A luscious mascarpone dessert with strawberries, cream and white chocolate.
MASCARPONE DESSERT
The actual name of this dessert is Spaghetti Ice Dessert. I chose not to use that because, I think, except for those living in Germany and possibly except for those living in our area, nobody would know why on Earth a strawberry dessert with no spaghetti or ice cream in it, is called Spaghetti Ice Dessert. So here it is why:
Germany is famous for its exquisite ice cream. It was brought to Germany by the Italian immigrants sometime in the 60's or the 70's and most of the ice cream parlors around here are still owned by Italian people. And they make the most amazing ice cream you can possibly have.
They have these tall, shiny menus, with huge photographs of extremely large and decadent cups of ice cream, loaded with berries or fresh fruit, tons of whipped cream, runny syrups and liquors..... One can only use superlatives to describe those ice cream cups.
And the shining star of all these ices, the best known of them all, the one most commonly sold and eaten is the Spaghetti Ice Cream, my husband's and my daughter’s favorite.
I don't think that I have ever experienced my husband eating anything but the “Spaghettieis”, when we happen to go out for ice cream or on a Sunday when our favorite ice cream person comes around with his ice cream wagon.
His name is Bushi and his ice cream is about 100 times better than any ice cream I have ever eaten. He's been coming with his wagon, every Sunday from April to October (or longer, depending on the weather) for as long as I have been living here and he really has better ice cream than anyone I know.
So, because everybody around here loves the “Spaghetti Eis” so much, somebody came up with the idea of a dessert looking and tasting a bit like the ice cream cup.
A spaghetti ice cream is made by pressing a few scoops of real vanilla ice cream through a potato ricer making it look like a bunch of spaghetti. Then everything is loaded with whipped cream and strawberry sauce (fake tomato sauce) and sprinkled with white chocolate (fake Parmesan). I really cannot describe to you, how delicious that is!
This dessert combines mascarpone, quark and whipped heavy cream with vanilla seeds and it is topped with pureed strawberries and white chocolate.
It is one of those desserts that, like the many grill salads from the German Salads Series, has become so popular over the years in our region, that you can actually eat it at every gathering or party around here. Everybody makes it, everybody eats it, everybody loves it!
HOW TO MAKE MASCARPONE DESSERT WITH STRAWBERRIES?
- Whip together the mascarpone, quark, icing sugar and the seeds of the vanilla bean. Don't throw away the empty vanilla bean, stick it in a jar full of sugar to get vanilla sugar, for instance.
- Whip the heavy cream until stiff and fold it into the mascarpone mixture. Add lemon juice to taste.
- Puree the strawberries with icing sugar to taste. Grate the white chocolate.
- Place the mascarpone-cream mixture into one large dessert bowl or into 8 individual dessert cups. Pour the strawberry sauce over this mixture, poking a few times with a knife to allow the sauce to sink in the mascarpone mixture here and there.
- Sprinkle with the grated chocolate and place in the fridge for at least two hours or until ready to serve.
How to replace quark?
I used low-fat quark, which is very common in Germany, if you cannot find it, you could replace it with cream cheese or creamy yogurt or a mixture of the two.
Can I use other berries?
The original is made with strawberries. You can use frozen and defrosted strawberries when fresh ones are unavailable.
But other berries or a mixture of berries would be delicious as well. Different, but still great!
Strawberry Mascarpone Dessert
Ingredients
- 1 lb mascarpone
- 1 lb quark Note 1
- ¾ cup icing sugar
- 1 vanilla bean
- juice of ½ lemon or more to taste
- 1 ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 lb strawberries Note 2
- 2-4 tablespoons icing sugar to taste
- ½ cup grated white chocolate
Instructions
- Whip mascarpone, quark, icing sugar, and the seeds of the vanilla bean. Don't throw away the empty vanilla bean; stick it in a jar full of sugar to get vanilla sugar, for instance.
- Whip the heavy cream until stiff and fold it into the mascarpone mixture. Add lemon juice to taste.
- Puree the strawberries with icing sugar to taste. Grate the white chocolate.
- Assemble: Place the mascarpone cream mixture into one large dessert bowl or eight individual dessert cups. Pour the strawberry sauce over this mixture, poking a few times with a knife to allow the sauce to sink in the mascarpone mixture here and there.
- Sprinkle with the grated chocolate and place in the fridge for at least two hours or until ready to serve.
Notes
- I used low-fat quark, which is very common in Germany; if you cannot find it, you could replace it with cream cheese or creamy yogurt or a mixture of the two.
- You can use frozen and defrosted strawberries when fresh ones are unavailable.
Nutrition
Others you might like:
Oven Pancakes with Strawberry Sauce
Strawberry and Cream Dessert with Meringue
Marvellina @ What To Cook Today says
So pretty Adina. I don't think I can find quark here though. Will have to replace with cream cheese.
Balvinder says
This looks so gorgeous and I love how simple, but totally delicious it sounds! Mascarpone and strawberries is such a lovely combination!
I also enjoyed learning about spaghetti Ice dessert.
Roland says
The Dessert is really almost as goog as the ice cream you described.
But the ice is even better, when the whipped cream will be placed underneath the ice, because then the whipped cream will become a bit frozen at the edge.
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary says
Yay to mascarpone dessert twinning!! This looks fabulous girlfriend! Mascarpone is delicious on it's own, but add some strawberries and HEAVEN! All I need is a spoon! Cheers, friend!
Anu - My Ginger Garlic Kitchen says
Wow! This is such a beauty, Adina. I am loving all your strawberry dishes which you have been sharing recently. And this one is no exception. Love using mascarpone in my desserts! And this one sounds like the BEST way to enjoy strawberries.
Brie says
I love everything about this dessert especially the fun name and interesting story too! The mascarpone mixture looks like a rich and creamy cloud and those strawberries Oh I just want to dive in 🙂 We have a German store/deli in my hometown I'll have to check on my next visit if they carry quark so I can enjoy the authentic recipe!
Nammi says
oh yummm!! that looks soooo good, those strawberries look so juicy and plump :).
Kate @ Framed Cooks says
Mascarpone and strawberries are the BEST combo - I love this!!
Thao @ In Good Flavor says
This sounds wonderful! It's so pretty too!! It's going on my must try list!
Elizabeth says
Looks soooo delicious!!! and I look forward to making it. I love anything creamy with strawberries, cannot go wrong with that. Mascarpone is very delicious. I am American English, so I had to convert pounds into cups and teaspoons best I could. I went to the grocery store to get cream cheese and greek yogurt, and came across a new product next to the cream cheese called Greek Cream Cheese & Creek Yogurt >it is a combination of both in a block like how cream cheese is sold. I thought that was perfect for the quark substitution.
Juli says
I've wanted to try spaghetti eis for years. Yours looks delicious.
Adina says
Thank you, Juli. Spaghetti ice is famous in Germany, my husband and daughter adore it. 🙂 I hope you try it!
Monika says
When I see quark as an ingredient in a recipe, I always replace it with ricotta cheese ... and it''s perfect !
Adina says
I've never replaced quark with ricotta, but it's great if it works. It has a similar consistency, but quark is more like a mixture of yogurt and cottage cheese in taste, ricotta is very mild.