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Pomegranate Possets – Easiest Elegant Custard

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I am totally smitten with these Pomegranate Possets. Incredibly elegant, they use only 4 ingredients and take just minutes to prepare.

Pomegranate possets - easiest, elegant custard dessert. They use only 4 ingredients and take just minutes to prepare. | Mother Would Know

Hard to believe until you try it, but these custards require only heavy cream, sugar, and flavoring. 

Posset originated in England in the Middle Ages as a thickened drink to cure colds and fever. Featured in at least three Shakespearean plays (Hamlet, The Merry Wives of Windsor and Macbeth), the posset evolved into custard, traditionally flavored with lemon. 

Possets have become all the rage among British chefs in recent days, and they are making their way across the pond too. Most of the versions I found on both sides of the Atlantic, including those on Food52, Cooks Illustrated, and Bon Appetit, stick to traditional citrus flavoring. I can’t remember when I first learned of possets, but I remember being intrigued. 

When Susan of The Wimpy Vegetarian announced that our Progressive Eats theme for December would be a Middle Eastern/Moroccan menu, I immediately decided to make single serving possets featuring Middle Eastern flavors. I chose pomegranates and pistachios because they have Middle Eastern roots and go well together.

Ingredients for Pomegranate Possets.

Pomegranates have a long history in the Middle East. The fruit originated in Persia (now Iran) and the Bible and the Quran both mention pomegranates. Pistachios are also native to the Middle East. The Queen of Sheba supposedly declared pistachios as royal food. If that’s true, I can understand why. They have an exotic taste that elevates Middle Eastern desserts such as baklava and knafeh.

For Pomegranate Possets, pomegranate juice is the flavoring in the silky custard, with pomegranate seeds and chopped, lightly roasted pistachios as a topping. Most possets are only a smooth custard, with a garnish just for color contrast. By contrast, my possets feature the toppings. 

My taste testers and I agreed that the concentrated tang of the pomegranate seeds and the crunch of the pistachios truly took these Pomegranate Possets up a notch. The marriage of creamy and crunchy is enchanting.  

Pomegranate possets have topping on just about every spoonful - a delightful marriage of cream and crunch. | Mother Would Know

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Pomegranate Possets - Easiest Elegant Custard

A simple and elegant dessert. Possets are custard made from heavy cream, sugar, and flavoring. This version uses pomegranate juice for a delicate, tart flavor and is topped with pomegranate seeds and chopped pistachios.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 4 hours 20 minutes
Servings 6 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 large pomegranate
  • 2 1/4 cups heavy cream
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • handful chopped, lightly toasted pistachios

Instructions

Juicing the pomegranate

  1. See note below for video on how to juice the pomegranate by hand. (No blender or juicer required - just the pomegranate, a fork, and a bowl.) Measure out 1/2 cup and set that juice aside. After you have juiced the pomegranate, open it and reserve a handful of the best looking seeds. Refrigerate them in a closed container to use as topping for the possets just before serving.

Making the possets

  1. Gently bring the heavy cream and sugar to a boil in a heavy, medium-sized pot. Start at a medium low heat, stirring frequently, and raise the stove heat to medium-high, being careful not to let the cream boil over.
    Bring heavy cream and sugar to a boil for pomegranate possets.
  2. Boil the cream and sugar for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. If necessary to prevent the mixture from boiling over, lower the heat. Immediately remove the pot from the heat.
    Boiling the heavy cream and sugar for pomegranate possets.
  3. Add the pomegranate juice, stirring until the mixture is just about a uniform color. Let the mixture cool for 10 minutes.
  4. Pour the mixture into six 1/2 cup ramekins and refrigerate them for at least 4 hours or overnight.
  5. Just before serving, add the topping (reserved pomegranate seeds and chopped, lightly toasted pistachios.)

Recipe Notes

Use the method in my video for juicing the pomegranate.  While you can use whipping cream as a substitute for heavy cream, the latter is preferable because it does not contain guar grum or other additives useful in whipping the cream. 

 
Welcome to Progressive Eats, our virtual version of a Progressive Dinner Party. This month we’re sharing a Middle Eastern/Moroccan Menu, and our event is hosted by Susan, who blogs at The Wimpy Vegetarian.  We have a full menu of ideas to tempt you into the kitchen and release your inner-Ottolenghi. If you’re looking for something new to try, check out these wonderfully creative dishes!

Progressive Eats Middle Eastern/Moroccan Menu

Cocktail

Appetizer

Main Dishes

Bread

Side Dish

Desserts

If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, a progressive dinner involves going from house to house, enjoying a different course at each location. With Progressive Eats, each month the host choses a theme. Members share recipes suitable for a delicious meal or party, and you can hop from blog to blog to check them out.

