Orange and Chocolate Posset is the perfect, quick, and easy dessert. Shaved chocolate and chunks of orange is reminiscent of a creamy chocolate orange.
I have a thing for desserts that look impressive but secretly require almost no effort.
Possets fall firmly into that category.
Every time I make one, I feel like I’m getting away with something. Three simple ingredients somehow transform into a silky, creamy dessert that tastes like it came from a fancy restaurant instead of your kitchen on a random Tuesday night.
This orange chocolate version feels especially at home during the holidays. The combination instantly reminds me of those chocolate oranges you used to whack on the counter as a kid, except this version is creamier, richer, and significantly less likely to send chocolate flying across the room.
The best part is that you can make it the night before.
When people come over, I like having at least one thing tucked away in the refrigerator waiting for me. Future Dani always appreciates Past Dani when dessert is already handled and all I have to do is pull it out and pretend I have my life together.
Serve it in little glasses, ramekins, or mason jars if you’re feeling fancy. Mason jars are especially nice because if someone gets full halfway through, you can just pop a lid on and send them home with dessert for later. Not that leftovers tend to be a major problem around here.
If you’ve never made a posset before, prepare to be slightly suspicious of the whole process.
At its heart, a posset is just heavy cream, sweetener, and an acid. That’s it.
And somehow those three ingredients team up to create a rich, velvety dessert without any eggs, gelatin, cornstarch, or other thickening agents.
The acid is the magic part.
Most modern posset recipes use lemon juice, but oranges, limes, and other citrus fruits work too. The acid changes the structure of the cream, helping it naturally thicken into that luxurious spoonable texture as it chills.
The first time you make one you’ll probably stand there staring at the pot thinking, “There is absolutely no way this is going to become dessert.”
And then a few hours later you’ll be scraping the bottom of the glass wondering how three ingredients managed to pull that off.
Once you understand the basic formula, possets become dangerously fun to experiment with.
Changing the acid changes the flavor. Lemon is bright and classic. Orange feels softer and sweeter. Some recipes even use alcohol alongside citrus, which has led to a few very promising experiments in my kitchen that you’ll probably see showing up here sooner rather than later.
Sweeteners matter too.
Besides making the dessert taste good, they help balance the acidity and contribute to the final texture. We often use honey because I love the subtle flavor it brings, but regular sugar works beautifully as well.
After that, the sky is pretty much the limit.
Fresh fruit, purees, spices, herbs, extracts, chocolate, you can take the base recipe in all sorts of directions. Some experiments are definitely better than others, but every now and then you stumble onto a combination that makes you immediately start planning the next batch before you’ve even finished the first one.
This orange chocolate version is one of those recipes for me.
Simple, cozy, a little nostalgic, and just fancy enough to make people think you worked much harder than you actually did.
My favorite kind of dessert.
Orange and Chocolate Posset Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups cream, heavy or regular whipping cream both work
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 cup orange juice, pulp-free
- 1 cup oranges, peeled and chopped into bite sizes
- chocolate shavings or chunks
Instructions
- In a medium-size saucepan bring cream and honey to a boil, over medium-high heat. Stir continually until the honey is fully combined.
- Boil for 3 full minutes stirring continually. You may need to lower the heat to prevent boiling over. If the possibility for a boil overlooks imminent, just remove the pan from the stovetop for a few seconds.
- Shut off the stovetop and stir in the orange juice.
- Pour mixture into ramekins.
- Lightly stir several tablespoons of oranges into each ramekin.
- Cover the ramekins tightly with plastic wrap and chill a minimum of 2 hours. We prefer overnight if the time is available.
- When you are ready to serve, top with a few fresh, orange chunks. If desired shave a bit of dark chocolate over the top for a decadent finish. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Are you looking for other great Holiday Recipe ideas? Take a look at these other posts we have shared.
Easy Chewy Snickerdoodles Recipe
Tasty Lemon Bars with Blueberry Drizzle
Chocolate Covered Pretzel Rods Recipe
Have made the corresponding honey lavender with stellar results. Made this orange and it was very good but didn’t set as well. It may have been because I put them in wooden Japanese tea cups instead of glass dishes. Or they lose Ed in transport as they were in the car for 2 hours. Popped in the freezer and garnished with shaved dark chocolate, candied ginger and pistachios. Such an easy to make dessert that no one has ever heard of!
Amazing! I am not sure I have ever tried them in wooden cups so perhaps it was that. Sometimes if you have overly pasteurized dairy that can also cause it not to quite set up the same. But yes to the freezer trick!
Did I miss the part where chocolate is incorporated into the posset, or is the chocolate only optional and used solely as a garnish?
Hey Hollis,
Correct the chocolate is just a garnish. It gets a really strange texture incorporated into the posset itself.
Hope that helps!
Dani
Hi Dani! I discovered the posset 2 years ago on a site called Gather Victoria. They are also on the West Coast, and do a lot of lovely old recipes!
The recipe I use is with 4 cups whipping cream, 1/2 cup honey, 1/3 cup lemon juice. I have not tried with lime juice.
They recommended just bringing the cream to bubbles, not a boil, and I’ve not had a problem with it setting.
I have also done overnight infusions with violets, lilacs, linden flowers, and elderflowers. All lovely, and the dessert is always a hit!
I’m in B.C., and do many things with all the wonderful wild plants we are so fortunate to have. Our favourite resource book is Boreal Herbal…Wild Food and Medicine Plants of the North…Beverley Gray. I’m sure you would love incorporating some of the recipes , and putting your own touch on them.
Great blog. Best success to you with everything!
Thank You!
Thank you Joan! That sounds lovely especially love the idea of violets and lilacs.
Have a wonderful day.
-Dani
I just finished making your lavender and honey possets. They’re currently in the fridge setting up. Looking forward to having them for dessert tonight! Where did you get the small glass container for the chocolate orange possets? Not the little mason jars, the other glass one.
The little jars are from buying yogurt. Oui by Yoplait sells their yogurt in the cutest glass containers. Happy dessert-making:)
Can’t I use any serving piece that holds ~5 oz. of ingredients (itcluding chopped oranges)? I like to be outside the lines.
Hey Hollis!
You could definitely use any type of dish to pour it into, it will form to match the dish.
Warmly,
Dani
Can the milk be substituted and full fat coconut milk be used instead?
No, it must be animal milk for the reaction to occur that thickens it unfortunately. You would need some kind of binding agent like agar flakes or similar to create a bond and the texture will be different I imagine. It’s on my list of things to test so if you try it out let us know how it goes!
Hi friend!
Tasty and yummy. Great work friend.
But I think if i try it with chocolate and strawberry then it becomes more yummy. What you say about this idea?
Thanks, for sharing this great and healthfull recipe.