The Williams-Sonoma Test Kitchen - The Instant Pot Desserts Cookbook

Ph

otographs

Er

in Scott

C

OOKBOOK

INST

ANT POT

DESSERTS

T HE

CONTENTS

Introduction Instant P ot Prim er Instant P ot Ti ps for Desserts

Recipe s

Index

Cinnamon- Sugar Monkey Br ead (page 31)

Introduction

The Instant P ot , which debuted in 200 9, quickly beca me a wildly popula r countert op kitc hen appliance, win ning millions of enthusiasti c fans eager t o praise its ability to cut cooking time, turn t ough cuts of meat fork -ten der , and cook such mealti me staples as b eans and grains with just the pr ess of a butt on. Master th e basic funct ions of this whisper-s ilent, elect ric, pro grammable pre ssure cooke r, its admirers say , a nd you can g ive away y our press ure cooke r, slow cook er, and rice cooke r because th e Instant P ot can do eve ryth ing they ca nand more.

Saut, st ew, s team, pr essure coo k, slow cook the Instant P ot does them all f or breakfa st, lunch, and dinner . And its ve rsatility d oesn t s top at ome lets, risot tos , chilis , and other sav ory recipes . This ind ispensable pot also off ers up a robu st reper to ire of dinnert ime desser ts a nd dayt ime swee ts that rivals wh at s possible with both conventio nal ove ns and sto ve-to p cooking. Wi th just a couple of b asic functi ons, you can cook a rich cheesec ake in about a half hour , a sticky- sweet mo nkey bread in just ov er twe nty minute s, and cre amy rice pudding in less than five minutes.

What s more, the Instant P ot , with its smart sensors and pre cision timin g, take s the guesswork out o f baking . While a conve ntional ov en too ofte n produces a sunk en or cracked cheesecake and dry -crumbed cake s and sweet br eads, th e controlled steam of an Instant P ot delivers silky -smooth cheesecake s and dense, mois t cake s and breads ev ery time. In the following pages, yo ull find a primer on how the pot wo rks along with rec ipes for the se sweet fa vorite s and more. Ar med with this knowledge, countert op cooking wi ll become yo ur go-to wa y for putti ng a brunch- time coff ee cake or supper-time pots de crme on the table.

T HE MODELS

The Instant Po t is availabl e in three sizes and in several models, each with dierent features and cooking programs. Each has slig htly vary ing attr ibutes, but all ac complish th e same b asic functions . The numbers in the mo del names, 50, 60 , and 80 , refer to the size of th e pot, o r 5, 6, and 8 qua rts, respec tively . If you' re pr imarily cook ing for fo ur to six p eople, a model with a 6- quart capacity should be suci ent. The recipes i n this boo k were dev eloped in the William s Sonoma Te st Kitche n using the DUO60 P lus Instant P ot . For b est resu lts, read all of the instr uctions that cam e with yo ur Instant Po t before you be gin using i t.

Instant P ot

Primer

Only two co oking programs are called for in this book, Pressure Co ok (labeled Manual on some older models) , which is equival ent to cooking in a pressure cook er, and Saut , a non-p ressure pr ogram that is used j ust once, to thicke n a pudding. He re is how t o use the Pre ssure Cook pro gram:

Put the foo d to be cooke d into the pot as direc ted in individual re cipes. In most cases, this invol ves either a steam ra ck with hand les or a trive t (s ee page 1 0) .

Cover th e pot with the lid, lock the li d in place, and turn th e Steam Relea se handle (th e valve ) to Se aling.

Press the P ressure Co ok butto n and the digital display will light up. Y o u now have 10 sec onds to se t the cook time indic ated i n the recip e using th e - and + ke ys and to adjust the pressure le vel. A ll of the rec ipes in this b ook call for High pr essure, wh ich is the defa ult settin g.

The pot will b eep and t he lighted display will ind icate th e cycle has start ed. At the end of the cycl e, the po t will bee p again and automati cally end c ooking.

Yo u can re lease the pr essure in thr ee diff erent ways: na tural, quick, or a combinat ion. All the rec ipes in this b ook call for a natural re lease for a sp ecified t ime, fol lowed b y a quick- release. Whe n the displ ay light goes of f, c arefully re move the lid.

HIGH ALT ITUDE CO OKING

If you are using the P ressure C ook progr am at 3, feet, you will nee d to incre ase cook ti mes by 5 pe rcent. Fo r every 1,000 feet above 3, feet, increase co ok times by an additional 5 pe rcent: 10 percent at 4 ,000 feet, 15 p ercent at 5,0 feet, and so on.

Instant P ot

Tips for Desserts

Whether you re making a soup or a che esecake , the basic rules of Instant Pot cooking apply. Here are simp le guidelinesboth dessert specific and generalto re view b efore you get starte d.

Cut or form ing redients from piec es of dough to slices of fruit into similar-s ize piec es so they coo k evenly . Le vel batt ers in the ir pans for ev en cak es.

Grease ca ke pan s thoroug hly for easy unm olding. No nstick cookin g spray wor ks bette r than butt er, as the milk sol ids in butt er can encourage s ticking.

Cover ca ke pa ns and ramekin s with aluminum foil to p revent condensation fr om the steam crea ted under pressure fro m dripping o nto your de ssert .

Cook time s tarts from when th e pot rea ches full pre ssure, not fro m the mome nt when the butto n was pressed . Buildin g up and re leasing pre ssure can t ake fr om a few minu tes to a half ho ur or more , depending on what s being cook ed, its tempe rature, its volume, and the re lease method .

Always wait until the float valve (pin) on the lid dro ps, ind icating al l the pressu re has been rele ased, befo re remo ving the lid.

These tool s are essential for prepa ring the r ecipes in th is book: 6- cup Bun dt pan, 7- inch spring form pan, 4- ounce ceramic ramekins, -pint ca nning jars, trivet, and steam rack with handles . (If y our pot mo del did not include a st eam rack, you can use the trive t and a hom emade sling for lower ing and rai sing pans into and out of th e pot: Place the tr ivet in the pot. Fo ld a 20- inch-long pi ece of alumin um foil in half lengthwi se twice to create a 3 -inch -wide slin g, cente r the sling u nderneath t he pan, and use the two end s as handles to lower the pan onto th e trivet a nd to re trieve i t afte r cooking. )