Jane's Patisserie Lemon Posset Tart Recipe
Extracted from Jane's Patisserie by Jane Dunn (Ebury Press, £20) Photography by Ellis Parrinder
I have always adored lemon posset – who knew that combining sugar, cream and lemon could lead to something SO good? This favourite from my blog is a very simple dessert to make – all you do is mix cream and sugar together, heat and then add the lemon zest and juice. The tart base here is a classic cheesecake base of digestive biscuits mixed with melted butter.
Recipe
Serves: 10–12
Prep: 30 minutes
Set: 4 hours
Lasts: 3 days, in the fridge
300g digestive biscuits
150g unsalted butter, melted
LEMON POSSET FILLING:
600ml double cream
200g caster sugar
Zest of 3 lemons
85ml lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
DECORATION:
150ml double cream
2 tbsp icing sugar
5g freeze-dried raspberries Biscuit crumbs
Blitz the digestive biscuits in a food processor to a fine crumb or bash them in a bowl with a rolling pin. Add the melted butter and mix together until combined. Spread onto the base and sides of a 23cm loose-bottomed tart tin. I usually start on the sides, and then cover the bottom last to make sure it’s a secure biscuit case. Set aside while you make the filling.
Pour the double cream and caster sugar into a large pan and heat gently over a low heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Turn the heat up to medium and heat the mixture until it starts to boil gently, stir frequently to stop the mixture from catching on the bottom. Let it simmer for 1 minute and then turn off the heat.
Stir in the lemon zest and juice and then pour onto the biscuit base – refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or preferably overnight so it has time to set properly.
When you are ready to serve, whisk together the double cream and icing sugar until you have soft peaks. Pipe the cream onto your tart, then sprinkle on some freeze-dried raspberries and some biscuit crumbs to decorate.
Customise
The filling can be used to make 12 individual lemon possets – simply pour into 12 ramekins or small glasses and leave to set.
You can use different citrus flavours such as orange or lime – use the zest of 2 large oranges or 4 limes, and the same amount of juice.
You can add some raspberries to the mix, or some other berries if you want to add another texture to this no-bake dessert.
