Thicker than pudding yet lighter than cheesecake
Hi everybody! I’m here with a pudding. This month’s dessert is pudding—again.
Sam made us one for March, dark and sultry with coffee. This month’s is spring/summer: citrusy and colorful. Plus, strawberries! It doesn’t use eggs and wants to be made ahead.
More from Sarah:
When I texted my neighbors to entice them to come over and collect a container of posset, I had to qualify my words: “It’s a niche dessert. It looks like slop but tastes amazing. It’s sort of like pudding but not really.”
My point being: More Americans should make posset. Originating as a medicinal milk-based beverage in the Middle Ages, it’s now a popular British dessert of sweetened cream thickened with lemon juice.
Like chocolate mousse, crème brulée, and almond cake, posset is elegant in its straightforwardness. But it’s much simpler to make: Boil cream and sugar, stir in lemon juice, and set in the refrigerator. The lemon acidifies the cream but the cream’s fat prevents clump formation (if you try this with milk, you’ll get ricotta — there’s just not enough fat to counteract the acid).
I complicated posset’s basic formula slightly by swapping out the sugar for honey and adding mascarpone, for even more richness. The final texture is silky and rich — thicker than pudding yet lighter than cheesecake. The flavor is ultra lemony but not biting, with lovely floral notes from the honey.
As for serving, you can portion the mixture into small bowls or pour it into one larger serving vessel. At a different stage of my life, I would have siphoned it into a graham cracker crust, topped it with a fresh raspberry sauce, and cut it into slim slices. But posset is just as good with juicy strawberries or even spoonfuls of store-bought jam. It doesn’t need crunch or crispness, but it would welcome a sprinkle of granola, toasted nuts, or crushed cookies. No matter the route you choose, do serve it to friends and help me spread the posset word.
Lemon-Honey Posset with Juicy Berries
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