Fall

Vanilla-Mascarpone Cream Pie with Honeyed Fruit

July 30, 2014
4.3
6 Ratings
Photo by Sarah Stone
  • Makes one 9-inch pie
Author Notes

This simple filling is great with any kind of seasonal fruit, especially strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, and peaches. —Erin Jeanne McDowell

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Crust
  • 2 cups sugar cookie crumbs
  • Generous pinch of salt
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • Finished Pie
  • 1 teaspoon gelatin
  • 2 tablespoons cold water
  • 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup vanilla sugar
  • two 8-ounce containers mascarpone cheese
  • 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Seasonal fruit, cut into large wedges or trimmed and left whole (I used black plums and black currants)
  • 2 tablespoons wildflower honey
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 375° F. In a medium bowl, stir the cookie crumbs and salt together to combine. Add the butter and mix just until the mixture clumps together. If it looks dry, add an additional 1 tablespoon melted butter.
  2. Press the cookie mixture into the pie plate evenly. Transfer to the oven and bake until golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Cool completely.
  3. In a small bowl, bloom the gelatin in cold water for 5 minutes, then melt it in the microwave until liquid.
  4. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip the heavy cream on medium-low speed until frothy. Gradually add the vanilla sugar and continue to whip it until it forms soft peaks.
  5. Add the mascarpone, vanilla extract, and melted gelatin. Mix until the mixture is fully combined and it reaches medium peaks.
  6. Pour the mascarpone mixture into the cooled cookie crust and spread it evenly. Work quickly, as the mixture will set fast since it is cold. Arrange the fruit on top of the filling.
  7. In a small pot, warm the honey until very fluid. Gently brush the fruit with the honey. Keep the pie chilled until ready to serve.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • loosylou
    loosylou
  • Judy
    Judy
I always have three kinds of hot sauce in my purse. I have a soft spot for making people their favorite dessert, especially if it's wrapped in a pastry crust. My newest cookbook, Savory Baking, came out in Fall of 2022 - is full of recipes to translate a love of baking into recipes for breakfast, dinner, and everything in between!

2 Reviews

loosylou August 1, 2015
It was a simple pie to make and I was grateful I didn't have to turn on my oven, but it definitely looks nicer than it tasted. Glad I subbed in Speculoos cookies for crust and vanilla bean for vanilla sugar because otherwise this would have just been whipped cream on nilla waffers.
 
Judy March 26, 2015
This is an easy pie to put together- can make the crust and the filling in advance- then assemble. I felt there was enough filling for 2 normal sized pies. If I used all the filling, I thought it would be overwhelmingly rich. I topped it with blackberries, raspberries, blueberries and kiwi . I used an oatmeal cookie crust (made from Mcvitties hobnob cookies). Very delicious!