Elderflower, Mandarin, Honey and Clove Posset

I love this delightful, simple recipe for elderflower posset from The Staff Canteen, divine as heaven, especially with fresh elderflower. I made it earlier this year with freshly harvested elderflowers, and it was decadently creamy, smooth and delicious. 

I decided to adapt it with some additions that I think are absolutely glorious, and elevated the dried elderflower that I used for this batch. I had a couple of mandarins, and decided to replace the sugar in the recipe with wildflower honey, and then clove to bring in a bit of spice that perfectly compliments all of it. I think the final result is maybe one of the best desserts ever! 

I do notice that it is slightly less firmly set than the batch with sugar, so I assume this is due to the honey swap, but it is still fine as it is after some time setting up in the fridge. The next time I make this, I will cut the sweetener, as I find it a bit too sweet for me, preferring to enjoy the taste of the sweet tang of soured milk. I think I would try less than a quarter cup of honey and see how that tastes. But if you enjoy a sweeter thing, this is so, so good as is.

I love my version with the mandarin peel and juice, which likely added more sweetness to this batch. I also think I maybe should have measured the juice of them to see how much was squeezed from the two small ones I used. 

Here's my version of the above linked recipe: 

Elderflower, Mandarin, Honey and Clove Posset

Ingredients: 

• 2 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1/3 cup raw honey (if I make this again, I'll use less)
• Zest and juice of 2 mandarins
• 1/2 cup dried elderflowers
• Sprinkle of ground cloves, to taste

Directions: 

1. Bring cream to a boil, then remove from heat.  
2. Add mandarin zest and juice. 
3. Add elderflowers (I placed mine in a large bouquet Garni strainer thing so that I wouldn't have to strain them out later) and return to boil for 90 seconds. 
4. Remove from heat, stir in cloves and honey until it melts.
5. Let infuse for about 15 minutes. 
6. Remove strainer or strain out the elderflowers through a sieve. 
7. Pour into preferred containers (I reuse my French yogurt pots) and let set on the counter for a couple of hours to cool. I used small squares of foil to cover my little pots. 
8. Place in fridge to fully set and cool.