ANDREW McCONNELL
I was thinking this morning I felt like a bit of a cad presenting a recipe that is so effortless. Often, though, I get criticised more for complexity – so I thought, why not?
I think it’s good to get away from contemporary desserts – gelatines, contemporary flavours. This dessert has its origin in the Middle Ages, and began as a warm milk drink. Eventually it evolved into a dessert that was curdled, often with alcohol.
There are other iterations where almonds and egg yolks have been used to thicken the milk or cream. In this recipe, though, the thickening agent is also the flavouring agent: lemon juice.
The only other flavour of note in this instance is the flavour of the cream, so a good-quality cream is essential. Bulla cream is a trustworthy staple on many shelves, but there are also a number of Jersey organic and bio-organic creams on the market. If you’re going to cook this more than once, I would recommend trying different creams to see how they affect the flavour.
I haven’t been making posset for long. But I have been intrigued by it – the simplicity of a recipe with only three ingredients. The first time I cooked it, I was happy and baffled by the fact that it actually worked.
On that occasion, I served it by itself. But after a bowl of sweetened, extremely rich, delicious dessert, I realised I needed something to cut through the sweetness. Some fresh raspberries are a great addition in that sense.