Blood orange posset

Blood orange season

You don’t have to use blood oranges in this recipe: ordinary ones will make just as delicious a dessert. But blood oranges are so fabulous, tinting the posset pink, adding sweetness and almost raspberry flavour that it’s good to make posset when those crimson beauties are in season.

Blood oranges turn up in UK shops in late January and, contrary to what I’d thought, last all the way until almost May. So the orange season is altogether very long indeed, obviously if you want to stick to the fruit grown on the same continent as where you live, which you should.

The posset posse

The most frequently encountered posset though is lemon flavoured. And it is in fact far too infrequently encountered as it is.

I’m at a loss why: it’s delicious, it’s cheap and it’s ridiculously easy to make. You can boost it and embellish (more about it later) and you can make it well in advance of serving.

Do restaurants consider it below par? I certainly don’t – I think it is in my definite top ten desserts of all. I am firmly one of the posset posse.

How to make posset?

Forget restaurants: it’s as I said stupidly easy to make so let’s enjoy it at home instead.

All it takes is three ingredients. You need to have double cream, and it needn’t actually be super fresh because it gets cooked. Sugar, obviously, and the citrus: the last can be a couple of blood oranges, one large juicy ordinary one or, in the simplest form, a shot of lemon juice.

The cream and sugar are brought to the boil and simmer for a couple of minutes, for the sugar to dissolve and the cream to slightly thicken and lose its raw edge.

Then the citrus juice goes in, with or without the corresponding zest, and that’s it!

After ten minutes or so you can pour the posset into appropriate vessels, posh if serving to guests, everyday cups if for your and family enjoyment. Though obviously no reason why you and family should not sup the posset from fancy shot or cocktail glasses too.

Microwave mug posset

But the best thing about this dessert is that it can satisfy a sudden craving for a sweet treat which isn’t chocolate or a biscuit.

For that purpose measure out just under half a mug of double cream and stir a generous tablespoon (or less) of sugar into it. Microwave carefully at 15 second bursts, two or three of them once the cream starts to furiously bubble.

Remove the mug from the microwave, squeeze in a tablespoon of lemon juice (or blood or otherwise orange, naturally), let it cool then chill and you can tuck into it with bliss. With or without a plain or shortbread biscuit to dip or crumble in.

How to serve blood orange posset?

Apart from a biscuit, there are other options of embellishing this simple pudding.

Reserve some blood orange (or otherwise) zest to sprinkle over set dessert. Other fabulous sprinkles are raw cocoa nibs: I always have a bag or tub in the store cupboard because I love munching on them. Sugar free, deep in dark chocolate flavour, they are a wonderful healthy nibble.

But you can also grate dark or milk or white chocolate, generously, over posset for serving. Adorn the cups with seasonal berries if you wish, or pomegranate seeds. You can whip a little double cream and pipe a decorative dollop, or a quenelle of crème fraiche.

You can serve posset with chocolate or vanilla sauce, homemade or shop-bought, or custard, perhaps for a slight overkill in sweetness.

And last but not least, segmented chunks of same blood orange piled on the surface will be the perfect way in my view.

More blood orange recipes

Blood orange loaf cake bursting with flavour of those late winter seasonal beauties, blood oranges. The zest, the juice and the segments of blood oranges make up a wonderful dessert, mixed into a very easy, buttermilk and olive oil batter.

Blood orange and poppy seed muffin recipe, easy and quick, makes a lovely dessert or post-brunch or lunch sweet. You can add chocolate chips to the blood orange muffin mix.

Mixed citrus and radicchio salad is bursting with vibrant flavours. Peeled and sliced blood and regular oranges, grapefruits, and zesty radicchio, this bitter sweet symphony is perfect for a light lunch or as a colourful side at dinner. Also, rich in vitamins and antioxidants!

More easy cream dessert recipes

Chantilly cream and pistachio mille-feuille made with ready made all-butter puff pastry, whipped cream and sweet pistachio crumbs. My easy version of the classic French, ‘thousand leaves’ dessert.

Strawberry fool is the supreme of strawberries and cream, with layers of vanilla scented whipped cream and gorgeous fresh strawberry puree, barely sweetened.

Classic creamy panna cotta is the simple and exquisite Italian dessert. Vanilla flavoured, with whole milk and cream and only enough gelatine to keep it set, served with passion fruit puree.