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Instant Pot Bittersweet Chocolate Pots de Creme. A creamy chocolate dessert, in convenient serving size containers, ready in minutes thanks to pressure cooking.
I'm making bittersweet sweets for my sweetie on Valentine's Day. Pots de creme are a classic French custard, I use my Instant Pot for small, custard sized desserts. Pots de creme are easy to whip up, and pressure steaming the pots finishes them in about a half an hour. (I'm a pressure cooker, not a baker. I'm sticking with my strengths here.)
You'll also need some specific tools for this. First is wide 6 (8-ounce) jars or ramekins for the pressure cooking. I use Kerr half-pint wide mouth canning jars, which are the perfect size to fit in the pot. Also, I have a bunch of wide mouth canning jar storage lids, so I can cap and store my pots de creme for later. The other thing you'll need is a two racks, to keep the two layers of jars separate.
The only tricky part is stacking the jars in the pot - or, more accurately, taking them out of the pot once they're cooked. It takes steady hands, a good grip, and a pair of silicone pinch mitts.
Recipe: Instant Pot Bittersweet Chocolate Pots de Creme
Inspired by: Extra-Bittersweeet Chocolate Pots de Creme | Melissa Clark, NY Times
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Instant Pot Bittersweet Chocolate Pots de Creme
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 cups 1x
Description
Instant Pot Bittersweet Chocolate Pots de Creme. A creamy chocolate dessert, in convenient serving size containers, ready in minutes thanks to pressure cooking.
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup whole milk
- 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips
- 6 egg yolks
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
- Make the chocolate cream: In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, bring the cream and milk to a simmer, whisking often to make sure the bottom is not scorching. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the bittersweet chocolate chips. Keep whisking until the chips melt into the hot cream.
- Mix the chocolate cream and eggs: In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, and fine sea salt. Slowly whisk the chocolate cream into the eggs. (Don't rush this, or you risk cooking the eggs with the hot chocolate cream.) Pour through a fine mesh strainer into a container with a spout, then divide the filling into 6 (8-ounce) canning jars or ramekins - each jar should get about ¾ cup of filling.
- Stack the filled pots de creme in the cooker in two layers: Put a cooking rack in the Instant Pot, then pour in 1 cup of water. Set three of the jars on this bottom cooking rack. Rest a second cooking rack on top of that layer of jars, then set the remaining 3 jars on top of that rack, offset from the bottom jars to help the steam travel through the cooker.
- Pressure cook for 5 minutes with a 10 minute natural pressure release: Lock the lid and pressure cook on high pressure for 5 minutes in an Instant Pot or other pressure cooker. (Use "Manual" or "Pressure Cook" mode in an Instant Pot.) Let the pressure come down naturally, about 10 more minutes.
- Cool the pots de creme: Carefully lift the pots de creme jars out of the pressure cooker. Sometimes water will drip into some of the pots; gently pat them with paper towels to absorb any liquid. Let the jars cool on a rack for an hour, then cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
- Serve: Serve as-is, or top each jar with some whipped cream. Enjoy!
Notes
Pots de creme last about 3 days in the refrigerator, or up to 6 months in the freezer.
You can make the chocolate cream in your Instant Pot or pressure cooker if you really don't want to dirty another pot, but I make it on the stovetop, because it's easier to whisk in a lower sided saucepan. If you insist on making it in your Instant Pot, use Sauté mode adjusted to low, and make sure to wipe out the pot liner before re-using it for the pressure cooking.
No, I don't cover the pots. It's not worth the extra effort, and most of the time they come out dry. When they don't, I use the edge of a paper towel to wick up any water on the top of the pots.
Tools
6 quart or larger pressure cooker (I love my Instant Pot 6-Quart Pressure Cooker)
2 pressure cooker racks - I use this Pressure Cooker Bakeware Sling as the bottom rack, and the metal rack that came with my cooker as the top rack
6 (8-ounce) jars or ramekins. Half Pint Wide Mouth Canning Jars are the perfect 8-ounce jar for this job
Wide Mouth Canning Jar Reusable Lids for covering the jars in the refrigerator
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: French
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Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 pot
- Calories: 600
- Sugar: 26.7 g
- Sodium: 147.8 mg
- Fat: 48.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 32.9 g
- Protein: 8.5 g
- Cholesterol: 280.4 mg
What do you think?
Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
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My other Instant Pot and Pressure Cooker Recipes
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Duane P says
Awesome recipe. Thank you!!!!
Mike Vrobel says
You're welcome!
Amy L says
I made this for Valentine's Day for my family. They were quite nice! Rich, creamy, thick, not too sweet. We topped them with some whipped cream. I will say that two levels of half pint mason jars will not fit in my 6 qt instant pot. Instead, I filled ramekins, which did stack into two levels and fit in the pressure cooker. I am wondering if the pressure cooking time would be different if one used 4 oz. jelly jars? (which would stack nicely in two levels, and be a more modest serving size...)
Mike Vrobel says
I’m glad you liked it- what brand of half pint jars are you using? And, yes, 4oz jars would have a different cooking time, and I haven’t tested that.
Angie Perryman says
Hi Mike,
A couple of questions, please... High pressure or low? Do you cover the jars when cooking, in case of drips?
Thanks!
Mike Vrobel says
High pressure, and don't cover the pots. Good luck!