They say that the best recipes are the ones with only a few ingredients and my friend Catty’s recipe for Lemon Posset ticks that box with just three. But even more intriguing is the story she tells of how this delicious dessert went around the world. Last Autumn, Catty embarked on a trip to Canada and New Zealand to visit her various cousins.
She compiled a fantastic travelogue entitled ‘Travels on a bucket list’ so her friends back home could keep up with her progress, offer words of encouragement and suggest tips for places they may have visited.
Catty’s travel adventures
Catty hadn’t seen her cousins for a long time, so those of us reading her exploits could see how much it meant to her to do this trip. The adventure began in Vancouver, where her sister Fiona had emigrated in 1967 and taught primary school pupils for many years. Then, a visit to Sidney on Vancouver Island where their 94-year-old aunt lived. Friends back home were regaled with photos and descriptions of magnificent sights, including driving along the Fraser Canyon, “chasing one of those trains which go on forever”.
Autumn became Spring as Catty caught a flight to Auckland and travelled Down Under to New Zealand, where Cousin Katherine and her family live. Here there were visits to Savage Memorial Park, seeing Kauri trees for the first time and a train trip to Wellington.
But it was catching up with Cousin Vivienne, who lives in the hills outside Dannevirke and is married to a sheep farmer, which reminded Catty of her old Lemon Posset recipe. Vivienne is a keen cook but also a coeliac so her recipes don’t contain gluten. She made a treat for their meal together which she said Catty had made for her when Vivienne visited the UK in 1977. She had always treasured it and wanted to make it again as a special memory of both visits. Here is the well-travelled Lemon Posset recipe.
Lemon Posset
600 ml cream
¾ cup caster sugar
Grated peel and juice of 2 lemons
To serve
Whipped cream or
lemon curd
Makes 10–12 servings in small glasses
Place the cream and caster sugar in a small saucepan and stir as it comes to the boil.
Once it boils, reduce the heat to keep gently boiling and time the mixture for exactly three minutes. This timing is very important to the ‘chemistry’ of the recipe.
Remove from the heat and whisk in the grated peel and lemon juice.
Cool, then pour into small glasses.
Chill for at least 6–8 hours, or it’s even better if you can make it the night before.
Serve chilled with a small dollop of softly whipped cream/lemon curd and/or berries.
Follow Grandma Abson’s recipes
Posset is very similar to syllabub from the Georgian era but is thought to be more of a 19th-century creation. I’ve made this glorious recipe several times now and my family love it. It’s rich and decadent and wonderfully smooth. It’s one to savour for a special occasion, even to celebrate a family gathering after 50 years at the other side of the world!
You can read more about Grandma Abson’s life, her passion for baking and recipes HERE and head over to Instagram @grandmaabson to see Meryl baking with her grandchildren.
More from Meryl White:
- A peal of oranges and lemons … in a St Clement’s pie
- An apple a day…
- Spring into action and bake in May!
CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE BYLINES NETWORK CROWDFUNDER!
