Mascarpone may curdle and looks like cottage cheese within a couple of seconds after starting mixing. It can be very quickly overmixed because of its high-fat content. So, if this ever happens to you, you are not alone. This can happen to everybody and is not related to this recipe particularly. Here are my top tips to either avoid or fix curdled mascarpone: 1. Buy mascarpone cream that contains nothing but (milk,) cream, and citric acid and has a high-fat content - around 42g out of 100g. Don't buy any low-light or substitute product. 2. Mascarpone should be used cold and straight out of the fridge. 3. Use a large mixing bowl so that you have enough place to mix the mascarpone. 4. Mix the cream on medium speed and just long enough until smooth and combined. 5. If your mascarpone did curdle, you can still save it by transferring the mixture to a microwave-safe bowl and carefully warming it up or by using a double boiler and whisking until smooth. I read some more excellent tips on the Food52 website on that topic.