Simple, rich and creamy, cheesecake is hard to resist. Sometimes there is a little tang from a sour cream topping or maybe it’s topped with fresh fruit, often strawberries or cherries. The traditional method takes hour. But perfect cheesecake in the pressure cooker? It takes just minutes with fantastic results!
Perfect Pressure Cooker Cheesecake
Cheesecake is a favorite dessert but 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. A regular size cheesecake usually serves 12-16 people so a lot can be leftover and that's too much temptation lurking in the refrigerator.
Cheesecake In The Pressure Cooker?
With the purchase of a pressure cooker 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. 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.
Just Mix and Pour
After making the crust, mixing and pouring, then placing in the pressure cooker, it only takes 15 minutes at high pressure. Allow the pressure to come down naturally, 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 a few hours or an overnight chill it becomes more dense and velvety like a traditional cheesecake.
After combining room temperature cream cheese and the rest of your ingredients in a food processor (or hand mixer), pour it into your prepared pan. I’ve tried both 7″ and 8″ springform pans and the 7″ size and like the results from the 7″ better. The pans seem to have disappeared from local cooking stores, but you can order them off Amazon.
For a Gluten-Free Crust
For a gluten-free crust, I use organic, gluten-free ginger snap cookies. I found them at Whole Foods. Check their website for where they are sold in your area. To make the crumbs, whirl the 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 like the extra flavor from the ginger cookies, either regular or gluten-free.
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” - 8" springform pan, and a trivet that fits in your pressure cooker. The trivet elevates the pan above the pressure cooker bottom. I use an 8-quart Fagor pressure cooker, but the model I have is old and seems to have disappeared. I'm sure it would work in the newer "instant pot" style cookers, but I've not tried it.
📖 Recipe
Perfect Pressure Cooker Cheesecake
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 teaspoon soft butter for greasing the pan
- ½ cup finely crushed ginger cookies regular or gluten-free
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
Cheesecake Filling
- 16 ounces regular cream cheese
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1-2 teaspoons grated fresh lemon zest
- 1-2 teaspoons fresh orange zest
- 1 teaspoon good quality vanilla almond is good too
Instructions
- Prepare a foil strip for lifting the cake out of the pressure cooker by taking an 18” strip of foil and double folding it twice lengthwise. Set trivet inside the pressure cook and ad 2 cups of water. Place the foil strip on the bottom of the pan and up the sides.
- Grease the bottom and sides of the springform pan with the 1 teaspoon of soft butter. In a small bowl, mis the cookie crumbs and the melted butte together, then pour the crumbs into the springform pan. Pat most of the crumbs on the bottom with a little up the sides, 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.
- With a food processor or electric hand mixer, puree the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Blend in the eggs, lemon juice, both zests and vanilla. Do not overwork the batter. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
- Carefully lower the pan into the pressure cooker, keeping it level. Fold the foil strips down so that they do not interfere with closing the lid. Lock the lid in place. Over high heat bring to high pressure, then lower the heat to maintain pressure and time for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, turn off the heat and allow the pressure to come down naturally. It takes mine 7-10 minutes.
- 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.
- To un-mold after cooling and chilling, run a thin knife around the inside of the pan, release the spring and remove the pan rim. To serve, garnish as desired. To slice easily, see trick below!
Fran says
I have a 4 q figure pressure cooker. Will that work as well?
Sally Cameron says
Hi Fran, honestly I have not tried it in that size of a PC. It should work as long as the springform fits in your model. Hope you try it an enjoy. let me know.