Sweet Nectarine Posset with Nectarine Compote

[** Note on ingredients: ‘mixed spice’ is a mix of sweet spices commercially available in the UK. If you can’t get it where you are, you could mix your own with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger and allspice, or I’m told pumpkin spice is fairly similar too.]

Remove the stones from the nectarines, and chop them into very small pieces. Put the chopped nectarines in a small saucepan along with the half pint of cream, 3 tablespoons of sugar, 2 teaspoons of honey, and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Gently bring the mixture to a boil, stirring continuously.

Once the mixture boils, reduce the heat and keep it simmering for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring often so it does not burn, until it thickens.

Remove the thickened mixture from the heat and put it through a fine strainer, catching the nectarine pieces. Do not discard them! Pour the strained cream into small bowls, leave them to cool for 10 minutes, then place them in the refrigerator to chill for several hours.

While the posset is chilling, take the nectarine pieces in the strainer, and rinse them under a running tap to remove the coating of the cream they simmered in. Once they’re clean, put them into a small saucepan with 3 tablespoons of water, the remaining tablespoon of sugar, and the remaining tablespoon of lemon juice and place it over a low to medium heat, stirring contiuously. The water will boil and evaporate; once it has, stir in the teaspoon of mixed spice. Keep stirring the nectarine compote over a low heat until the fruit pieces start to break down and go gooey, then remove the compote from the pan and scoop it into a bowl. Let it cool down to room temperature.

Just before you want to serve the posset, pull it from the fridge and scoop some of the nectarine compote on top. Enjoy!