Mascarpone cream with crunchy dried fruit and cardamom

We start with the pasteurization of the egg whites: we separate them from the yolks and set aside. In a saucepan we combine 30 gr of water and 70 gr of sugar, stir and wait for it to boil. Once reached, we measure the temperature with a thermometer until it reaches 120°. In a bowl, we whip the egg whites, then slowly add the syrup of water and sugar. We set aside.

Now it's the turn of the pasteurization of the yolks. In another saucepan, we combine another 30 gr of water and 70 gr of sugar. We bring to a boil and check the temperature up to 120°. In another bowl, we beat the yolks with an electric whisk and slowly add the syrup of water and sugar, continuing to beat until the bowl is lukewarm or cold.

Now we prepare the mascarpone cream. Gradually we take the pasteurized yolks and egg whites and mix them with the mascarpone. If you prefer, you can also add a tablespoon of orange juice or Cointreau, depending on taste. We gently mix with a marisa with movements from the bottom up, then cover with cling film and store in the fridge.

We move on to the dried fruit. We roughly chop it and extract the cardamom seeds, crushing them in a mortar. In a pan, we toast the dried fruit and cardamom seeds.

Now it's the caramel's turn. In a thick-bottomed saucepan, we mix water, sugar and lemon. We stir and cook over low heat for about 10 minutes or until the liquid turns amber-yellow. We add the dried fruit to the caramel and quickly pour the mixture onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper. We let it rest for 10 minutes and then cut the crunchy into rough pieces.

Finally the plating! We fill a glass or a cup, alternating layers of mascarpone cream (with a pastry bag) and layers of crunchy. In the glass, we keep the amount of cream more abundant than the crunchy.
Et voilà, our cream is ready. This delicacy is ideal to end a dinner in style or to make a snack in company special. Enjoy your meal and see you at the next culinary adventure!