Lemon Posset (The Easiest Dessert Ever!)
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Have you ever heard of Lemon Posset? If not, run, don’t walk to the nearest grocery store pick up some cream…and some lemons!
“This recipe is absolutely delicious! It is my go to dessert year round due to the rich flavor, creamy texture, and easy prep.”
That’s it, seriously…well, and a bit of sugar. I kid you not, lemon posset is one of the most delicious, easiest and creamiest desserts you’ll ever make! Add some fresh berries and it’s perfect for a dinner party. Even though you make think this is a new “Tiktok dessert”, It’s been on my website for nearly 12 years. (This post was originally published on July 31st, 2013)
Back in 2013, I was researching pub food for a catering company. Not traditional pub food, like Cottage Pie or sausage rolls, but fancier gastro pub food. 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?” Turns out this classic British dessert has been around for centuries!
What is posset?
Possets were originally used for medicinal purposes, as the The Oxford English Dictionary defines it as a, “hot 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.”
While the Folger Shakespeare Library describes it as having eggs and being similar to our modern day eggnog. We do know that posset has been around for hundreds of years and that 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.”
After researching several posset recipes online, my head was swimming in disbelief!
What is posset made from?
While old versions of posset used ale or wine to instead of citrus, most modern possets use citrus juice; lemon, sugar and cream. Could a dessert with just THREE ingredients really be THAT good? Yep, that’s it. I was still a bit skeptical…no cornstarch…no flour…no eggs?
Although this recipe is made with Eureka lemons, you can easily make a Meyer lemon posset. If you’re using Meyer lemons, which tend to be sweeter, you can reduce the sugar slightly if you wish.
How does a posset set?
Well, that’s where the citrus comes in! After boiling the sugar and the cream together, you add the lemon juice and zest. The lemon juice causes a reaction with the cream resulting in it setting up. The result is smooth and creamy texture very similar to a panna cotta. While it was traditionally sipped as a warm drink, now it is refrigerated to set up. Allow 1 hour of chilling time minimum for best results. Several hours is even better.
What’s the difference between panna cotta and posset?
Panna cotta means “cooked cream” in Italian. The difference between panna cotta and posset is that panna cotta uses gelatin, and posset relies on the acid in citrus to help it set. Here’s a recipe for Vanilla Panna Cotta.
Can a posset be made ahead of time?
Absolutely! This is a great make-ahead dessert. In fact, while it’s a quick dessert to make, it does require at least an hour or two in the fridge to set. It can even be made the day or night before you are going to serve it.
How long does lemon posset last?
Posset lasts about 3 days in the refrigerator, although it never lasts that long around here, as the portions are small, and the recipe only makes 6 servings. This is a rich dessert. So you can also make the portions a bit smaller and serve 8, especially if you add a bit of fruit on top of each serving.
Ingredients for posset
The best part about this lemon posset recipe are the simple ingredients!
- 16 ounces heavy whipping cream or double cream
- 2/3 cup sugar (4 2/3 ounces)
- 6 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice and lemon zest from about one large lemon or two medium lemons
How do You Make Posset?
First zest one or two lemons. You should get about 3 teaspoons. Next, juice the lemon. You should get about 6 Tablespoons of lemon juice.
- Combine cream and sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over a medium high heat. Reduce the heat to a gentle boil, and continue stirring until sugar dissolves and mixture thickens, about 8 minutes. Watch the heat and lower if needed, to avoid the cream boiling over.
- Remove cream mixture from heat.
- Stir in lemon juice and zest and let sit for 10-15 minutes to cool. (This is especially important if you are going to be transferring the posset into crystal glasses.)
- Strain through a Fine-Mesh Strainer or sieve and pour into pretty Crystal Gasses, small containers, ramekins or even hollowed-out lemon halves .
- Cover each ramekin with plastic wrap and chill to set, 1 hour or overnight.
- Allow to set completely before garnishing. For an elegant presentation add a bit of grated, lemon rind, fresh berries, or mint just before serving.
Can you make posset with any citrus fruit?
Orange Posset is delicious, and I have two varieties; orange posset.
