Made with just cream, honey and citrus juice, this old-world dessert is simple and lovely. Lighter than custard, denser than mousse, possets are something you must try to truly appreciate!
INGREDIENTS
- 4 cups heavy or whipping cream (free from thickeners, if you can find it)
- 1/2 cup of honey
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon of lemon zest
METHOD
In a large saucepan, bring the cream and honey to a boil—stirring constantly. Let the cream boil rapidly for 3 minutes while continuing to stir. Unlike custard, you want the cream & honey to boil to break up the fat in the cream leaving you with a smooth and velvety posset.
Once the cream and honey have boiled, remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the lemon juice and zest. Allow the mixture to sit for 20 minutes.
Pour the thickened posset through a fine-mesh strainer and into a large bowl. A skin will have formed on top of the posset, but don't remove it. Just pour everything—skin and all—through the strainer. This will remove the zest and the skin at the same time.
Pour out the strained posset into dessert bowls (small mason jars or glass yogurt cups work nicely, too) and cover with plastic wrap or lids. If you have time, allow the posset to set at room temperature and chill before serving. A room temperature set makes for a slightly smoother posset. Alternately or if your kitchen is too warm, you can let the posset set in the fridge. Garnish with lemon zest or edible flower petals and serve with fresh berries—raspberries are particularly nice.
Flavour Options
You can infuse different flavours into the cream after it's been boiled and before you strain it. Try rose petals, lavender, or adding in half a scraped vanilla bean. Feel free to experiment, but remember not to mess around with the lemon juice amount! You need the acid for things to set.
