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 virtually positive somebody was enjoying 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 examine on the possets just a few hours later. To my shock, they had been 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 if 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 fluctuate 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 a very candy posset, however when you don’t add sufficient it should style like cream that’s gone bitter. You would possibly assume extra lemon juice would assist the posset set quicker, however lemon juice comprises numerous water, and that may truly impede thickening.
As we speak’s posset bares solely a passing resemblance to these made of their heyday within the sixteenth 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 high, a easy custard occupied the center tier and heat ale or spirits lay beneath,” writes Jeri Quinzio in “Dessert: A Tale of Happy Endings.” Potters even made particular posset cups, which featured a consuming 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 a little bit crème fraîche in with the heavy cream and sugar. It’s not crucial, however I just like the density it provides the completed puddings. The longer you let the posset sit within the fridge, the firmer it get. Numerous recipes recommend serving it with cookies, however I like my posset with recent, macerated or jammy berries on high.
Get the recipe: Lemon Posset.
