3-Ingredient Lemon Posset

June: National Lemon Month
June 13, 2026: Trooping the Colours

Sometimes the simplest recipe is fit enough for a king. Lemon posset, a type of creamy citrusy pudding, is one of King Charles III’s favorite desserts—so much so that he requests it often to be served even at fancy gatherings.

Italian Chef Enrico Derflingher, the youngest chef at age 26 to have served the British Royal Family (1987-1990), tried to make the best of a situation when a trip to the Shetland Islands was extended due to weather. Kitchen staff were low on supplies and ingredients, and he decided to use the lemons at his disposal and make a traditional English dessert. When life handed him lemons, he made lemonade lemon posset. 

We were inspired to make this dessert in honor/honour of KC3’s birthday celebration; although he was born on November 14, 1948, the reigning British monarch’s birthday is observed in June during the Trooping the Colours event. 

There are only three ingredients in this recipe featuring this month’s fruit: lemons. The acidity of the fruit juice helps to curdle and thicken the cream sweetened with sugar. We topped the posset with reddish raspberries and blueberries to match the colors of the Union Jack. The posset could be served inside emptied lemon halves for a cute presentation or in finest dessert dishes (we used our everyday ramekins). Make lemon posset and dine like royalty during National Lemon Month or while watching the Trooping the Colours on TV.  Cheers and God save the King!

Recipe

(Adapted from Tallahassee Democrat)

Ingredients

• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 2/3 cup sugar, granulated white
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest (optional, see Notes)
• 1/3 cup lemon juice, fresh from 2-3 lemons

Directions

If planning to serve the pudding in lemons, wash and dry the fruit, slice them in half, then hollow them out by scraping the insides out with a spoon. Set aside (we used muffin tins/cupcake pans to hold our lemon halves in place). Squeeze the juice from the innards to equal 1/3 cup. In a medium saucepan, combine the cream with sugar. 

Boil over medium heat and stir to dissolve the sugar, making sure the cream does not burn in the bottom of the pan. Cook around 5-7 minutes until the cream is somewhat reduced. Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice. Let it sit untouched for 15-20 minutes until slightly cooled. Stir to remove the top skin layer. Spoon into the lemon halves or dessert dishes. Refrigerate to set, around 3-4 hours. Garnish with berries and mint (optional) before serving cold. 

Notes

• Use an extra lemon to add zest to the cream close to the end of boiling. Or use the zest as a garnish. We forgot to add the zest but that is okay since recipe reviews state that it can make the pudding sourer if it sits for more than a day.
• If using lemon halves, serve the pudding on the same day to avoid making the pudding go sour. This recipe can fill anywhere from 8-10 lemon halves, depending on the size of the fruit. We used both lemon halves and ramekins to serve our lemon posset.
• Chef Darren McGrady, another royal chef, used to make lemon posset for the British Royal Family, too. Read about his experiences and a little history about this classic English dessert on Hello! magazine.  
• Search for other lemon and royally-inspired recipes on our blog.