Lavender, Honey and Orange Posset for a delicious floral spin on the original recipe.
Love lime? Try Lime Posset with graham cracker crumbs.
Can you make sugar free posset?
Absolutely! For a sugar free posset which is also low carb and keto friendly, I just substitute erythritol for the sugar. There is virtually no taste difference! Here’s my low-carb posset recipe.
What Can You Serve With Posset?
Lemon Posset is the perfect backdrop for just about anything! Top each serving with a sliver of lemon, fresh berries, a spring of fresh mint, or perhaps shortbread cookies!
Looking for more easy dessert recipes?
Strawberry Fool is another traditional British dessert.
Creme Anglaise with Fresh Berries
Lemon Posset
Ingredients
- 16 ounces heavy cream
- 2/3 cup sugar (4.7 ounces)
- 6 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice and zest about one large lemon or 2 medium
Instructions
- First zest one or two lemons. You should get about 2 teaspoons. Next, juice the lemon. You should get about 6 Tablespoons of lemon juice.
- Bring cream and sugar to boil over a medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to medium, and boil about 8 minutes, stirring constantly, adjusting heat as needed to prevent mixture from boiling over. Remove from heat.
- Stir in lemon juice and zest and let sit for 10-15 minutes to cool.
- Stir mixture again. Pour mixture through a sieve to remove zest, and divide among six ramekins or glasses.
- Cover each ramekin with plastic wrap and chill until set, a minimum of 1 hour or overnight.
- Allow to set completely before garnishing. Garnish with fresh berries or mint.
Video
Notes
- Mixture can be strained through a sieve if desired to remove zest.
- Meyer lemons can be used when they are in season.
- This recipe can easily be doubled.
Made sure I used a timer on my phone since the 3 mins of boiling and 10 mins of cooling seem to be significantly important to the outcome of recipe….
Aaaaaaaand!!! It turned out amazing! My boyfriend who rarely partakes in desserts even loved it!
Looking forward to making this recipe again and trying out the different varieties using other types of citrus.
Has anyone tried making a blood orange posset? Did you add any herbs or spices or would you recommend that I add any? Thank you!!
Wow. I kept my fingers crossed that this would firm up, and it did not disappoint. Using 2/3 of a cup of sugar and a changing nothing else, this was so good, elegant, light. I made it today to test it out, but I will make it again next week for a luncheon that I’m having for a few girlfriends. The little pieces of the lemon zest are so delicious, I will eventually try the lime as well. Thanks for a great recipe!
awesome! So glad you liked it!
Omg, it turned out heavenly!!! I peeled 2 Lemons and bended the peels for my zest. I juiced the remaining parts of the 2 Lemons. I didn’t adjusted the sugar at all for the recipe. I used every bit of the 2 Lemons and perfection was born!!!
Thank you so much!
Whoa. I was hoping that this would become more solid, and I was not let down. This was quite tasty, elegant, and light with only two-thirds of a cup of sugar and no more ingredients.
Excellent!
Haven’t tried it yet. But 5 stars for a great idea! Perfect bit for my Garden Club’s outdoor Garden Party buffet. Going to use the Lemon shells for the cups!
Love that! I need to try the lemon shells. Report back on how it turned out!
I served this in lemon ‘shells’ and it was FANTASTIC! Such a gorgeous dessert for so little ingredients!
Thanks so much! I have to shoot it that way since it’s so popular now!
I’m planning to try this recipe but in the place live, only thickened cream or whipping cream is available. Which one would be suitable for this recipe?
whipping cream and heavy cream are basically the same thing!
Personally, I’d choose whipping cream, they’re virtually the same thing. Heavy cream has slightly more fat than whipping cream but interchangeable in recipes.
Hubby and I just got back from visiting England and Scotland. On the train from London to Edinburgh, they served a ‘Lemon Elderflower Pot’ – basically a posset. I’m going to try this recipe adding in Elderflower syrup (cordial) to see if we can mimic the taste.
Oh I love that idea! I should try it! Let me know how it turns out.
