Keto Lemon Posset with Italian Cantucci Biscotti. 2.5g carbs. For both!
I practically cloned the entire idea from celebrity chef Tom Kerridge, who made Lemon Posset with Fennel Biscotti for his Proper Pub Food TV series . However. My keto reinvention is of course absolutely sugar free and very, very low carb indeed.
So, Tom, since you’ve shed tons of weight by eating low carb foods, and you now advocate this woe, why don’t you try my queenketofied version of your recipe, and give me your verdict? ;D
What Exactly is a Posset?
A posset is a centuries-old British dessert with the consistency of eggnog. It started out in medieval times as a bed-time hot drink. And consisted of spiced milk curdled with wine, ale or citrus juice.
Posset is currently enjoying a huge revival thanks to many Michelin-star and celebrity-chefs having added it to their modern dessert menus. Cream, sugar and citrus juice are the only ingredients you need. The steps are extremely quick and easy, but things can go wrong if you’re not exact. It’s all to do with correct ratios and temperature. You can read about the chemistry HERE.
Having said that, you needn’t worry about getting it wrong. As long as you mirror my sugar-free directions, after weighing each ingredient meticulously, it will be an astounding success! Do ensure that the cream you use is at least 35% fat, or you’ll have a curdled dessert, rather than a creamy one.
And What are Cantucci Biscotti?
Italians call them cantuccini or biscotti di Prato. Cantucci are rock-hard Tuscan almond cookies. Perfect for dunking in vin santo (holy wine). They are popular, under the name biscotti, in coffee shops around the world. But actually, biscotti is the Italian term for cookies that have been baked twice (bis=twice + cotti=cooked). So there is a bit of a misnomer going on here. And biscotti is the plural form of biscotto, so referring to one as a biscotti is incorrect. Oh, never mind!….
Just to be clear, my recipe for cantucci biscotti will not be tooth-shattering, and you won’t be dunking them in holy wine…haha! The consistency is indeed hard and crumbly – as they should be – but with a lovely ‘snap’. Which means they don’t need a liquid to soften them. They accompany my lemon posset beautifully. The recipe, however, makes more than enough for leftovers that you can use for dunking into a cup of coffee (or other hot beverage you prefer). There you go. Breakfast sorted!
How to Make Keto Lemon Posset with Italian Cantucci Biscotti.
The posset is dead simple to make, with just 3 ingredients. I made mine using 35% fat cream (I’m currently in Italy and that’s the only cream sold here), freshly squeezed lemon juice and sweetener. Make sure you follow my instructions to the letter.
For the cantucci biscotti, there is an optional ingredient. If you want to replicate Tom Kerridge’s Fennel Biscotti, just add some dried fennel seeds. My tasters had mixed feelings about the fennel seeds batch I baked. Some of them didn’t enjoy the sharp-spicy-aniseed flavour. It’s up to you whether you incorporate the fennel seeds. Traditional Italian Cantucci contain Sicilian toasted almonds – no other flavours.
To conclude, I have a recommendation. Make my Keto Lemon Posset with Italian Cantucci Biscotti dessert one day early. The posset really does become beautifully lush if left overnight. And even the flavour of the biscotti seems to intensify and improve over time.
Enjoy!
- Yield: 5 servings
- Serving: 1
- Calories: 300
- Fat: 29g
- Net Carbs: 2.5g
- Protein: 4g
- 200g double cream (heavy cream)
- 30g freshly squeezed and sieved juice of 1 large lemon (or 2 small)
- 50g erythritol (U.S. option HERE)
- ½ tsp pure stevia powder (U.S. option HERE)
- 40g unsalted butter
- 1 large egg (55g)
- 60g erythritol (U.S. option HERE)
- ¼ tsp pure stevia powder (U.S. option HERE)
- 40g ground almonds (U.S. option HERE)
- 20g coconut flour (U.S. option HERE)
- 20g fine psyllium husk powder (U.S. option HERE)
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 30g whole almonds (U.S. option HERE)
- 1 tsp almond extract (U.S. option HERE)
- Sukrin icing 'sugar' for dusting (optional)
- 1 tsp dried fennel seeds (optional)
- bring cream and sweeteners to a boil, then turn heat down and let simmer for 2 minutes while you hand whisk gently but constantly.
- remove from heat and beat in the lemon juice (make sure you sieved it first); the mixture will thicken a little.
- transfer to a glass jug (US option HERE) and let it cool on the worktop, hand whisking from time to time to ensure the erythritol doesn't settle on the bottom.
- once completely cooled, hand whisk the mixture one last time, and pour it equally into 5 shot glasses.
- refrigerate at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight.
- pre-heat oven to 170C static.
- roast whole almonds for 3 minutes or until fragrant, and set aside to cool down.
- in a small bowl, combine ground almonds, coconut flour, psyllium and sifted baking powder.
- put butter, almond extract, erythritol and stevia in a separate, large bowl and beat until light and creamy.
- add whole egg, then incorporate the dry ingredients mix (including fennel seeds - if using).
- roughly break up the roasted almonds into large chunks (a large knife works best), and add them to the biscotti mixture.
- form a rombus (diamond shape) about 20cm (8") x 10cm (4"), 1.5cm (5/8") high.
- line an oven tray with a silicone baking sheet (US option HERE) or parchment paper, place the rombus over it and bake for about 18 minutes - until golden brown.
- remove from oven and let cool for 10-15 minutes (depending on ambient heat); leave the oven door open for the inside temperature to drop.
- cut the rombus into 8 diagonal slices and place back on silicone sheet, cut sides up.
- bake for 15 minutes at 110C fan (130C static), flip each slice over and bake for another 15 minutes.
- turn off oven, pull tray out half-way and leave biscotti to cool.
- once cooled, dust with icing 'sugar' (if using) and serve alongside your possets.
- store left-over slices in an airtight container at room temperature.
You will have 3 left-over biscotti from this recipe. Macros have been calculated on the basis of 1 posset + 1 biscotto for each serving.
Metric kitchen scales are an inexpensive yet invaluable gadget to ensure accurate measurement of ingredients. Store them upright in a cupboard or over your worktop and they'll only take up a tiny bit of space. Click HERE for the ones I use. For U.S. option click HERE.
Your feedback matters to me! Please leave a comment below. If you try this recipe, make my day and share a photo on social media with the hashtag #queenketo. Thank you! 🙂
I wonder if monkfruit can be used for the posset??
Hi Teri, monkfruit isn’t available in the UK, so I’ve never tested it. However, looking at its properties, my educated guess is that it would work just fine.