Lemon pizzelles are topped with mascarpone whip, tangy lemon curd and roasted berries to create summer berry napoleons.
On a recent trip to Whole Foods I rediscovered mascarpone and I’ve been obsessed ever since. I sometimes get fixated on foods—last month it was roasted chickpeas; this month it’s mascarpone. If you haven’t tried it, mascarpone is essentially a silkier, more luxurious cousin of cream cheese. If you’ve enjoyed tiramisu, you’ve likely tasted mascarpone.
With a couple of tubs of mascarpone in the fridge, I wanted to do something a bit more inventive than spreading it on crackers with preserves—although that’s delicious too. A few weeks ago, Emily and I worked on a video project that featured her roasted berry s’mores, and I completely fell for the roasted berries. I wanted to spoon them from the jar, but instead I enjoyed them in s’mores and soon after started spooning the sauce over store-bought pizzelles for breakfast. That’s when the idea for Roasted Berry Napoleons was born.
The roasted berry sauce is wonderful on ice cream, s’mores and, especially, pizzelles. Piled between layers of mascarpone whip and bright homemade lemon curd, the berries make an ideal summer dessert. These Roasted Berry Napoleons are simple to assemble, seasonal, and feel a little elegant—perfect for an impromptu cookout or a Fourth of July treat. I guarantee they’ll be love at first bite.
Roasted Berry Napoleons
Yield: 6 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
For the Mascarpone Whip
1/4 cup sugar, or to taste
zest of one medium lemon
8 ounces mascarpone cheese, softened
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
6–12 pizzelles
homemade microwave lemon curd
roasted berry sauce
Directions:
1. In a small bowl, combine the sugar and lemon zest. Use clean fingertips to rub the zest into the sugar until it becomes moist and fragrant.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the mascarpone, heavy cream, vanilla, and the sugar–lemon mixture. Beat with an electric mixer until medium-firm peaks form.
3. To assemble, spoon or pipe a thin layer of mascarpone whip onto a pizzelle. Add a layer of lemon curd, then a layer of roasted berries. Top with another pizzelle if you like. Serve immediately.
The Mascarpone Whip is adapted from Desserts 4 Today.
All images and text © My Baking Addiction
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If you love mascarpone, check out these other desserts:
Tiramisu Brownies
Blueberry Trifles with Mascarpone Whip