Vickie
Looking forward to trying this recipe, it’s so easy. I love lemon!
ENTER
TEA TOWEL
Though the only cream accessible where I live is whipped cream or thickened cream, I still want to attempt this dish. Which would work best in this recipe?
they are both practically the same so either would work, but for mine, used heavy whipping cream!
Does anyone know how long this lasts in the fridge? I’m making this for my boyfriends birthday this weekend and I’d like to make it either today or tomorrow (Wednesday or Thursday) but I want to make sure it will still be good throughout the weekend.
I’d make it on Friday night if you can. It will last a couple of days, but would be best made the night before. I’d also wait to garnish it just before serving.
It’s pretty darn quick to make so you can literally make it from start to finish in under 20 and then just cover and chill! I hope this helps! Cynthia
WtH is a “oz”? Useless recipe.
I can only assume you are joking with this question? If you don’t understand that “oz” is the common abbreviation for “ounces”, then you might want to use my handy dandy METRIC converter? That will help you convert “oz” into liters or grams. Have a great day!
Silly muppet.
Thank you! This is my new go-to dessert.
Awww! Thanks so much! Isn’t it easy?
Sonce making the original recipe, I’ve also prepared The lemon possett as a brule which was glorious and Tonight I’m using mandarin orange with a touch of lemon as well and a teaspoon of vanilla. It hasn’t set yet, but just right off the spoon it’s incredible.
Aww! Thanks so much! mandarin orange sounds amazing! I need to try that!
Added a tsp of homemade vanilla & garnished with fresh peach bits. It was KILLER!
Thx for a recipe that “way” overdelivers for the effort required
Fritz
I’ve never thought about peaches! Great idea! Thanks!
So could you make this with any fruit (watermelon, strawberries, peaches,) or does it have to be citrus. I would love to make a watermelon flavored posset. YUM
unfortunately it only works with citrus fruit because of the acidity! That’s how the magic happens!
This tasted so good, but the texture was like watered down cottage cheese! Any tips?
Honestly, I don’t know. It’s almost impossible to do incorrectly. If you used heavy or whipping cream and followed the directions, it should come out perfectly every time. I’ve made it literally dozens and dozens of times and it’s never not turned out.
Sorry i can’t be more helpful.
Ok thank you so much I might try it again soon!
a single lemon tree can produce as many as 1,500 lemons in one growing season.
Chamomile tea and cakes are a great combination
made this adding a couple of teaspoons of lavender syrup and garnished with fresh lavender and lemon thyme it was beautiful and delicious.
That sounds wonderful!
Love this! The recipe was very easy to do and very good! I ended up adding more lemon zest. Excellent dessert!
thank you so much!
I accidentally put in the lemon juice after it had cooled for 10 minutes, will it still be okay?
I’m not sure? i’ve never it done it that way. I think it should be ok? Let me know if it turned out.
OMG, it turned out heavenly!!! I peeled 2 lemons and bent the peels for zest. I juiced the remaining parts of the lemons without adjusting the sugar at all. I used every bit of the lemons, and perfection was born!
Thank you so much! I’d love it you could rate it (give it stars) I really appreciate your comments! Cynthia
Turned out great! Doubled the recipe put the majority of them in ramkins but saved four lemons shells for presentation. I added some lemon zest and crumbled biscoff cookies. Used 1cup sugar for 36oz of cream and added 2tsp vanilla. The cookies work well texturally giving some crunch to each bite!
love this! Thanks so much!
Taste wise, was very yummy.
But as soon as I added my lemon juice it curdled horrible and made the texture really gross…is this a normal problem? I’m not too sure where I want wrong with it 🙁
I really want to try this again, need a dessert for a dinner party!
Did you watch the video at the top of the post? It is supposed to “curdle” and thicken, but not look like cottage cheese. Did you boil it too long? When you pour it into the cups it will be thick, but smooth.
Could this be made with a dairy free milk like almond or coconut cream?
I’ve actually never tried it with milk substitutes. Since it works by curdling the milk, I’m not sure it milk substitutes have the same properties as dairy.
Fabulous!!!
thank you so much!