Perfect Cheesecake From the Pressure Cooker

A piece of classic cheesecake is pretty hard to resist. It’s simple, rich and creamy. Sometimes there is a little tang from a sour cream topping or maybe it’s topped with fresh fruit, often strawberries or cherries. I fell in love with cheesecake at a young age. I remember my mom taking us to a little place called the La Palma Chicken Pie Shop in Anaheim, California. They offered classic American food like chicken pot pies and mashed potatoes. They had a wonderful bakery too.

Amazingly its still there and looks like it has not changed in over 50 years. Real nostalgia. Mom used to take us there for a chicken pie and a mini cheesecake. They were just a few inches around, tartlet size, and made in disposable aluminum tins. Classic style cheesecake with a hint of lemon, a graham cracker crust and sour cream topping. Going there was a big treat.  Although I loved the chicken pot pies I couldn’t wait for my little cheesecake for dessert.

Although cheesecake is still one of my all time favorite desserts, I rarely make one. Being a healthy eater, it’s a high calorie indulgence – a pound or more of real cream cheese, eggs, sugar, lemon and a touch of vanilla. What’s not to love? A regular size cheesecake usually serves 12 people so if you are not serving a crowd there can be a lot of leftover cheesecake. All of those extra calories hanging around in the fridge can be very dangerous.

Cheesecake is basically easy to make. One recipe I referred to has you bake it for 45 minutes in a water bath, then the oven is turned off and it sits for one hour. After that it cools and then is refrigerated.  So although it’s easy it takes time and attention.

With the purchase of a new technology pressure cooker a few years ago I read about making cheesecake in it. It seemed a really strange idea at first. My experience with pressure cookers was my mom’s old jiggle-top model. I went near the hissing, spitting pot with trepidation, certain it would blow up. Some of them did. Thankfully my mom’s was not one of them. In it she made perfect rice, stews and soups – but never cheesecake.

My new pressure cooker makes incredible soup, short ribs and wonderful rice and bean dishes in radically reduced time with great flavor, but cheesecake?  I finally decided to take the plunge and try it out. The result? Incredible! I can’t imagine making it the old way in the oven again. It’s fast and with the 7″ pan yields a small size that serves 6-8.

After mixing the ingredients, pouring them into the pan and placing in the pressure cooker, it only takes 15 minutes at high pressure. Then you allow the pressure to come down naturally which takes about another 7-10 minutes. That’s it! Then you cool on a rack at room temperature and chill overnight. It’s amazing. You can actually eat it almost right out of the pressure cooker. It’s like cross between a cheesecake and soufflé at that point. After an overnight chill it becomes more dense and velvety like a traditional cheesecake.

The recipe I use is from Lorna Sass’ cookbook entitled Pressure Perfect, which I highly recommend if you buy a pressure cooker. If I made nothing else but cheesecake in it, owning one would be worth it. Soon, I’ll write a post on my favorite pressure cooker soup recipe – French Market Vegetable Beef.

After combining room temperature cream cheese and the rest of your ingredients together in a food processor or with a hand mixer you pour it into your prepared pan. The prepared pan has a graham cracker or ginger cookie crust pressed in.

To make the crumbs, whirl the crackers or cookies in a food processor or put them in a heavy duty zip bag and crush finely with a rolling pin or meat pounder. I found that when I used plain graham crackers crushed into crumbs I needed to add 1 tablespoon of melted butter to the crumbs, mixed with a fork,  for them to stick to the sides of the pan. When I used ginger cookies, which were more moist, I did not need the butter.

To aid in lifting the pan into and out of the pressure cooker, a  heavy strip of folded foil is placed under the pan. These “wings” are folded down inside the cooker so they don’t interfere with the lid closing.

Tools note – You will need a 7” springform pan, a trivet that fits in your pressure cooker and the pressure cooker itself. I use an 8-quart Fagor model but Sass notes that a 6-quart will work too. I found the pan at my local Sur La Table for $8 and the small trivet (to elevate the pan above the pressure cooker bottom) at Target for $4.

Perfect Cheesecake From the Pressure Cooker

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From the Pressure Perfect cookbook by Lorna Sass

Serves 6-8

Lemon Cheesecake

For the Crust

1 teaspoon soft butter (for greasing the pan)
½ cup graham cracker crumbs (or ginger cookies, which I prefer)
1 tablespoon melted butter (optional – for the graham cracker crumbs to make them stick together better)

For the Filling

16 ounces regular cream cheese, at room temperature and do not use low fat
½ cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon lemon juice, fresh squeezed
1-2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
½ teaspoon good quality vanilla

Directions

1) Prepare a foil strip for lifting the cake into the pressure cooker by taking an 18” strip of foil and double folding it twice lengthwise. Set aside.

2) Grease the bottom and sides of the pan with soft butter

3) Coat the sides of the pan with the crumbs part of the way up and use the rest to cover the bottom, pressing to adhere and create a smooth base. You can use your fingers or a flat bottom glass to assist with the coverage and evenness.

4) With a food processor, electric hand mixer or standing mixer with paddle attachment blend the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Blend in the eggs, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla. Do not overwork the batter.

5) Pour batter into the prepared pan.

6) Pour 2 cups of water into the pressure cooker and place the trivet in the bottom. Carefully center the filled pan on the foil strip and lower it into the pressure cooker. Fold the foil strips down so that they do not interfere with closing the lid.

7) Lock the lid in place. Over high heat bring to high pressure, then lower the heat to maintain pressure and time for 15 minutes.

8) After 15 minutes, turn off the heat and allow the pressure to come down naturally. It takes mine 7-10 minutes.

9) Carefully unlock and remove the lid tilting away from you so the hot steam can escape. When steam subsides, remove the pan to a wire rack to cool. If there is a little water on top blot with a paper towel. The cheesecake will look a little puffy almost like a dense soufflé. As it cools it condenses.

Some recipes I’ve looked at direct you to cover the pan top in foil before placing it in the pressure cooker. I’ve tried it both ways and prefer the result without the foil cover. Yes, there is a small pool of water on the top but its easily blotted up with a paper towel.

Sass notes that you can serve it warm or cool. If you like traditional cheesecake texture, refrigerate covered with plastic wrap for at least 4 hours or overnight. I put a folded paper towel on top to catch any condensation from the plastic wrap, which should not happen if your cake is totally cool before putting it in the fridge.

To remove from the pan, run a thin knife around the inside of the pan, release the spring and remove the round pan rim. To serve, garnish as desired. I like a mixed berry sauce.  I’ll post berry sauce recipes separately as well as a note on an exotic garnish – Italian Pine Cone Bud Syrup.

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