Instant Pot Black Forest Bread Pudding

This recipe is basically the most beautiful union of two of my favorite things: my instant pot and bread pudding. I also happen to like chocolate, so there is that, too. The recipe is adapted from Coco Morante’s fabulous new cookbook, The Ultimate Instant Pot. This is her second pressure cooker book, and I have been loving on, and making stuff from, her first one, for a good while now. I chose to share this particular recipe from the book with you because of the union described above. Plus, Coco’s recipes are excellent (clearly written and reliable) and you would be well served making any number of them.
If you are new to the world of the instant pot, it is a time saver, makes kitchen clean-up about a billion times easier, and for some things—large cuts of meat, beans, etc.—it is also a flat-out “instant” way to put dinner on the table. This bread pudding “bakes up” quickly in the Instant Pot—in about half the time it would take in the oven—and comes out perfectly custard-y. I tucked about a 1/2 cup of frozen cherries between the bread cubes before cooking, and omitted the 1/4 cup chocolate chips called for in the original recipe, but do as you see fit. I also substituted heavy cream for the half and half (cause cream) and added a few more cups of cubed bread than in the ingredient list, until my baking dish looked nicely filled. If you are new to the Instant Pot, this is a perfect starter recipe, and if you use yours on the regular (that’d be me), this will def make it into the rotation.

Print Pin

5 from 2 votes

Instant Pot Black Forest Bread Pudding

Recipe Author Jessie Sheehan

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 1 cup heavy cream plus more for dribbling
• 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 3 Tbsp dutch process cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 9 cups cubed brioche or challah bread
• 1/2 cup frozen cherries
• confectioners' sugar for dusting

Instructions

• Grease a round 7-cup heatproof glass container (I used pyrex) with softened butter or cooking spray and set aside.
• in a blender, combine the eggs, cream, sugar, cocoa powder, salt and cinnamon, and blend for about 30 seconds.
• Put the bread in a large bowl and pour the egg mixture over it, add the cherries, and gently mix by hand with a rubber spatula, until all of the cubes have been soaked with the liquid. Transfer to the prepared dish and cover with tin foil. Let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes.
• Pour 1 1/2 cups water in to the instant pot and place the IP's metal steam rack on the bottom of the pot, with the handles resting along the sides. place the pudding on the steam rack and close the instant pot, securing the lid, and making sure the valve is set to sealing. Select the manual setting, and set the cooking time for 25 minutes. The pot will take about 10 minutes to come to pressure.
• When the cooking program ends, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes and then move the valve to venting. Open the pot and using potholders lift the rack out of the pot by the handles. Uncover the dish carefully.
• Serve warm with a dusting of confectioners' sugar and a dribble of heavy cream.