heavy pinch of salt--seriously. Probably almost 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt
zest from 1/2 lemon
2teaspoonsfreshly squeezed lemon juice(no need to measure--a squirt or two will do)
½teaspoonplain gelatin bloomed in 1 Tablespoon of cold water
Instructions
For the Posset
In a pan that is much larger than you need, heat the cream and sugar over medium-high heat.
Add a bit of salt and bring the mixture to a boil.
Turn the heat down and let the cream simmer for 5 minutes. Watch the cream carefully and remove from the heat if it looks like it's going to boil over. See notes.
After 5 minutes, remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice, zest and vanilla. Taste and add more salt, if necessary.
Let sit for fifteen minutes, then transfer to a large liquid measure and pour into serving vessels of choice.
Refrigerate until the tops are firm, about 30 minutes, before topping with about a Tablespoon or so of the gelée. Then, refrigerate for at least another 2 hours and preferably overnight before serving.
For the Gelée
Place all the ingredients except for the gelatin and cold water in a heavy bottomed sauce pan.
Turn the heat to medium and cook, smashing down on the berries so they release their juices.
Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce heat so that the berries simmer happily for about half an hour, or until the mixture gets slightly syrupy.
Strain the berries through a fine mesh strainer, pressing down hard on the solids. You will have about 3/4 cup of puree.
Whisk in the bloomed gelatin. Cool to room temperature before using.
Notes
Cream doesn't have the surface tension of water, so it looks and behaves differently than water. It boils up and will boil over, even if you have 6 inches of head room in your pan. I brought the cream to a boil over high heat. Before it came to a full boil (it'll look like a bunch of folks kicking their feet under the covers rather than bubbles actually bursting on the surface), I turned it down to medium low (for me, that's the magic number 3). Even so, for the first minute or so, I pulled the cream off the heat every few seconds, just to make sure it wasn't going to get away from me. After the first minute or so, the boiling action subsided to an all-over gentle bubbling and I was able to look away from it every once in awhile. If you want to have the gelée on the bottom, pour it in and refrigerate for at least an hour before pouring in the posset mixture over the back of a spoon. Cook time is for the gelee plus the posset. If you're just making the posset, it'll probably only take about 10-12 minutes on the stove.