Foodie Update: I just made this cheesecake for the third time and it was raw in the middle so I can no longer vouch for this recipe. If you do try it, try pressure cooking it for at least 45 minutes. The only thing I changed was putting a piece of parchment on top of the pan to avoid water from getting inside.
When I discovered Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough making desserts in their online class Make The Most Of Your Pressure Cooker at Craftsy, I knew I had to try making one. I turned to their cookbook  The Great Big Pressure Cooker Book: 500 Easy Recipes for Every Machine, Both Stovetop and Electric for inspiration. I wanted to bake in my Instant Pot!
I went to all sorts of stores searching for a 7″ spring form pan but with no luck. Then one day I discovered this pan at Value Village for $2! Sweet!
Let’s do this…
Special Prep
To prepare the Instant Pot for the process, first you are going to want to add 2 cups of water to the pressure cooker and then place the rack on the bottom.
You are also going to need what they refer to as a “sling” so you can get the pan out of the pressure cooker once it has done its magic.
You want two pieces of tin foil that are two feet long stacked on top of each other.
Fold in half lengthwise so you now have a long sling that is four layers thick.
The Recipe
I prepped the chocolate ahead of time by chopping up 8 oz of dark chocolate (mine was a mix dark and semi-sweet because that is what I had) and melting it slowly in a stainless steel bowl over over warm water.
To make the crust, I combined 1 1/4 cup chocolate baking crumbs and 5 tbsp of unsalted melted then cooled butter.
I had never used this pan before and it was second hand so to be safe I added a layer of parchment to the bottom to help avoid leakage. Then I greased it and trimmed off the excess.
I added the chocolate crumb butter mixture to the bottom of the pan and up the sides a little.
To make the filling I used my mixer but the recipe is written for those who have a food processor only. This is how I made it.
Cream 1 lb room temperature cream cheese with 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar and 1/4 cup white sugar. Add 1Â whole egg first followed by 2 large eggs yolks, one at a time. Egg and yolks should be at room temperature. Then add the melted chocolate and 1/4 cup sour cream, regular or low fat.
Consistently scrape down the sides of the bowl after each addition.
Add 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1 tbsp flour with a pinch of salt in it. Seasoning does not occur in their recipes often but a little salt is important so I added it to the recipe.
Scrape! Scrape! Scrape! Blend until creamy.
Pour mixture into prepared dish.
Smooth down top with spatula. Place pan on sling and then move and lower carefully into the pressure cooker.
Please note: Several people have written saying that water has gotten into their cheesecakes so make sure to add an additional layer of foil to prevent water from getting into the batter!
The recipe said to crimp the sling’s ends inside. I did not really know what that meant so I just folded it over the top.
Update: I am trying to do this recipe with an over-sized piece of parchment paper on top of the cheesecake pan to avoid water from getting in and foil from touching the cake…
You are supposed to set your electric pressure cooker to max pressure for 25 minutes. Every setting appeared to be normal on mine so I used the meat setting.
Let it do its magic and then unplug the machine and let it return to normal pressure for 12-16 minutes.
Unlock and using the sling transfer pan to cooling rack for one hour. Unfasten, loosen and remove the collar of the cake. Let cake come to room temperature and then chill in the fridge overnight.
By folding the sling over the cheesecake, it kind of messed up the top of my cheesecake but I was not too worried. I just wanted to see if it actually cooked through.
Foodie Results
Damn! Damn! Damn! This was soooooo good! Seriously. I usually find baking cheesecakes to be a bit of a pain so I do not make them very often but this was actually quite easy and fast. Yes, I had to make a sling but so what?
This cheesecake is absolutely delicious. So rich! I can see why you are supposed to use all dark chocolate, I will do that next time for sure. You really should not eat this without having a big mug of coffee or tea close by to help melt the decadence of this treat while you eat it.
I actually like the size of the cheesecake and do not mind that it is a lot smaller than other ones I have made in the past. We can only eat this one little piece at a time anyway so now nothing will go to waste.
I am beyond thrilled to have found a way to bake in the summer without turning on the oven. The fact that it did such a fantastic job excites me even more.
I give this recipe five out of five wooden spoons. It is foodie perfection.
OMG yes, it looks sooooooo rich!
It’s crazy-rich! But in the best of ways. OMG, we’re eating one little slice at a time like it’s a giant truffle!
Going to experiment with my pressure cooker on this one. However , will need to wait until weather cools off . I think I’ll need to break out the big canner , I’ll let you know how it works out !!
