I kinda came up with this one on the fly. I’ve read endless dessert recipes that highlight the classic Italian combination of red raspberries and mascarpone cheese (a triple-cream cheese made from crème fraîche). I found I had a bag of raspberries and a package of fillo dough in the freezer, so I made sure to pickup some mascarpone when I was at Trader Joe’s.
How did I create these beauties, you ask? I folded each sheet of fillo in quarters (forming a square), lightly sprayed both sides with cooking spray and placed them into a muffin tin. I stuck the fillo cups in a 375 degree oven for about 10 minutes (just until they were golden brown).
While the fillo was baking away, I put the raspberries through the food processor then through a fine strainer to remove all of the seeds. Joe thought I was crazy for straining the seeds from the raspberries, but it made for a really nice, smooth filling – and it wasn’t that bad!
After allowing the fillo cups to cool, I beat together the mascarpone, seedless raspberries and about one tablespoon of powdered sugar. I then spooned the bright pink mixture into a pastry bag and piped it artfully into the fillo cups. To complete the look, I placed a whole raspberry on top and shaved some semi-sweet chocolate over the whole thing. A very light and flavorful dessert, great for your next dinner party!
