My personal favorite is either a tub of whipped cream cheese, or a mixture of softened block cream cheese and heavy cream. Mascarpone is something that I can only find at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods and some Publix stores, so I often turn to this easy (and cheap) hack: Mix together 8 oz of softened cream cheese with 1/4 cup of heavy whipping cream. Mix until well combined. Your "mascarpone" is ready to use!