Lemon Posset

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy-bottomed saucepan
• •Fine grater or microplane
• •Whisk
• •Six small glasses, ramekins, or teacups (about 100ml each)

Instructions

1. 1

   Zest and juice the lemons

   Zest the lemons first, before you cut them. A fine grater, and only the yellow, never the white pith underneath which turns everything bitter. Then halve them and squeeze out the juice. You want around 75ml between the two. If your lemons are on the small side, you might need a third. Taste the juice. It should make you wince a little. That's what sets the cream.

   Unwaxed lemons matter here because the zest goes in. Give them a good rub with a warm cloth before you start. Room temperature lemons give up more juice than cold ones.
2. 2

   Warm the cream and sugar

   Pour the cream into a wide, heavy-bottomed saucepan and add the sugar. Set it over a medium heat and stir gently until the sugar has dissolved. Bring it up to a proper simmer, the kind where the surface is moving in slow ripples and the edges threaten to climb the pan. Let it bubble away for two to three minutes, stirring now and then so the bottom doesn't catch. The cream will thicken very slightly and take on a faint ivory colour. Watch it. Cream boils over in a blink.

3. 3

   Add the lemon

   Take the pan off the heat and let it settle for a minute. Pour in the lemon juice and scatter the zest over the top. Whisk it through. Something small and lovely happens here: the cream thickens visibly under the whisk, going from loose and pourable to something that coats the back of a spoon. That's the acid doing its work. No gelatine required. Let it sit for ten minutes so the zest can give up its oils into the cream.

   If you want a cleaner, zest-free finish, strain the mixture through a fine sieve before pouring into the pots. I never bother. The little flecks of yellow are proof of what went in.
4. 4

   Pour into pots

   Divide the mixture between six small glasses, teacups, or little ramekins. Anything that holds about 100ml. Don't overfill them. A posset is rich, and a small pot is generous enough. Wipe any drips from the rims with a damp cloth so they look tidy.

5. 5

   Chill until set

   Cover loosely and chill for at least four hours, though overnight is better. The posset sets from the bottom up and needs proper cold time to firm into that silky, just-wobbling texture that's the whole point. When they're ready, the surface should barely give under a finger. Serve straight from the fridge, cold enough to mist the glass, with a piece of shortbread on the side for scooping.

Chef Tips

• •Double cream, nothing less. Single cream and whipping cream don't have enough fat to set properly, and you'll end up with a lemony soup. This is the one place where the proper stuff is non-negotiable.
• •Small pots. A posset is rich and a little goes a long way. Six small glasses are better than four large ones, and they look more generous on the table even though there's less in each. Trust me on this.
• •The simmer matters. If the cream doesn't come up to a proper boil with the sugar, the posset won't set firmly. Watch it carefully and don't be timid, but don't leave the kitchen either. Cream boils over faster than you think.
• •A posset keeps beautifully for two or three days in the fridge, which makes it the ideal dinner party pudding. Make it the day before and forget about it until you need it. One less thing on the evening.

Advance Preparation

• •The posset must be made at least four hours ahead to set, and is better made the day before. It keeps in the fridge, covered, for up to three days.
• •Because it sets without gelatine or eggs, it's the most forgiving make-ahead pudding I know. Once it's in the pots, there's nothing left to go wrong.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 130g)