Raspberry Mascarpone Cream Glasses
- Sweet
- No cook
Layers of crushed shortbread, whipped mascarpone cream and tart raspberries, spooned into glasses for a cool, no-cook Valentine's dessert.
- Total
- 50 min
- Prep 20 · Rest 30
- Serves
- 2
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Whisking · Folding
Instructions
-
Set aside 6 raspberries for the top. Mash the remaining raspberries in a small bowl with a fork until loose and juicy, then stir in 1 tbsp sugar and the pinch of salt.
~5 min
The sugar draws juice out of the berries and the salt dulls their sharp edge, giving a looser, more balanced mash that soaks into the crumbs.
Mash only part of the raspberries and keep the rest whole: the crushed fruit soaks into the shortbread while the whole berries stay bright and tart on top.
-
Crush the shortbread into rough crumbs with your fingers or the back of a spoon, leaving a few larger pieces for texture.
~3 min
-
Whisk the mascarpone with the cream and the remaining 1 tbsp sugar until thick and softly holding its shape, about 2 minutes. Stop before it turns grainy.
~2 min
Whisking incorporates air to thicken the cream, but overwhisking breaks the mascarpone's emulsion and turns it grainy, so stop at soft peaks.
Whisk the mascarpone and cream just until thick. Overwhisking makes mascarpone split and look grainy, so finish by hand once it starts to hold.
Whisking Whisk with a light, steady wrist until the cream just holds soft peaks; watch for the first grainy streaks and stop immediately, finishing by hand.
-
Spoon a layer of shortbread crumbs into the bottom of each glass, then a layer of mascarpone cream, then a spoonful of mashed raspberries. Repeat once more, finishing with cream and a swirl of raspberry.
~6 min
Folding Layer gently with a spoon rather than stirring, so the whipped cream keeps its air and the layers stay distinct in the glass.
-
Top each glass with the reserved whole raspberries and a few shortbread crumbs. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes so the layers set and the crumbs soften slightly.
~30 min
Chilling firms the whipped cream so the layers hold, while the crumbs absorb berry juice and soften into a cake-like texture.
