Brockmans & Tonic Posset

Did you know that the posset dates back to ancient Greece where oil, wine, cheese and old grains were mixed to create a thick mixture? Medieval Britain brought about a change in recipes, whereby milk curdled with alcohol served as a warming bedtime drink or cold and flu remedy. Only in the 18th century did ground biscuits, citrus and egg yolks begin to make an appearance…

We set out to branch the modern posset with that of its ancestor. Fran Villani, otherwise known as The Graphic Foodie, set herself the challenge of doing exactly that with her creation of the Brockmans & Tonic Posset. Based in Brighton, her blog is a mix of restaurant recommendations and reviews, design as it pertains to food, and glimpses of her Italian heritage through recipes inspired from Abruzzo. Her eye for detail and design shines through her mouth-watering photography, well-crafted posts and most importantly, in the way she blends flavours in her recipe creations. Our Brockmans & Tonic possets are the perfect blend of zesty lemon flavour with a kick of Brockmans. Too round it all out, cucumber and tonic-inspired fizz sherbet cut through the sour and wild berry notes for a nice finish. Easy to prepare in advance, make a few of these and pop them in the fridge for a sweet finish to your night.

Brockmans & Tonic Posset

By Fran Villani

Serves 4

Posset

• 500ml Double cream
• 125g Caster Sugar
• Finely grated lemon rind of ½ lemon
• 5 tbsp Lemon juice
• 3½ tbsp Brockmans Gin

Cucumber

• ½ a cucumber
• 50g Caster Sugar
• 50ml Water
• Salt

Sherbet

• 25g Caster Sugar
• ¼ tsp powdered citric acid (from the chemist or good cook/brewery shop)

To garnish

• Lemon zest
• Edible flowers ie borage flowers or pansies (optional)

Method

To make the posset

1. Into a pan pour the cream, caster sugar and lemon rind. Heat slowly over a very low heat (very important) until the sugar has completely dissolved, stirring frequently. Increase the heat and simmer gently for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. The cream mixture should start to gently bubble.
2. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice and Brockmans Gin.
3. Strain through a fine sieve (or carefully through a tea strainer) into a jug.
4. Prepare 4 small serving dishes and pour the sieved mixture equally into them.
5. Cool completely then chill for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight.

Cucumber cubes

1. Gently heat the caster sugar and water in a pan until thoroughly dissolved. Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely.
2. Meanwhile, peel and remove the central seed of the cucumber and cut neatly into small cubes, about 5mm.
3. Place the cucumber in a fine sieve and sprinkle with salt. Allow to stand for 5 minutes.
4. Rinse the cucumber thoroughly and pat dry.
5. Place into the cooled sugar syrup and chill for 3-4 hours.

To make the sherbet

Combine both ingredients and mix well.

To serve

Remove the posset from the fridge. Drain the cucumber cubes and pat dry. Place a small pile of cucumber cubes and some lemon zest on top of each posset, then sprinkle with sherbet. If using, add a borage flower (or other decorative, edible flower) and serve.