You’d be forgiven for thinking the yellow colour of lemon posset comes from the lemon, but actually it’s all down to the cream and sugar base. As soon as you start heating the two, the cream takes on a rich golden yellow and the addition of the rhubarb syrup at the end does little to change that.
Posset is one of the simplest and quickest desserts to make – just double cream, sugar and your chosen acidic liquid; most commonly lemon juice. Since it’s rhubarb season here in the South East and our allotment is providing a plentiful harvest, we decided to switch the lemon juice for rhubarb instead.
We could have juiced the raw rhubarb to produce the liquid for our recipe but instead we stewed it gently with the barest hint of sugar. Straining the lightly stewed fruit resulted in sufficient thick, tart liquid for the posset plus a side of fruit to pile on top.
The rhubarb flavour in the posset itself is fairly subtle, with added punch from the fruit on top.
The History of Posset
In medieval times posset referred to a hot drink of milk curdled with wine or ale, often with treacle and spices added for flavour. It was thought to be a general restorative and a remedy for various illnesses. Later, in the 16th-century, posset was often made from citrus juice; cream and sugar, sometimes with the addition of egg; it sounds rather like lemon curd to me, but was apparently served as a sauce to accompany meat. These days posset most commonly refers to a cold set dessert containing cream, sugar and citrus juice, similar to a syllabub but without any wine.
Rhubarb Posset
Ingredients
For the rhubarb syrup and garnish:
- 250 g rhubarb stem , washed and cut into 3cm pieces
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- 1-2 tbsp water (optional)
For the posset:
- 300 ml double cream
- 100 g sugar
- 60 ml strained rhubarb syrup
Notes
You can double this recipe to make 6 generous servings or 8 small ones.
Instructions
To make the rhubarb syrup and garnish:
- Put the rhubarb plus one tablespoon of sugar into a small pan and cook over a gentle heat until the rhubarb softens but doesn’t break down, this shouldn’t take more than a few minutes.
- If it looks a little dry as it’s cooking, add a tablespoon or two of water, but don’t overdo it as you don’t want to dilute the resulting syrup.
- Carefully pick out 4 pieces of rhubarb to use as garnish and set to one side, then allow the rhubarb to cook for a further 30 seconds to a minute, until the fruit breaks down a little more.
- Remove from the heat and strain into a jug – you need 60 ml of syrup. Set syrup and fruit aside to use as a garnish.
To make the posset:
- Put the cream and caster sugar in a large saucepan (that allows for the liquid to double in volume) and bring to the boil over a medium high heat, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar. This takes several minutes but keep a close eye, as when it reaches boiling point, it expands very fast.
- Reduce the heat a little so that the mixture doesn’t boil over, but don’t turn it too low as you need it to continue to bubble enthusiastically.
- Allow to bubble for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring regularly.
- Remove from the heat, thoroughly stir in the rhubarb syrup and leave to settle for a minute.
- Pour into small serving dishes or cups and leave to cool.
- Spoon a little stewed rhubarb and garnish each serving with one of the reserved pieces.
- Refrigerate for a couple of hours before serving.
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did – if you make it, do leave me a message about how you got on!
For those of you enjoying a bumper rhubarb harvest, here are some more sweet rhubarb recipes from my friends:
Please leave a comment - I love hearing from you!32 Comments to "Rhubarb Posset | Just 3 Ingredients"
Mmm love rhubarb and I wish I could grow some on an allotment too like we used to when I was a child. One of my favourite things!
Yes it’s one of those classic allotment crops!
What a great recipe! I love ones without long ingredients list and this is such a lovely way to use rhubarb.
Me too, simple but still delicious!!
I do love a good lemon posset, but I love rhubrarb even more. Adore the stuff. I tried growning it in my graden but it was a complete failure. Sigh. Considering how mental it grows I thought that was quite an achievement. Loving this dessert!
We’ve had some poor years in the rhubarb front not this year after at least ten years growing in garden and allotment, it’s finally growing well!
I love posset, but have never seen it made with anything other than citrus, I must try this!
I figured the acidity of rhubarb could work in place of the lemon!
I’d not heard of it before so I’m definitely going to have to try it!
I hope you love it, I would definitely try my original lemon posset recipe as your first one, the classic posset, in this era anyway!
I have never tied any kind of posset. Sounds like something I would love…since I like “custard” type desserts. Using rhubarb is a great change as well.
Yes I imagine you would, it’s not wibbly wobbly but kind of like a set very thick cream. So good!
Never heard of posset before but it looks delicious 🙂
It’s so good!
As a huge fan of rhubarb, I’m always looking for new ideas. I don’t think I’ve ever made a posset so will definitely be giving this a try, as it looks delicious.
Hope you like it! There’s a link to the regular lemon version up there too.
Just love your adaptation of lemon posset. I adore rhubarb and almost have the taste of this posset in my mouth. Great photographs too, Pete looks very pleased with his rhubarb haul 🙂
Thank you Choclette and yes he’s so happy the rhubarb is doing better in this spot.
I enjoyed reading this post! Rhubarb is awesome!
Thanks!
I’m off to the allotment now to pick some rhubarb. Got to make this!
Enjoy!
What a fun recipe. I’ve not made posset before. It seem sort of like a custard. And, my husband and I were just talking about rhubarb the other day. I love the flavor. He wasn’t really even sure what it was. But, I think it’s a vegetable that people use like a fruit. Either way, this recipe sound delicious!
Yes it’s like a very rich set cream, there’s no wobbliness like custard but yeah. And rhubarb is very sour so only works when cooked with sugar, but it’s certainly popular! A slightly love it or hate it ingredient!
I love rhubarb any way it’s served and this is a new way for me! The perfect sweet/tart treat!!
Thank you, hope you make and enjoy it!
Ah, one of my favorite desserts and I love rhubarb too. I can’t wait to try this recipe.
Hope you enjoy it!
I love a good posset. Rhubarb must add a lovely subtle flavour.
Thank you Heidi! ♥️
This is delicious. It is made regularly in our house. I layer a stewed rhubarb in the bottom, top with posset mixture and when serving pop a few fresh blueberries on top. Thanks for posting.
Really lovely to hear that this has become a regular in your kitchen! Thank you for the suggestion of using stewed rhubarb at the bottom, and for taking the time to let me know your enjoy the recipe!