Do you love sweet and simple desserts that cook in no time yet make you feel like you are eating some hoity-toity four-star masterpiece? I have the recipe for you. This Easy Lemon Posset with Raspberries is made with just lemon juice, sugar, and cream for an amazing citrusy indulgent treat.
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If you haven't had a posset, this may start your cravings. The texture of this chilled custard is remarkably smooth, almost like velvet, and very creamy. It's similar to a mousse, but so much better.
The Perfect Dessert For Special Occasions
Whenever you're in the mood for a standout dessert, whether it's for Mother's Day, birthdays, or just a cozy dinner date, this posset is the way to go.
But hey, I just don't think you need a special occasion, so treat yourself any time of day and cook up this decadent dessert for your afternoon pick-me-up or a late-night indulgence. Trust me, it's always the right time for a little lemony sweetness.
What Is A Posset?
- I know you are curious. A Posset is an English dessert that is not widely known in the U.S. I don't know why; I guess creme brulee became more popular. I just know I have become obsessed with it.
- Here is your history lesson for today. A posset goes way back to medieval times and was a drink usually made with milk and some type of alcohol that would cause the drink to curdle; oh yum! Lady Macbeth, from Shakespeare, used the posset drink to poison her prison guards; this must have been one potent drink, but there is always tragedy with Shakespeare.
- Over the years, the posset became a chilled, thickened custard for dessert.
- A basic posset is made with citrus juice, cream, and sugar. It is amazing that these three ingredients are all that are needed to make one of the most luxurious desserts ever.
Posset Ingredients
- Heavy cream
- White sugar
- Lemons
- Raspberries (optional, but I like them on top for garnish)
How To Thicken A Posset
- A posset is not your typical custard because it doesn't rely on eggs, starch, or gelatin for thickening. The acid from citrus juice is used as the thickening agent, which is the key to making the custard thick.
- Even though the citrus juice thickens the posset, it is not as thick as a pudding, for instance, it does set up but it is very soft, or shall we say velvety.
How To Make A Lemon Posset
- First, juice all the lemons so they are ready to add to the custard.
- Add the sugar and cream to a medium saucepan; stir and bring to a boil. This step dissolves the sugar.
- Continue cooking and stirring the custard until it is reduced to about 2 cups, which takes about 10 minutes. Once the mixture has reduced to two cups, pour the cream into a measuring cup to see if it has reduced enough. I usually do this once or twice.
- When the mixture is reduced, pour into a bowl and stir in the lemon juice. I pour this out of the saucepan so it cools faster.
- Let the mixture cool for 15 minutes.
- Strain the custard from the bowl into a large measuring cup so it is easy to pour.
- Pour the strained custard into small dishes or ramekins and refrigerate until set, about 2 hours.
- When ready to serve, top with fresh raspberries and lemon zest. These are all optional toppings, so use what you like.
Juicing the lemons
Adding the sugar and grated ginger to the cream and boiling the cream
Pouring the lemon juice into the hot cream and straining the posset custard
Pouring the strained posset into ramekins
Get ready for some refreshing, luscious, lemony goodness.
Tips For Making A Posset
- Heavy cream is required, as the sugar and citrus juice need the fat from the cream to interact. Regular milk or a milk alternative will not work.
- Boiling the cream creates the reaction needed to reduce the amount of water in the cream so the posset gets thick, just make sure to watch your pot so it doesn't boil over.
- For the best results, you want the cream mixture to reduce to two cups, this means occasionally you need to pour out the cream into a measuring cup to see if it has reduced enough.
- It is important to still strain the posset cream so the texture remains smooth.
Try These Other Flavors In Your Posset
Remember, citrus acid sets the custard, so choose lemon, orange, lime, or grapefruit. Add a secondary flavor from herbs or spices steeped in the cream if you like. A pretty garnish on top finishes off your dessert.
- Orange juice steeped with a cinnamon stick
- Orange juice with vanilla beans
- Grapefruit juice stepped with star anise
- Lime juice stepped with mint
- Lemon juice stepped with lavender
- Lemon juice steeped with pomegranate seeds for a pretty pink dessert
- Replace the sugar with honey for a different sweetness
- The simple flavors of just the citrus are simply delicious by themselves
Lucky for us, the posset evolved over time and has become a popular dessert in Britain. Hopefully, the U.S. will adopt this dessert into their menus; meanwhile, you can easily make it at home. After making this rich, creamy custard, it has become a go-to dessert in my house because it is so easy to make, and I like creamy desserts.
Make Sure To Try These Other Citrus Desserts
I love the flavor of Mandarin and this Mandarin Orange Caramel Creme, tender Mandarin Scones, and this favorite Mandarin Orange Bundt Cake.
We have two lemon trees so I have a lot of lemon recipes. I've been baking this Lemon Cake Pie, and this Lemon Lime Cream Pie for years.
If you need a good cookie recipe, bake these Lemon Shortbreads. They are quick to make and full of lots of lemon flavor.
Hungry for more delicious recipes? Try these
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Recipe
Easy Lemon Posset Recipe
Equipment
- 2 cup measuring cup
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy cream
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 2 - 3 lemons enough to make 6 tablespoons of lemon juice
- 1 pint raspberries option for garnish
Instructions
- Juice the lemons and strain. Optionally, zest a lemon for garnish.
- In a medium saucepan, combine the cream and the sugar.
- Bring mixture to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Continue boiling over medium heat until the mixture reduces to 2 cups. This will take about 10 minutes. Watch that the cream does not boil over. Pour the cream mixture into a 2-cup meauring cup to make sure it is at or close to 2 cups. If not, return the cream to the saucepan and continue boiling.
- When the mixture is reduced to two cups, remove the saucepan from the heat and pour into a bowl then stir the lemon juice into the cream mixture.
- Let the mixture cool for 15 minutes then strain the cream through a mesh strainer into a bowl or measuring cup.
- Pour the custard into 4 ramekins, then refrigerate for two hours or until set.
- You can leave the posset as is or top it with raspberries and lemon zest.
Notes
- Make sure to boil the cream mixture until it has reduced to approximately 2 cups
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Nutrition
First published: April 25, 2016. Last updated: April 24, 2024 for better readability.
Thank you for stopping by the One Hot Oven blog. Please leave a comment to say hello or tell me what you are baking; I always love hearing from fellow bakers. Do you have any questions or want to chat about the recipe? Please visit my About page for information, and I’ll be happy to help!
Hello there, I'm Jere'
From learning to cook on a farm in Indiana to culinary school in California, my passion for food is never-ending. Turning on my oven to bake something for friends and family is my happy place, and I am glad to be here at One Hot Oven sharing sweet and savory family-friendly recipes for your cooking and baking inspiration.
Gina
The touch of ginger in this is my favorite part. Great flavor and the perfect little dessert!
Elizabeth
This was so delicious. I was worried the ginger would be too much but it was perfect. Will definitely be making again!