After a simple dinner of grilled filet mignon and an herb salad, an equally simple but grown-up dessert seemed just the thing to close the Memorial Day weekend on a sweet note. All day, I’ve thought about the wonderful men and women who, because of their courage and dedication, have allowed me the privilege to enjoy beautiful days like today that are free of the dangers they must endure. My daily activities seem so frivolous in comparison. Using my tiny space on the web I’d like to take this second to honor these brave individuals for I don’t think they get nearly the amount of recognition they deserve.
As for the dessert, I put this together quickly with everything I had in the kitchen, including the fresh blueberries that were calling my name. Upon taking a bite my husband exclaimed, “This is spectacular!” and proceeded to devour a second helping. I’m not sure if it was the Cointreau talking but when I finally had a taste I, too, was pleased with this impromptu dessert.
The frozen puff pastry made this extremely easy to prepare. I even took the extra-lazy route by using the pre-cut rounds. They were a great vessel for the vanilla-infused mascarpone and fresh blueberries macerated with a little sugar and Cointreau–a French orange liqueur. The crust was buttery and flaky, the mascarpone was slightly sweet from the honey I added and the blueberries retained their freshness, their fruitiness heightened by the orange liqueur. I’ve already decided that this would be perfect to serve to company. Next time, I might improve on the presentation (and the portion size) by splitting the puff pastry in two and creating double layers of mascarpone, blueberries and puff pastry.
Puff Pastry with Whipped Mascarpone and Cointreau Blueberries
Makes four servings
- 4 servings Pepperidge Farm frozen puff pastry rounds
- 8 ounces mascarpone cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 – 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons half-and-half
- 1 – 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 – 2 tablespoons Cointreau
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- Egg wash (one egg mixed with one tablespoon of water)
To macerate the blueberries, combine them with the Cointreau, the sugar and the lemon juice and store in the refrigerator for about an hour.
Using a hand mixer, whip the mascarpone with the vanilla extract, milk and honey in a medium bowl. A couple of minutes on medium speed should be enough to mix the ingredients evenly. Set aside.
About thirty minutes before you plan to serve dessert, put the frozen puff pastry rounds in the oven. The box will have clear instructions but allow for time to preheat your oven. Also remember not to defrost the pastry rounds beforehand–it’s not necessary. I brushed the rounds with an egg wash before baking.
With all three components ready, prepare as pictured or create a double layer of mascarpone-blueberry-puff pastry as I plan to do next time. Enjoy!
That looks amazing! Please can you send me some? Stunning photographs and I love the idea of the Cointreau blueberries. I do like blueberries, but they can be a little boring unless jazzed up with something.
Helen, the Cointreau really did the trick with the blueberries. It wasn’t overpowering, just enhanced the fruitiness of the berries. Thanks!
Sorry that last comment was typo central – hopefully with can edit in your dashboard….
Done. 🙂
These are so sweet and I’m sure they were delicious. Your blog looks great!
Thanks so much, Patty!
What a great idea! I love each of the components alone (come on, who doesn’t love pastry, mascarpone, and blueberries?) and together I am sure it was the perfect trifecta. 🙂
Thank you! This will definitely make an appearance again. 🙂
what a perfect dessert to end a great weekend! Thanks so much for remembering our fallen, for with out them we certainly would’nt enjoy these freedoms!
Dennis
I completely agree–we can’t take others’ sacrifices for granted.
Love this dessert. And it’sso easy – beautiful presentation! Must try the berries with the Cointreau….
Thanks–it was an experiment for me and ended up being quite a nice combination. 🙂
So simple and looks delicious!
That looks like pure heaven to me. Cheese meets fruit meets pastry. Is there anything better? yum!
So easy but perfect when you need to impress your dinner guests 🙂
What a beautiful and simple dessert – the best combination in preparation and ingredients! I’ll have to try this when my friend comes to visit in a few weekends!
beautiful post, we owe so much to our beloved troops, and your treat is amazing, blueberries and cointreau..perfect combo
sweetlife
Beautiful photos…but what else could I expect. I love puff pastry. It makes such stunning and delicious desserts as easy as 1, 2, 3. Thank you for the wonderful recipe.
For a Cointreau addict like me, this dessert is a must !!! Congrats on Top 1 !!!
Thanks so much! It was nice to wake up to that great news! 🙂
What a cute treat. Adorable. I would love to have one of those right now! Mm.
Wow! Scrumptious looking dessert indeed! love the plate too! Great photos!
Just wonderful! Congratulations on the Top 9:)
Yummy, ideal dessert in summertime; refreshing and appetizing. Kind regards!
Familiar indeed. Thanks again for visiting my blog and following back. I love your pictures… and in this particular case I and even more in love with the plate that you used. Did you get that from Anthropologie? It looks like a plate they would have. This is a real stress-free dessert. I might have to try this out in our next bbq.
No, it’s not from Anthro but I drooled over a few of their pieces a few days ago. I think this is a Wedgewood via Martha Stewart.
Thanks for dropping by again! If you try this, please let me know how it turns out. 🙂
Wonderful recipe ! I love anything that has cointreau in it : ) Summer is calling with this recipe
Yummy! So simple yet so tasty. Great photo too!