Lemon posset is easiest dessert you’ve never made
If you have cream, sugar, a couple of lemons and some fresh berries in your kitchen right now, you’re only a few hours away from tasting your new favorite dessert.
Posset is a chilled English dessert with the marvelously plush texture of a mousse or pudding that comes together almost by magic from nothing more than sugar, cream and citrus juice. There’s no fussing with temperamental egg yolks or addins like gelatin, flour or cornstarch needed to help the mixture thicken and set — or to interfere with the clean, bright taste of citrus.
We found that using just the right proportions of sugar and lemon juice was the key to custard with a smooth, luxurious consistency and a bright enough flavor to balance the richness of the cream. Lemon zest was essential to making the lemon flavor even more prominent.
For a posset with an
optimally dense, firm set, we reduced the creamsugar mixture on the stovetop to 2 cups to evaporate some of the water before adding the lemon juice, which in turn caused the mixture to solidify. Letting the warm mixture rest for
20 minutes before straining and portioning into individual servings allowed the flavors to meld even more and ensured a silky-smooth consistency (and prevented a “skin” from forming on the surface of the custard). After a three-hour stint in
the fridge, the possets were cold, fully set and ready to be garnished with a handful of fresh mixed berries.
If you’re looking for a supremely simple dessert to add to your repertoire, this easy, elegant recipe deserves a spot.