Lemon Posset with Shortbread
Three ingredients, zero cooking skills, one unbelievably silky lemon dessert. This is my secret weapon for dinner parties.
Desserts · Prep 5 min · Cook 5 min · Serves 4 · Easy · By Tina · Published
Ingredients
- 500 ml heavy cream, at least 35% fat
- 130 g sugar
- 2 large lemons, juiced (about 80ml)
- 100 g fresh berries, for serving
- 4 shortbread cookies, for serving
A posset is the most ridiculous dessert in existence because it is three ingredients — cream, sugar, lemon — and it tastes like you went to pastry school.
You heat cream and sugar, add lemon juice, pour into glasses, and refrigerate. The acid in the lemon sets the cream into this impossibly silky, barely-set custard. No eggs, no gelatin, no tempering, no stress.
I serve this at dinner parties when I want to end the meal with something elegant but I have spent all my energy on the main course. It never fails to impress.
Pro Tips
- Use heavy cream with at least 35% fat. Lower-fat cream will not set properly.
- Simmer the cream and sugar for exactly 3 minutes. Not more, not less.
- Add the lemon juice while the cream is still hot and stir gently.
- Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Overnight is better.
Serving
Serve in small glasses or ramekins — it is rich, so portions should be small. Top with fresh berries and a buttery shortbread cookie on the side for crumbling.
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