Gluten-Free Cheesecake (Instant Pot)
Cheesecake is a snap to make with a pressure cooker, and this little size is perfect for a small group. Top with fresh berries or berry sauce. For a gluten-free crust, I use GF ginger snap cookies, GF oat cookies, or GF graham cookies.
Servings: 6 to 8
Calories: 455kcal
Equipment
- Aluminum foil
- 6 quart electric pressure cooker I Use an Instant Pot 6 qt Duo
- Food Processor or electric hand mixer
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 teaspoon soft butter for greasing the pan
- 3 ½ ounces graham crackers/cookies or ginger cookies gluten-free or regular
- 3 tablespoons butter melted
Cheesecake Filling
- 16 ounces regular cream cheese
- ½ cup sugar for no-sugar see notes below
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh lemon zest optional
- 1 teaspoon fresh orange zest optional
- 1 teaspoon good quality vanilla almond is good too
Instructions
Ready the pressure cooker and pan
- 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 trivet and up the sides.
Make the crust
- Crush the cookies fine in a food processor or in a zip bag with a rolling pin.In a small bowl, mix the cookie crumbs and the melted butter 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.Butter the bottom and sides of the springform pan with the 1 teaspoon of soft butter.
Make the batter
- In the bowl of a food processor puree the cream cheese and sugar until smooth, about 15 seconds. Blend in the eggs, lemon juice, zest, and vanilla, about another 10 seconds. Do not overwork the batter. Pour batter into the prepared pan.Note: without a food processor use an electric hand mixer and a medium bowl.
- 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. Set the Instant Pot to high pressure for 19 minutes. When time is up, press the cancel button and allow the pressure cooker to go through a natural release for 10 minutes, then release any extra pressure manually.
- 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.When cool, cover the cheesecake with plastic wrap and refrigerate the cheesecake for 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 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!
Notes
Some recipes 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.
Slicing trick - use a long piece of unwaxed, unflavored dental floss for clean slices. Works great.
Adapted from the Pressure Perfect cookbook by Lorna Sass.
Nutrition
Calories: 455kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 34g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 145mg | Sodium: 354mg | Potassium: 128mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 1186IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 98mg | Iron: 1mg