Lemon Posset

I really like the recipes and ideas of Jill Dupleix, an Australian chef and cookbook writer who now lives in London. I have three of her cookbooks and she has lots of quick and easy recipes. (here is an easy one for Lime & Coconut Macaroons) She also writes for 'delicious' magazine and has taken the photographs for several of her many cookbooks.

I was in the mood for something creamy and lemony and remembered I had this recipe for Lemon Posset marked in her Very Simple Food cookbook. Jill writes about possets: "In medieval England, a posset was a sweetened, lightly curdled milk drink." (Doesn't sound that inviting does it?!) "The modern posset is made from cream and sugar, acidulated with lemon juice. It is just like a rich gooey lemon curd, without all that mucking around with egg yolks."

Lemon Posset

from Very Simple Food, Jill Dupleix

2 cups heavy cream

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup lemon juice

Combine the cream and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring. Reduce the heat and bubble for 3 minutes, stirring constantly, without letting the cream boil over.

Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice, stirring well. Taste and add a little more lemon juice if you so desire. Let the posset cool for 10 minutes, then stir once more and pour in four 4-oz ramekins, Chinese tea cups or espresso coffee cups. Cool, then refrigerate for a few hours before serving, with a tiny spoon.

Serves 4.

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Just three ingredients, less than 5 minutes of stove time and a few hours in the fridge made a cool, delicious, creamy treat that is perfect for summer. Its kind of a cross between a mousse and a pudding and sweet and tangy at the same time. I halved the recipe and made two servings worth, adding about another tablespoon of lemon juice as I like a lot of lemon flavor. I served it in a small coffee/espresso cup and garnished it with some lemon zest (and even a "tiny spoon" as stated in the recipe). It would be nice served with a lemon cookie too.