With just three ingredients and perhaps five minutes of your precious time, you can have a dessert that will be the talk of your dinner party. This airy confection, a cross between a pudding and a mousse, is a classic British dessert (in this case, translated by an Irish chef, James O’Shea at West Street Grill, Litchfield, Conn.).
You may be tempted to add lemon zest to the cream, which is fine, but you don’t need it because there’s plenty of lemon flavor in the juice — and you save the extra step of straining. If this dessert is for grown-ups only, add limoncello when you stir in the lemon juice.
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 lemons juiced
- raspberries for garnish
- confectioners' sugar for garnish
Servings:
Instructions
- Bring the cream and sugar to a boil in a medium heavy nonreactive saucepan, stirring constantly.
- Reduce the heat to a simmer and stir vigorously for 2 to 3 minutes. Whisk the lemon juice into the cream mixture, pour it into small cups or glasses, cool slightly, cover with plastic wrap, and chill until set, about 4 hours. Serve it slightly chilled or at room temperature, garnished with raspberries or blueberries and a dusting of confectioners' sugar.
Recipe Notes
- When you whisk in the lemon juice, you can also add a little limoncello liqueur.
- The posset looks best presented in cut glass — chill the glasses first so the dessert will set up faster. You can also garnish the posset with blackberries or raspberries (both golden and red), adding a sprig of mint, preferably variegated.
- Lime posset is wonderful, too, and made exactly the same way.
- The posset will keep overnight in the refrigerator. Let it sit for a while at room temperature before serving so that it’s not too cold.
This sounds almost TOO easy to work, but I’ll try it anyway. I love the effort-to-rave ratio.
That made me laugh, Colin, because it’s true. But it really is a snap, I promise.
Best, Faith
I have many food allergies, so my ears really perked up when I heard this on the radio today. Can’t wait to try it. But what is Limoncello?
Denice,
Limoncello is an Italian liqueur made from a neutral spirit such as vodka and lemon peel.
Best, Faith
How much limoncello should be added?
This recipe doesn’t say, but I found a similar recipe online (also serving 6) calling for 5-6 Tablespoons of limoncello. That makes sense: a tablespoon per person. Use less if you want a less “tipsy” dessert.