Lime and ginger possets

Mouth-puckeringly sharp and lusciously creamy, this very simple lime and ginger dessert, with a hint of lemongrass, is a great way to end a meal.

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Granted, with food supplies a challenge at the moment as many folk are sadly bulk buying to an excessive degree, this is perhaps something of a luxury to make with the cream; certainly on the bare shelves this past week, yet jars of ginger and citrus fruit were all but untouched!

That said, you can use condensed milk from a tin instead of cream, in which case omit the sugar from the recipe.

The joys of a posset

I adore a posset and it was an honour to get to make a batch of mini passionfruit possets during the semi-finals of Best Home Cook (formerly Britain’s Best Home Cook). It was also a bonus that my possets made it into the recipe book of the series.

Posset is basically a set citrus cream, with the magic being done not by gelatine but by the addition of the lemon, lime, grapefruit, passionfruit etc to a sweetened boiled cream.

Lime and ginger possets

An easy recipe

This is such a good dessert to make ahead, needing very little preparation time: merely time for a bit of boiling and then letting the mixture set in the fridge.

Some of the ginger settles to the bottom of the possets as they set, giving a lovely kick of gingery heat amid the sharp lime.

I don’t always use lemongrass, but I had several sticks to use up and it does work well with the lime and ginger, standing up enough to assert both its aroma and heady flavour. Boiling the cream with the chopped lemongrass helps release maximum flavour.

Lime and ginger possets

As a dessert or as mini sweet treats

I often serve them in small ramekins for dessert, but have been known to pour the mixture into small shot glasses for a very tangy creamy burst following a main course or for a sweet element of a buffet.

Serving ideas

I like to top these with some chopped mango and then served with shortbread biscuts (the recipe for my orange shortbread is here) or langue de chat biscuits (as in the photos in this post): recipe to come shortly.

Recipe: lime and ginger possets – serves 6

Lime, lemongrass & ginger possets

• 500ml double cream
• 90g caster sugar
• juice and finely grated zest of 7 limes
• 4 pieces of stem ginger from the jar, finely chopped or crushed
• 2 tablespoons stem ginger syrup from the jar
• 3 sticks of lemongrass, finely chopped

(1) Put the cream, sugar, syrup and lemongrass into a large pan and bring to the boil, stirring a bit initally to help dissolve the sugar.

(2) Turn the heat down to a gentle simmer and let the cream mixture bubble away for about 7-8 minutes until slightly reduced.

(3) Remove the pan from the heat and strain into a pouring jug, pressing well to squeeze out as much lemongrass flavour as you can. Stir in the ginger, lime juice and most of the lime zest.

(4) Pour into small ramekins and leave to set in the fridge for several hours or overnight. Sprinkle over some of the remaining lime zest when set.

Lime and ginger possets

Author: Philip

Finalist on Britain’s Best Home Cook (BBC Television 2018). Published recipe writer with a love of growing fruit & veg, cooking, teaching and eating good food. View all posts by Philip