Save It
This lemon pudding couldn’t be easier. It’s made with just four ingredients: whipping cream, sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice.
All you do is warm everything up, then let the pudding set. It’s like magic.
Elegant, simple, and with a velvety texture that is positively dreamy, this lemon pudding is perfect for Easter dinner, Mother’s Day brunch, and everything in between.
No one needs to know it only took you 15 minutes to make.
The recipe is a modern adaptation of a medieval drink called a posset, which was popular from the Middle Ages to the early 19th century. This was a hot milk or cream mixture thickened with acidic wine or cider. It was considered medicinal for treating a cold or flu. Syllabubs, another sweet frothy drink, are closely related.
History lesson over! Lemon posset is fast becoming a trendy dessert, especially in Britain.
The magic is in the thick cream, reduced slightly, and combined with tart lemon juice. The two interact to form an exquisite creamy consistency, especially after you strain out the little bits of zest.
Look through your cupboard for pretty stemmed glasses if you want to be fancy, and make this for your next party!
Easy Lemon Pudding Recipe
Recipe is easily doubled.
Recipe can be prepared up to 2 days in advance.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (473ml) heavy whipping cream
- 2/3 cup (135g) granulated sugar
- Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
- 6 tablespoons (89ml) lemon juice
- 1 cup (about 150g) blueberries, raspberries, sliced strawberries or blackberries, to garnish
Method
1 Warm the cream and sugar: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, stir together the cream, sugar and lemon zest. Bring to a boil. Adjust the heat to a gentle boil, and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes.
Watch carefully and stir frequently to keep the cream from boiling over.
2 Add the lemon juice and continue to simmer for 5 more minutes. Stir frequently.
3 Take the pan off the heat and let the cream cool for 5 minutes.
4 Strain and chill. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a 4-cup liquid measuring cup or other container for easy pouring.
Pour into 4 four-ounce ramekins or pretty stemmed glasses.
5 Refrigerate, uncovered, for 2 to 3 hours, or until set. This pudding can also be prepared and refrigerated up to 2 days in advance. Top each glass with berries just before serving.
Hello! All photos and content are copyright protected. Please do not use our photos without prior written permission. Thank you!
This post may contain links to Amazon or other partners; your purchases via these links can benefit Simply Recipes. Read more about our affiliate linking policy.
Sally Pasley Vargas is a freelance writer and the author of three cookbooks (Food for Friends, The Tao of Cooking, Ten Speed Press, and The Cranberry Cookbook). She currently writes the column The Confident Cook for The Boston Globe along with seasonal recipes for the Wednesday Food Section.
Easy Lemon Pudding
I used 40% ultra pasteurized heavy cream and 1/3 cup Lakanto Monkfruit sweetener instead of 2/3 cup sugar and it turned out perfect! My mother-in-law and I are keto and this is the perfect go to dessert.
xxxxxyyyyy
This pudding was delicious and easy to make…my favorite kind of dessert!
xxxxxyyyyy
Simple dessert to make, smooth, lemony – I used monk fruit instead of sugar and it set beautifully. It should wow guests.
xxxxxyyyyy
Would love to know this recipe in grams rather than cups… are you able to share?
Hi, Claire! Just added them!
Can I use lemon extract instead of lemon peel. If so how would I use the extract in this pudding ? Also would it be possible to use whole milk instead of heavy cream ? Maybe half and half ?
Hi, Emmi! Emma here, managing editor. Unfortunately, this recipe doesn’t work well with any substitutes. It’s the specific combination of the sugar, the acidity in the lemon juice and zest, and the fat in the heavy cream that cause this pudding to set. Substituting any of those usually results in a pudding that stays liquidy and doesn’t fully set.