Lemon Posset with Hazelnut Shortbread
A three-ingredient dessert that has graced good tables for centuries — silky, tart and impossibly elegant.
A posset is a beautiful trick — cream, sugar and lemon, coaxed into a set so silky it spoons like custard. It is the oldest dessert in the English repertoire and still among the best.
Make it the morning of a dinner party. It keeps perfectly and leaves you free to be a guest at your own table.
Ingredients
- 600ml double cream
- 150g caster sugar
- Zest and juice of 3 lemons
- For the shortbread: 150g plain flour
- 100g unsalted butter, cold, cubed
- 50g caster sugar
- 50g toasted hazelnuts, finely ground
Method
- 1
For the posset: pour the cream and sugar into a saucepan and heat gently until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a simmer and cook for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the lemon zest and juice, and leave to cool for 10 minutes.
- 2
Strain into four small glasses or cups. Cool to room temperature, then chill for at least 4 hours, until set.
- 3
For the shortbread: rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar and ground hazelnuts and bring together into a dough. Roll to 1cm thick, cut into fingers and chill for 20 minutes.
- 4
Bake at 160°C (140°C fan) for 18–20 minutes until pale gold. Cool on the tray — they firm as they cool. Serve a shortbread finger alongside each posset.
The set comes entirely from the lemon reacting with the cream — no gelatine, no fuss. If it seems loose before chilling, trust it; it will thicken considerably as it cools.
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