Recipe: Lime Posset
A thickened cream dessert with no eggs.
Lime posset in ramekins.
Every now and then I come across a new dish that blows my mind only to find out the recipe is time consuming and difficult. Never have I come across a new dish that becomes an instant favorite whose recipe is, if the not the easiest, one of the easiest I have ever made.
Meet the lovely posset, a custard of epic silky and creamy proportions made with ingredients you can count on one hand — and no eggs! This sounds impossible, doesn’t it? Who has ever heard of custard without egg yolks, tempered or otherwise? I hadn’t, and I cook a lot. And then this little gem of a dessert popped into my inbox and I am now a devotee of the posset and all its posset-ibilities!
What is this sorcery? Well, there is some alchemy in the mix; otherwise these little desserts wouldn’t set up so beautifully. I believe it has to do with boiling the cream for a certain period of time without letting it boil over and hitting with acid just as you remove it from the heat. Whatever the magic, you will feel like a wizard when you prepare these for guests and realize it took around 15 minutes!
This recipe is for lime possets but I made them for a dinner party last week with lemon and loved them even more. Next, I’m going to make them with tangerines, grapefruit and blood oranges. I’ll be a veritable posset factory churning these out for several hundred people over the next couple of weeks. Hope you love them as much as I do!
Lime Posset
Serves 4
Graham cracker streusel
7 graham crackers (108 grams)
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons butter
Lime posset
2 cups heavy cream
2/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons finely grated lime zest, plus more for garnish
5 tablespoons just-squeezed lime juice
1 pinch kosher salt
1. Make the streusel: Break up the graham crackers with your hands and add to a food processor. Pulse until flour-like. Add the sugar and salt and pulse to combine. Evenly distribute the butter on top. Pulse until a cookie-like dough forms. Dump onto a plate and use your fingers to create lots of clumps.
2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a rimmed sheet pan with a silicone mat or parchment. Sprinkle the graham cracker mixture over the prepared sheet pan and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until toasted and firm. Cool completely.
3. Make the posset: Combine the heavy cream, sugar, and lime zest in a large pot, one much larger than you think you need — the cream loves to boil over. Set over high heat and bring to a boil. Adjust the heat to keep boiling for another 8 minutes. Turn off the heat and whisk in the lime juice and salt. Let cool for about 15 or so minutes.
4. Add a layer of graham cracker streusel to the bottom of 4 ramekins or glasses or other single-serving dishes. Slowly pour the posset on top, evenly dividing between the dishes. Chill until cold and set. At least four hours.
5. Sprinkle with additional streusel, a little more zest and a sprig of mint leaf.
