Wednesday 27 April 2016

Lemon Posset.

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

I have the easiest spring dessert for you today!!
It's a lemon posset and is probably one of the oldest English desserts I've ever made. Apparantly, it started life as a medieval drink and has now made a comeback as a delicious modern dessert.

So pretty, right? Fun fact: that cup is in fact one of those display items that your parents keep in cupboards. Yep, I nicked it from said cupboard and filled with this curdled lemon cream. Thankfully, the dessert was so good nobody noticed which cup they were eating out of!

Also, you did read right. A posset is basically a curdled cream. But it's the most delicious and refreshing curdled cream ever. The best example of a good curdle, if ever I saw one!
Ok, before I scare you off making this recipe, let me explain. Double cream and caster sugar are boiled together for a few minutes until the sugar has dissolved. Then, fresh lemon zest and juice are whisked in. As soon as the lemon hits the cream, it thickens it up straight away. Guys, it is actual magic! No need for gelatine or anything - this natural curdle reaction thickens up your cream to the most beautiful consistency.
All that's left to do now is to pour the cream into the prettiest cups you can find, chill in the fridge for an hour or two and then go to town with the decoration. As those of you who follow me on Snapchat (muslimgirlbakes) would have seen, I went for strawberries, raspberries and of course with a lemon posset, buttery shortbread fingers to dip. The combination of cold, creamy lemon dessert with the shortbread is actual heaven - you absolutely must give the posset a go this spring season!

A Simple List of Ingredients:
For the Lemon Posset:
1. Double Cream
2. Caster Sugar
3. Lemons

To Serve:
1. Strawberries
2. Raspberries
3. Shortbread

Bismillah, let's begin!

Did I mention that this recipe is also no-bake? More motivation for you to make it! We start with a deep saucepan.

Crack open your pots of double cream.

Into your pan, pour in 600 ml Double Cream.

Our cream is in so time for ...

... the sugar!

To your cream, add 150 grams Caster Sugar.

Once the cream and sugar are in, set the pan to the side for a moment.

Because everything happens quite quickly later on, we're going to prepare our lemon now. Take 2 large Lemons.

Zest the lemons.

I used a zester but a grater would work fine too. Be warned that if you use a zester, you may have to run your knife through the zest to get it a little finer.

Then, slice the lemons in half.

And, squeeze out the juice.

Now that the lemons have been zested and juiced, we can get to boiling our cream and sugar. Place the pan over a medium heat.

Give it a whisk. Because the sugar hasn't dissolved yet, you'll be able to feel it when whisking.

As the cream starts to heat up and come to the boil, the sugar will dissolve and so everything will feel lighter when whisking.

Now, once the edges of the cream begin to bubble and the sugar has dissolved, we are done! This may take a while but when it happens, it happens fast so stick around and don't wander off!

Our cream is ready and so are our lemon zest and juice. Time to "curdle" it!

Pour in both the lemon zest and lemon juice.

Begin whisking straight away and you'll see the magic!

The cream will immediately begin to thicken up beautifully.

Whisk as much air as possible into the mixture - about a minute by hand.

Then, pour the cream into a jug. I found that this was easier for getting the cream into the glasses/cups.

Once the cream is in the jug, get your dishes/cups/glasses ready.

You can pour the posset into any container you like - I went with these small dishes.

And, a few small teacups. 

Once you've decided on the cups, get pouring!

Fill them up!

Once filled, it's time to chill.

Pop the possets into the fridge for an hour or overnight (for best results) until cold and set.


Once they are set and chilled, pull them out of the fridge.


Decorate with Fresh Mint, Raspberries and Strawberries.


And of course, Shortbread Fingers to dip with.


Let's discuss the texture shall we?


Stick a spoon in and you'll see that it's the creamiest set dessert ever.




Whether eaten with a spoon or dipped into with that shortbread, it is amazing. Really creamy and sweet but with a definite lemon flavour to it.


Definitely a change from the usual tea and biscuits!

These lemon possets are the perfect hot weather dessert and really elegant too especially if you put them into pretty cups. Oh, and the best make-ahead Ramadan dessert!

My cousin tasted these possets at my house and using this recipe, went home and made her own. She layered them in these glasses with gluten-free biscuits and chopped berries. So cute!


Make your own lemon possets and have a lemon posset party! Be sure to share your pictures with me!

Full Written Recipe:


Lemon Posset.

Prep Time: About 15 minutes.
Chill Time: About 1 hour or as needed.
Serves: Makes 6 possets – depending on the size of your glasses/ramekins.

Ingredients

For the Lemon Posset
600 ml Double Cream
150 grams Caster Sugar
Zest of 2 large Lemons
Juice of 2 large Lemons

To Serve
Strawberries
Raspberries
Shortbread

Method

To make the lemon posset mixture, place the double cream and caster sugar into a deep saucepan. Give them a stir and place over a medium heat.
Bring the mixture to a boil – not a crazy rolling boil. You just want it to start bubbling at the edges and for the sugar to dissolve.
Remove from the heat and whisk in the lemon zest and lemon juice. You’ll notice that the cream thickens pretty much straight away. Whisk by hand for a minute, getting as much air into the mixture as possible.

To chill the lemon possets, divide the mixture between your chosen glasses, ramekins or cups. Place into the fridge to set and cool completely – about an hour or even overnight.

To serve, garnish with fresh mint leaves and serve with strawberries, raspberries and shortbread fingers to dip. Enjoy!

{Adapted from BBC Food}

This Time One Year Ago:

This Time Two Years Ago:

This Time Three Years Ago:

Keep me in your duas please, and enjoy your lemon posset,

Wasalaam!


Spice Enthusiast
© copyrights This Muslim Girl Bakes, All Rights Reserved. Branding & Blog Design by Sadaf F K.