This delicious, make-ahead mascarpone mousse comes together in minutes, and it’s egg free!

For those entertaining this holiday season (or any other time of the year) but don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen, this twist on the classic Italian mascarpone mousse is the perfect make-ahead dessert. It will take you only a few minutes to prepare the cream, and you can store it in the fridge for up to three days.

Mascarpone is an Italian cream cheese with high fat content, and it is a hugely popular ingredient in the Italian cuisine. While outside of Italy, it’s perhaps best known as one of the major ingredients for tiramisu, mascarpone is a staple in the Italian cuisine for both sweet and savoury dishes. It’s slightly buttery texture mascarpone a fantastic thickener in risotto, frittata and other egg dishes, pasta sauces and soups while its slightly sweet flavour adds an additional punch to these dishes.

That said, the most classic use of mascarpone in Italy is to make a mascarpone mousse or cream which is served as topping for cakes, or other desserts. Thus, you can basically think of mascarpone cream as a richer and more flavourful substitute for a simple whipped cream. Likewise, the cream can be used a basis for toppings such as fresh fruits or fruit purees to make a quick dessert.

The classic mascarpone mousse calls for raw eggs, and while it’s a delicious dessert, not everybody will be comfortable eating raw eggs. For all those that fall into that category, the good news is, you can make a delicious mascarpone mousse without incorporating any eggs! Simply substitute the eggs with heavy cream.

During the holiday season, I love to serve this simple mascarpone mousse topped with eggnog, which gives the mousse the perfect festive twist.

Recipe: Mascarpone Mousse topped with Eggnog (made without eggs)

Serves 4

250 g mascarpone cheese
250 ml heavy cream
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
8 tablespoons eggnog

In a medium size bowl, beat the mascarpone until it has loosened up.

In a separate bowl, whip the heavy cream with the powdered sugar until stiff.

Incorporate the whipped cream to the mascarpone mix until well combined. This should yield a smooth cream.

If you want to serve the cream at a later stage, cover the bowl with cling film and transfer to the fridge. The mixture will perfectly keep its texture for up to three days.

For serving, distribute half of the mascarpone mousse over four small glasses straight from the fridge. Top with one tablespoon eggnog, then distribute the remaining half of the mascarpone mousse over the glasses. Top with another tablespoon eggnog.

If you want to serve the mascarpone mousse with other toppings such as fresh fruits or a fruit compote, add ? teaspoon vanilla extract to the mascarpone after beating. This adds an extra punch of flavour, which you do not need when topping with already vanilla-flavoured eggnog.