If you love desserts that balance richness with freshness, this Chocolate Lemon Posset with Savoyard cookies is a must-try.
It’s a modern twist on the classic British posset, elevated with dark chocolate, layered textures, and a hint of liqueur-soaked biscuits.
The result? A silky, mousse-like cream with bright citrus notes, complemented by soft, flavorful biscuit layers. Elegant enough for entertaining, yet simple enough to prepare ahead.
Why You’ll Love This Chocolate-Lemon Posset Recipe
- No gelatin or eggs required
- Make-ahead friendly dessert
- Perfect balance of chocolate richness and lemon freshness
- Inspired by tiramisu-style layering
I am sorry it took me so long to post but there were some problems with my blog, which were finally resolved yesterday. Rather late than never!.
I hope I will make it up to you with this amazing recipe you may have not heard before. Personally, although I have been blogging for over six years, I never heard the word “posset” before.
Apparently, it’s a very old recipe which is now being revived again.
All this happened, when I was google searching for inspiration to make a dessert in order to use a can of leftover condensed milk.
One of the recipes I bumped into was this Lemon Posset.
Lemon is a must in every posset recipe because it is the chemical reaction of milk and lemon which makes the cream set.
As I said, I had never heard of this term before and since I like learning about new words, I google searched it further.
I found out that “A posset (also spelled poshote, poshotte) was a British hot drink of milk, often spiced and flavoured with wine or ale, which was popular from medieval times to the 19th century.”
In the Middle Ages, it was a drink used as a cold and flu remedy. The word “posset” is mostly used nowadays for a related dessert similar to syllabub (that’s new to me as well), which is curdled by the addition of wine, cider, or other acid, and often sweetened and flavoured and resembles like mousse.
The above recipe had heavy cream and since I was too tired to go out and buy some, I decided to use the low-fat cream, which I already had at home.
However, I was skeptical if the dessert would eventually set properly.
Various alternative scenarios passed from my mind, from adding butter to the cream and chocolate mixture or adding egg yolks or even gelatin to set the cream.
I have curdled milk in the past when making “halloumi and anari” and “Indian paneer” so I decided to risk it, and I was really curious to see if it would set by just using light cream.
I decided to take the risk and go for it.
I know that you can’t make anything new and amazing if you don’t take some risks. I’ve had my share of failures while experimenting but that is the most exciting part of cooking, at least for me.
Fortunately, the lemon juice did its trick again.
You cannot imagine how amazing it was to see the cream thicken before my eyes, as it began to cool.
HOW I MADE THIS CHOCOLATE-LEMON POSSET DESSERT AGAIN
Update 23/4/2026 by adding a video
Chocolate Lemon Cream & Walnut Cake Verrines
I decided to improvise further and make something unique, using some leftover Walnut Sponge I had at home. If you don’t want to make a walnut sponge, you can still make it with Savoyard cookies.
As with previous recipe, I made a Chocolate Ganache, this time using heavy cream.
I wet them in a Limoncello Liqueur I had made some years back, which gave an amazing flavour which matched with the chocolate.
Don’t get discouraged if you don’t have this particular liqueur. You can use Cointreau, strawberry, cherry liqueur etc. which also match well with chocolate and lemon.
The decoration on top is optional but I wanted something to match the limoncello, so I added Bergamot preserve.
Initially, I was planning to use my homemade Savoyard, cookies, layered in a Pyrex dish, alternating it with cream and more cookies on top but I remembered I had this leftover walnut sponge in the freezer, which, however, was not enough to layer it in a Pyrex, so I decided to use Verrines. (Verrines is a French term for small glasses).
By the time I had everything ready and was pouring the cream in the bowls, it had already started setting.
This scrumptious dessert was luscious and amazed everyone of us: its sweet, sour, salty and bitter ingredients, all well combined together formed an amazing combination of flavour.
I heard lots of mmmms and other exclamations of delight from my family, who love desserts on the sweet side.
Personally, I don’t like desserts to be overly sweet but the combination I made was out of the world amazing and although sweet, I kept wanting more!
I will surely be making this cream again as the possiblities of using it in other desserts are endless and already can vision some twists to it.
Note: I used coarse pink Himalayan salt, which I bought in central Athens, but if you can’t find it, you can use any other coarse salt you prefer, just be careful not to add too much.
Also, it’s best to use good-quality chocolate with at least 70% cocoa. You should be able to find it in well-stocked supermarkets, but if not, you can use regular dark chocolate instead.
