Get the recipe: Lemon Posset.
I realized concerning the British recipe whereas working as a pastry prepare dinner in Paris. The primary time I used to be tasked with making it, I used to be nearly positive somebody was taking part in a trick on me. All I needed to do was boil cream and sugar, combine in some lemon juice, pour it into glasses and put these within the fridge? I attempted to query the chef, however he waved me away. Nervously, I made the recipe as instructed. I went again to verify on the possets just a few hours later. To my shock, they had been now not liquid and had taken on the feel of a baked custard.
Later, I realized extra about this chemical magic trick. Anybody who has made cheese is aware of that while you add acid to dairy, it begins to clump. The fats in heavy cream prevents the casein proteins within the dairy from forming curds, so it merely thickens. Sugar, dissolved into the cream earlier than the acid is added, encourages the cream to thicken evenly.
Posset recipes don’t range a lot, as a result of an excessive amount of sugar will throw the ratio of acid to dairy off.Including an excessive amount of sugar makes an excessively candy posset, however for those who don’t add sufficient it can style like cream that’s gone bitter. You may suppose extra lemon juice would assist the posset set quicker, however lemon juice incorporates a whole lot of water, and that can truly impede thickening.
Right this moment’s posset bares solely a passing resemblance to these made of their heyday within the 16th century. Again then, possets had been heat, boozy drinks. “A well-made posset separated into three layers: a frothy cream known as the ‘grace’ floated on prime, a easy custard occupied the center tier and heat ale or spirits lay under,” writes Jeri Quinzio in “Dessert: A Story of Comfortable Endings.” Potters even made particular posset cups, which featured a ingesting spout so {that a} diner might sip the liquid on the backside whereas spooning out the cream and custard from above.
On this recipe, tailored from one I used once I labored in eating places, I recommend you add just a little crème fraîche in with the heavy cream and sugar. It’s not needed, however I just like the density it offers the completed puddings. The longer you let the posset sit within the fridge, the firmer it get. A number of recipes recommend serving it with cookies, however I like my posset with recent, macerated or jammy berries on prime.
Get the recipe: Lemon Posset.