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From: Sarah Phillips
Remote Name: 64.81.210.89
Date: 08/05/02
Time: 10:29 AM
Does your recipe have you - "Smash the mascarpone in a bowl with a rubber spatula until it is smooth. Fold in the egg mixture. In a separate bowl, whip the cream until soft peaks form and fold into mixture?" This is the case in the Classic Tiramisu Recipe I have posted here: http://www.baking911recipes.com/cakes_tiramisu.htm
The key to any successful baking, it to create an emulsion between the water and fat ingredients so, in your case, you get a smooth mascarpone mixture.
An emulsion will form more successfully if the ingredients (both fat, water and flour, etc) at approximately the same temperature, usually 68 to 70 degrees F (room temperature) so they combine into a smooth mixture.
When you add the mascarpone cheese, if not at the same room temperature as the eggs, the two will not combine smoothly (emulsify) and will curdle. Then, when folding in the whipped cream, if one mixture is significantly cooler than the other which is the case with whipped cream, the previously emulsified batter will clump (curdles) when the two are folded together.
Emulsions have a much better chance of forming if the elements are brought together slowly. If you don't add them slowly, they'll separate and you won't have a homogeneous mixture. To prevent this, the whipped cream must be folded in with a couple of passes. This gives the smooth batter time to get to the same temperature as the whipped cream to prevent curdling.
Read my information about Folding Basics (1/4 of the way down the page) on: http://baking911.com/howto_fold.htm If you are interested in learning more about emulsified batters, go to: http://www.baking911.com/howto_emulsify.htm