We have a core group of 12 bloggers. However, we always need substitutes and if there is enough interest would consider additional groups. To see our upcoming themes and how you can participate, please check out the schedule at Creative Culinary or contact Barb for more information.

Pomegranate possets are an easy, elegant dessert. | Mother Would Know

PS – A lovely reader (Juli) just commented that she made the possets with bottled pomegranate juice and used raspberries instead of pomegranate seeds because it was easier to find raspberries. Look how beautiful her dessert turned out. Thanks for the pic Juli. 

Pomegranate posset with bottled pomegranate juice, topped with raspberries. And with chocolate cookies on the side!

Comments

  4. SallyBR says

    Just a quick question… in the initial paragraph you mentioned butter as an ingredient, but I don’t see it in the recipe… can you clarify that for me?

    thanks!

    Reply

    • Laura says

      Theresa, Many thanks. Yes, it seemed that way to us as we each ate ours and looked around to see if anyone else had any left:)

      Reply

  6. susan | the wimpy vegetarian says

    These look so inviting, Laura. I’ve only had lemon possets, but pomegranate ones sound perfect! Historically, I think the syllabub fits somewhere in the posset – custard lineage too, a dish I associate with the 1700’s (maybe inaccurately). I can dig into it – do you know by any chance?

    Reply

  8. Jenni says

    Ohhh! I’ve made lemon posset before, but now you’ve expanded my Posset Horizons! How wonderful–and I agree, the creamy/crunchy combo is hard to resist, Laura!

    Reply

    • Laura says

      Jenni, I’d never heard of possets before this one, but it doesn’t surprise me that you’re in the know about these little delights. My son and his boyfriend were adamant after tasting that we have lots of pomegranate seeds and pistachio nuts for the topping – they loved the creamy/crunchy combo, just like you.

      Reply

  9. allie says

    Such a pretty and simple dessert, Laura. I’ve never made a posset before, but have seen them posted. Never seen a pomegranate posset, but the alliteration pulled me in and I can tell it’s delicious. Anything with heavy cream! Yours looks lovely.

    Reply

    • Laura says

      Allie, Many thanks. I had never heard of possets until I looked for a simple dessert and the pomegranate version just seemed so natural with the pomegranate “staring” at me from my fridge.

      Reply

  10. Karen says

    I’ve not heard of the term possets, but I love pomegranates, and I have those mini souffle dishes, which means I “need” to make these, right?

    Reply

  11. Juli Lederhaus says

    Will bottled pomegranate juice work for the posset? They are not in season right now, but that is. And TJs has pomegranate seeds already out of the shell but they are expensive. . . so I thought I could use those for the garnish.

    Reply

    • Laura says

      Yes Juli, I think bottled pomegranate juice will work. Just make sure it doesn’t have any added ingredients. (I have noticed that sometimes straight and sweetened juices are sold right next to each other and it’s difficult to tell them apart by packaging. I know this because the cranberry juice I buy is sweetened and the “straight” cranberry juice is sold alongside in a similar container – I once picked up the “straight” version by accident and tried to drink it. Woah! Way too tart.)

      Reply

  12. Juli Lederhaus says

    I made it with bottled pomegranate juice (pure juice, no sugar or anything else — purchased from TJ’s) and then topped the possets with raspberries which are much easier to find when pomegranates are not in season. It came out great. If there is a way to post a photo here, let me know.

    I made 12 portions instead of 6, which is a very nice portion after a fancy dinner.

    Thanks,

    Juli

    Reply

    • Laura says

      Juli, What a fantastic way to change up the recipe. I’d love to see a photo and will post it myself – if you send it to me at laura at motherwouldknow dot com, I’ll put it at the end of the post with a PS. Many thanks for stopping by and for trying the recipe (with your creative changes.)

      Reply

  13. Aamna says


    Hi, Laura! I was looking for a sweet pomegranate recipe to take as dessert to my in-laws tonight and I came across your post! I made them just as you explained and they turned out perfectly. They were a huge hit! I didn’t use the pistachios (because I don’t have any at the moment), but I found the pomegranate arils were enough crunchy contrast to the smooth custardy goodness that the possets didn’t miss the nuts! Thank you for the wonderful recipe–I will be returning to it again and again!

    Reply

    • Laura says

      Aama, I am delighted that your possets were a hit with the family! It’s always so satisfying to know that others have enjoyed a recipe I’ve created.

      Reply

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