Balsamic Strawberries with Whipped Mascarpone Cheese

I stumbled across this recipe while I was looking for something simple to do with the strawberries that had just been purchased. I made this last night and it was a huge hit.

Ingredients:
15-20 fresh strawberries, hulled and quartered
1 tsp (or more) of sugar

For the syrup:
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp fresh lemon juice

For whipping together:
2-3 Tbsp mascarpone cheese (at room temperature)
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence

Serves 2

Method:
In a bowl, gently toss the strawberries with the sugar. Let it stand for 15 minutes or so until the strawberries have released their juices.

Meanwhile, combine the balsamic vinegar, sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves and the vinegar is reduced to a syrup-like consistency (takes about 5 minutes). Cool.

Whip together the mascarpone cheese, sugar and vanilla essence.
Portion the strawberries with their juices, mixed with a bit of balsamic syrup into serving bowls. Top with the mascarpone mixture and drizzle with the remaining balsamic syrup.

Balsamic vinegar has a lovely sweet flavor with a hint of tartness. Reducing it only intensifies the goodness. The mascarpone, the strawberries and the balsamic vinegar go really well together to make a quick dessert that is absolutely heavenly.

Off this goes to Mike @ Mike’s Table for Strawberry Seduction.

Some other recipes using balsamic vinegar:
Chocolate Balsamic Truffles
Ravioli with Balsamic Brown Butter

Another quick dessert with mascarpone cheese:
Peach and Mascarpone Phyllo Cups

I decided to have some fun with the balsamic vinegar while putting this together.
I clicked a couple of pictures and decided to send this one over to Bee and Jai at Jugalbandi for Click: Metal.

A spoonful of balsamic vinegar