What’s a posset? Well, it’s like a syllabub. HA!
Seriously, it’s a British dessert made of thickened cream traditionally flavored with lemon. The acid in the lemon causes the cream to ‘curdle’ in a good way. Unlike a panna cotta (‘cooked cream’ in Italian) or American puddings which use gelatin or flour to thicken, a posset relies on the acid of the lemon to do that job.
It’s wonderfully rich and light at the same time and with just 3 ingredients, it’s a snap to make as long as you allow some time for it to set up.
I chose this dessert for a recent professional photo shoot because it’s pretty in miniature and in multiples (and at the end of the day I had a fridge full of possets to eat).
Here’s the recipe. Enjoy!
Lemon Posset
Serves: 10 servings
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy cream
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 5 tablespoons FRESH lemon juice
Instructions
- Put the cream and sugar in a 3-quart pot (this is important as it can boil over very easily). Whisk to combine and then turn on the heat to dissolve the sugar.
- Have a timer nearby and bring the mixture to a rolling boil. DO NOT LEAVE the stovetop from this point forward!!
- Boil (yes, boil!) for 5 minutes. To prevent boil-overs, stir from time to time, lower and raise heat, and/or move pot on and off burner. Just do NOT walk away from the pot.
- At the end of the 5-minute boil, remove from heat and add the lemon juice. Stir to incorporate and then let sit undisturbed for 15 minutes.
- Pour into small glasses or ramekins and place in refrigerator for about 4 hours to firm up. You can make these the day before you serve them.
- My garnishes of choice for these are usually mint sprigs or tiny wild blueberries – but don’t be limited by those. Blackberries, crystallized ginger, or even a curl of bittersweet chocolate would be nice.
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 2 oz
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