Lemon Posset and Honey Orange-Lavender Posset

July 31, 2013 by Cynthia 43 Comments

Posset is an incredibly easy-to-make dessert recipe, using just three simple ingredients that you probably have on hand right now!

A layer of angel food cake with posset and fresh raspberries.

Run, don’t walk to the nearest grocery store pick up some cream…and some lemons! That’s it, seriously…well and a bit of sugar. I kid you not, posset is one of the best desserts I’ve ever had. It’s DEFINITELY the easiest and fastest. I’ve been researching pub food for the last few days. Not pub, pub food. I didn’t want Cottage Pie and sausage rolls, or a Ploughman’s Lunch. I was looking for something a bit different. (This post may contain affiliate links)

The desserts on a menu don’t generally catch my eye first, as I tend to gravitate to the savory. Then I stumbled across the website of a gastropub just outside of London and was a bit taken back by the menu. Scanning down to the puddings, (desserts) out popped….Posset. “What IS this posset?” (I have been singing Les Miserables’ Castle on a Cloud, ever since I tasted it…”Oh, Posset, I love you very much!“)

Two delicious and simple posset recipes - Lemon-Lime Posset, and Honey Orange Lavender Posset. Just 3 simple ingredients needed to make this delicious dessert! | @whatagirleats

Lemon and Lime Posset topped with macerated raspberries.

After researching several posset recipes online, my head was swimming in disbelief! Could a dessert with just THREE ingredients really be THAT good?

I had to try it. I had all three ingredients anyway. Lemon, sugar and cream. Yep, that’s it. I was still a bit skeptical…no cornstarch…no flour…no eggs…and wait, no curdling? Well, yes, there is curdling, that’s where the citrus comes in…but in a good way! You can see, I went a little bit crazy…with macerated raspberries or without?

Orange, Honey and Lavender Posset.

Possets have been around for hundreds of years, yes, hundreds! Shakespeare refers to possets in several of his plays, including this line from The Merry Wives of Windsor…

yet be cheerful knight: thou shalt eat a posset to-night at my house; Where I will desire thee to laugh at my wife.

Possets were originally used for medicinal purposes, as this The Oxford English Dictionary defines it as a, “drink made of hot milk curdled with ale, wine, or other alcoholic liquor and typically flavored with spices, drunk as a delicacy or as a remedy for colds.” I’ve also been on a tear watching The Tudors on Netflix. I’m not saying Henry viii was a romantic by any stretch of the imagination. I mean after all, he was a bit fickle, and of course a girl had to watch her ~~back~~ neck around him. I imagine that he might have tried to woo some of those mistresses and wives by plying them with a bit of liquor-laced Posset. That could have been why he was so popular with the women…or maybe it was the title…or the sharp swords? Click on the video to see how easy it is to make Posset!

I hope you enjoy the delicious simplicity of a posset soon!

Lemon and Lime Posset

Author: Cynthia

Recipe type: Dessert

Cuisine: British

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 15 mins

Serves: 6

Traditional English dessert

Ingredients

1 pint, 16 ounces heavy cream (don't substitute half and half)
¾ cup organic sugar
3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 1)
2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice (about 1)
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon grated lime zest

Instructions

Bring cream and sugar to boil over a medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Boil 3 minutes, stirring constantly, adjusting heat as needed to prevent mixture from boiling over. Remove from heat.
Stir in lemon juice and lime juice and zest, and cool 10 minutes.
Stir mixture again and divide among six ½ cup ramekins or custard cups.
Cover and chill possets until set, 2 hours or overnight.
Garnish with berries if desired. Allow to set completely before garnishing

By the time I was finished cooking the Lemon and Lime Posset, I was giddy.

My head was spinning with other possibilities. I had to run out and get more cream for a ~~second~~ , third batch.

Lemon and Lime Posset

I’d figure out how I’d manage to eat them later. I macerated some raspberries in a little Chambord, to top some of them.

To macerate fruit, add a bit of sugar and some liquor or fruit juice, then let the fruit sit about 20 minutes. Then I went a little crazy and made little ones with layers of angel food cake, raspberries and posset…homerun! Now I was on fire! What would Henry, or at least Henry’s cooks come up with?

By the time I was back from the store, Honey, Lavender and Orange Posset was written in my head. This afternoon, my friend, Frances and her teenage son, Alec, stopped by to taste test for me. I started them off with the Lemon-Lime, before I eased them into the Orange, Honey and Lavender. I was stunned when 16 year old Alec went back again and again to the Orange and Lavender. That one was his favorite! It’s a bit more subtle and less tart than the citrus version. Try them both, then you decide!

Two delicious and simple posset recipes - Lemon Posset, and Honey Orange Lavender Posset. Just 3 simple ingredients needed to make this delicious dessert! | @whatagirleats

Orange, honey and lavender posset.

I knew I’d need a bit of sugar to help the cream set up, and I’d need a bit of lemon to balance the sweetness of the orange. If you are sure that the lavender in your garden, is pesticide free, you may use that. Otherwise, culinary lavender can be purchased at Cost Plus, World Market and some specialty stores. The recipe says chill in the fridge 4 hours to overnight. I made my third batch this morning, popped them in the freezer for half and hour and they were set perfectly!

Which posset recipe will you try first?

Orange, Honey and Lavender Posset