Chocolate-Lemon Posset with Savoyard Biscuits
This Chocolate Lemon Posset with Savoyard biscuits is a rich and creamy no-bake dessert made with dark chocolate, lemon, condensed milk, and liqueur-soaked ladyfingers.
Ingredients
For the Cream:
- 115 g dark chocolate (70% cocoa or higher)
- 400 ml cream (15% fat)
- 397 g (1 can) sweetened condensed milk
- 50 ml fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- A pinch of coarse sea salt
For the Assembly:
- 1/3 cup strawberry liqueur (or limoncello for a citrus twist)
- 12 Savoyard (ladyfinger) biscuits (~100 g)
- 2 tbsp grated chocolate (optional)
- 3 cigar-shaped biscuits, halved (optional)
- 6 pieces quince preserve or fresh berries (optional)
Instructions
- Step 1: Melt the Chocolate: Place the cream in a heatproof bowl over a double boiler. Add the chocolate and stir gently until fully melted and smooth.
- Remove from heat and allow the mixture to cool slightly (important to prevent curdling later).
- Step 2: Prepare the Lemon Base: In a separate bowl, whisk together the condensed milk and lemon juice until slightly thickened.
- Add lemon zest and salt.
- Step 3: Combine: Slowly pour the cooled chocolate mixture into the lemon mixture, whisking continuously until smooth and creamy.
- Step 4: Assemble: Spoon a little of the chocolate lemon cream into 6 serving bowls or glasses.
- Briefly dip the Savoyard biscuits into the strawberry liqueur. Do not soak them for too long or they will fall apart. Cut 2 biscuits for each bowl into smaller pieces and arrange them over the cream.
- If there is any liqueur left, stir it into the remaining cream mixture. Divide the rest of the cream over the biscuits. Repeat if desired for a layered effect.
- Step 5: Decorate and chill: Decorate each dessert with chocolate shavings, half a cigar-shaped biscuit, and a piece of quince preserve, if using.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 to 6 hours, or until nicely chilled and set. Overnight is even better.
Notes
Recipe notes
This dessert is somewhere between a classic lemon posset, a mousse, and a layered biscuit dessert. The Savoyard biscuits add a soft texture that makes it feel more special and a little more substantial.
If you want a neater layered presentation, use clear dessert glasses so the creamy chocolate mixture and biscuit pieces show through.
See also the video with the twist I made to this recipe, using a Walnut sponge cake instead of Savoyard cookies, I wet the sponge with Limoncello and added Bergamot fruit preserve!
Nutrition Information
Yield 6 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 476Total Fat 20gSaturated Fat 11gUnsaturated Fat 10gCholesterol 31mgSodium 271mgCarbohydrates 68gFiber 3gSugar 51gProtein 9g
"These values are automatically calculated and offered for guidance only. Their accuracy is not guaranteed."
Recipes using Ladyfingers (Savoyard Cookies)
Here are some recipes, using Ladyfingers (Savoyard Cookies)!
Easy No-Bake Cherry Limoncello Delight
A creamy no-bake cherry limoncello dessert with custard, Savoyard biscuits, and whipped cream. Includes variations, tips, and substitutions for the perfect
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Chocolate-Lemon Posset with Savoyard Cookies
This Chocolate Lemon Posset with Savoyard biscuits is a rich and creamy no-bake dessert made with dark chocolate, lemon, condensed milk, and liqueur-soaked ladyfingers.
Homemade Ladyfingers (Savoyard Cookies)
Learn how to make perfect small batch of Classic Ladyfingers (Savoyard or Savoiardi Cookies) which are easy to make because here you will learn the technique of making them!
Kopiaste and Kali Orexi,
Jamie
Friday 8th of November 2013
wow does that look good! And I have started replacing heavy cream with light cream and even milk in many recipes because I prefer a lighter dessert texture-wise. Yours is perfect! I have never made a posset and love the layer of biscuits. Bookmarked this one... we love cream desserts like this!
Prachi
Thursday 7th of November 2013
Amazing... Sounds so interesting. And lemon touch will enhance the flavor of this dessert. And pictures are looking tempting. Thanks for the share.
lisaiscooking
Friday 25th of October 2013
I loved learning about possets. Thanks for sharing! The texture looks lovely.
Anna
Wednesday 23rd of October 2013
Wow - that looks & sounds AMAZING! I'm afraid that I don't have enough self-control to make such a thing and not eat the ENTIRE thing by myself! (one of the many reasons I'm Vegan - no self control otherwise ; )
It's fun to look at, though : )
Priya
Wednesday 23rd of October 2013
Elegant dessert, cant take my eyes from ur clicks