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These lemon possets have three simple ingredients and come together in less than 10 minutes! Make this classic British dessert to be met with the easiest, tart, bright and creamy dessert. Bonus: add some sugar on top to brûlée the top for a crackily crust.
Last year, I went on a rampage with a Lemon Series my social media channels. And I made SO many tart, bright, lemon-inspired recipes (like this pasta al limone, limoncello tiramisu, homemade limoncello and more!). It was a huge success and these lemon possets were super popular too.
Ingredients for Lemon Possets
- Lemons! We’re going to use all parts of the lemon: the zest, the juice and the lemon shells.
- Heavy Cream.
- Sugar.
For the exact measurement of ingredients, please see the recipe index card below!
How to Make Lemon Possets
- In a saucepan, add in the heavy cream. And then add the lemon zest and sugar.
2. Pour in the lemon zest and warm it up for about 5 minutes, until it’s thickened.
3. Fill up each of the clean lemon halves with the cream and lemon mixture. Transfer to the fridge to let them set, about 3-4 hours. I like to do it overnight.
4. Add a half of a teaspoon of sugar to the top. With a blow torch, scorch the top until the sugar gets all toasty and golden brown. Let it sit for 30 seconds or so until it hardens.
5. Serve immediately!
Recipe Tip
- What to do with leftover lemons?! I have a ton of lemon recipes but ones that use the lemon juice and lemon zest, check out my Homemade Lemon Curd and Lemon Berry Meringue Trifle.
- Make ahead. This is the ultimate make ahead dessert. Stick these in the fridge and when you’re ready to serve, add the little blow torch on top.
- No blow torch? Skip that last step entirely. They’ll be amazing!
Recipe FAQs
Lemon Possets are from the UK. They’re a British dessert. I love Eton’s Mess so when I tried this, I wasn’t surprised that it was AMAZING.
The difference is that panna cotta contains gelatin. And lemon possets are set with the heavy cream combining with the lemon juice. The texture is also quite different. I would say these are much creamier than a panna cotta.
More Lemon Recipes to Love
Desserts
Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies
Desserts
Meyer Lemon Blueberry Cornbread
Dinner
Lemon Pepper Carbonara
Cakes
Lemon Cake
Lemon Possets
Equipment
- 1 Whisk
Ingredients
- 6 lemons, halved long ways with pulp scooped out
- 16 ounces heavy cream
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest, (from about 1 lemon)
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
Instructions
- To a saucepan, add heavy cream, sugar, salt and lemon zest. Heat over medium-low heat until very hot to the touch, about 3 to 5 minutes. It shouldn't be boiling but should be steaming.
- Remove from the heat and pour in the lemon juice; give it a gentle mix. Pour the lemon and cream mixture into the halved lemons. Carefully transfer them to a cutting board or baking sheet and place in them in the fridge to chill, at least 4 hours.
- To brulee them, add a teaspoon of sugar to the top in an even layer. With a kitchen blow torch, caramelize the top. Serve immediately.
Notes
- What to do with leftover lemons?! I have a ton of lemon recipes but ones that use the lemon juice and lemon zest, check out my Homemade Lemon Curd and Lemon Berry Meringue Trifle.
- Make ahead. This is the ultimate make ahead dessert. Stick these in the fridge and when you’re ready to serve, add the little blow torch on top.
- No blow torch? Skip that last step entirely. They’ll be amazing!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is a trifecta dessert – stunning, delicious and so easy! Made these for my sons first birthday party and were the perfect light dessert for our friends and family! Everyone loved them!
Hi Jaz, I love that these worked out. Thanks for much for the feedback 🙂
I made this recipe for a dinner I hosted recently. The lemon possets were so delicious and really quite simple! To prepare the shells, I found that making a small cut along the pith made it much easier to pull out the pulp. I will definitely make this recipe again!
Hi Stephanie, Love that tip! I gotta try that next time I make them. So glad they worked out and thanks for the feedback! 🙂
This recipe was perfect. I was shocked at how easy it was to throw these together! Also they were super pretty to serve. My friends loved them!