.com/2009/09/roses_heavenly_cakes_dvd_part_2.html
Does yours seem a lot different?

You could make pie dough with mascarpone, and freeze the pie dough, or go ahead and make the whole pie and freeze it unbaked. I used Rose’s cream cheese pie dough recipe from PPB, and substituted the mascarpone for the cream cheese. It was really good.

Julie - 01 March 2010 10:30 AM

Also, I can’t get a pearlized sugar top on them.  My first coat of powdered sugar just sits on top- doesn’t sink in.  After they are baked, you can blow off the sugar, it just looks like a cake that has been dusted with powdered sugar after baking.

Julie - I haven’t tried Rose’s ladyfingers recipe but I’ve made them using James Peterson’s recipe (from his cookbook: “Cooking”). His recipe calls for dusting regular granulated sugar on top before baking the ladyfingers. I’ve tried it and it turned out nice. I thought ladyfingers has granulated sugar on top - never seen one with powdered sugar. The ladyfingers that I used to get from Whole Foods also has the granulated sugar on top.

OK, the marscapone results are in- it froze and defrosted perfectly, maintaining its smooth texture and without watering out.  After I did that, I was looking up something else and noticed Rose lists marscapone in her books in the ingredients section, and says that it freezes well for up to 6 months.

Thanks for the comments on ladyfingers, I’m going to make them again soon.