Fragomammella: Strawberry Breasts

I saw this recipe on Food Network several years ago, though it comes originally from The Futurist Cook by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti. I have always wanted to make it. I halved the quantities of the original recipe, which I will list here.

Macerate together for an hour:
1/2 pound strawberries, cut up small
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon granulated sugar

Combine:
3/4 pound mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup heavy cream, lightly whipped
3 tablespoons sifted confectioner's sugar

The recipe, at this point, calls for 1 1/2 tablespoons of Campari, a bright red bitter aperitif. It's not that Campari is hard to find, but a whole bottle is pricey for as much as I needed. I substituted a small amount of Grenadine and moved on with life.

The strawberry mixture was then folded in:

Our strawberry pudding (essentially) now spent some time in the refrigerator so that the finished mold would "stand up."

The Futurist movement held some intriguing--if not bizarre--ideals. Indeed, The Futurist Cook's meal plans suggest some recipes be prepared and laid on the table simply for visual stimulation. So, it didn't particularly surprise me that the recipe actually calls for a pink serving plate to be used for presentation. Alas, I do not own a pink plate.

Before beginning I saved a few of the smallest strawberries for nipples.

Voila.


Finishing thoughts:

Well, for as much of a sweet tooth as I have, I don't typically make confections. I enjoyed the change of pace.

I really don't care for the sour taste of mascarpone cheese. Generally I'm kind of a wuss when it comes to cheese; if it smells or tastes at all "fungal," I'm done. I did eat some in the end--it was sweet and the strawberries were in no way overpowered by the mascarpone, but that sour taste was always in the back of my mouth.

So, it seems I'm continuing the overall disappointment in mascarpone.