You could always put the pressure cooker outside if it’s an electric one! It’s going to be crazy-hot today. I love the idea of baking with it during the summer. I hope you have as much luck with yours Wayne!
Looks great, Suzie.
Thank you so much!
Thanks for all the hard work you do, Suzie.
My pleasure!
That looks delicious, Suzie.
Thanks Shell! We loved every bite of it!
Okay, this might be a stupid question but what are chocolate baking crumbs???!!!
You can see in the photo above that I used Oreo’s baking crumbs which can usually be found near the boxed graham cracker crumbs in the baking aisle. I hope that helps!
Ditto Theresa’s question.
You can see in the photo above that I used Oreo’s baking crumbs which can usually be found near the boxed graham cracker crumbs in the baking aisle. I hope that helps!
With an Instant Pot use manual setting and desired time.
In my Instant Pot now. I used Famous Chocolate Wafers crushed in a zip bag with a rolling pin. Boss’s Day tomorrow and this is my contribution. I think I’ll top it with ganache and raspberries. Mmmmmm
How did it turn out Amy? Great option with the chocolate wafers! Oh yes, go for the ganache and raspberries, nice call!
OMG!!!! Fabulous. I ended up putting in just 2 whole eggs because the second yolk broke. Still amazing. I cooked on high for 40 minutes because I used a 6″”pan.
Oh, and I used graham cracker crust since that was all I had.
Fantastic Deborah! I am thrilled to hear that yours worked well too, even with the bigger pan. Excellent!
I was wondering about mixing the eggs in. Everything I’ve read is that you have to be super careful adding the eggs and not beat to much. With this recipe you mix even more after adding the eggs combining the chocolate, sour cream, vanilla, and salt. Is this one more forgiving than most?
You must always do the eggs one at a time and make sure they are full incorporated before you add the next one. It’s oK to beat them a while. You only have to worry about over beating once you put the flour in, you do not want to develop the gluten too much. I would say this is a pretty typical cheesecake recipe. And don’t forget to scrape down the sides! You just want things to be incorporated, not whipped.
Thank you, Suzie!
You are welcome Tamela! I hope that helps! 🙂
I didn’t have great results with this. It came out thick, not pourable… then after cooking, Its more like eating frosting than cheesecake. Pretty dry and not very sweet,
Woah! That is so strange Rina. I’m sorry it didn’t turn out well, I wonder what went wrong? Sounds like yours turned out much thicker than mine did. I wonder if it had to do with the cream cheese?
Hi. Had a question regarding what you meant by unplugging machine and return to normal pressure? I’ve got a instant pot, does that mean unplug when the time is up and just let it sit for 12 mins. and then take it out? Do I QR before unplugging? Thank you, I just got my IP.
Hi Susan! I unplugged the machine after the Instant Pot beeped that it was done and let it return to normal pressure for 12-16 minutes. This allowed it to de-pressurize to normal. You do NOT quick release. I hope that helps!
It looks like you bought a glass pan or bowl then I noticed a springform pan. Which did you use for the cheesecake?
I used the small springform pan for the cheesecake Bob. Hope that helps!
Did I miss a link where it shows the recipe in recipe card format? I like to view it that way rather than read and scroll through ever picture.
Hi Michelle, you can find the recipe here now: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByFnv0lodEJRNDBWaFc2ODMyVVk/view
My site got hacked via the recipe cards BTW.
Hi Suzie! Thanks for the detailed instructions and photos. I followed your recipe scrupulously, but my cake came out so wet and gooey that it was more like a chocolate mousse pie. Which was tasty, but not the cheesecake I was hoping for. I went over everything and double-checked that I’d gotten steps and quantities right. Do you have any idea what might have gone wrong? For one thing, when we took the cake out, it had standing water all over the top of it. We carefully tipped the pan to let it drain off. The top then dried into a reasonable skin. But the cake was wet and pudding-like. Any theories?
Oh no! That’s so weird Julie. I have made this one two times without issues. Perhaps the pressure was too high which is why water got into it? I’m thinking next time you should cover the top with additional parchment paper to keep water from getting into the cake.
That happened to me on my 1st try. Had to toss it out. Before you place pan into instant pot, cover top tightly with aluminum foil to keep condensation out. Inst Pot cheese cake is definitely worth another try. Good luck
Oh no Susan, you too?! OK, good suggestion, cover the cake with foil! And yes, this is really worth it, so sorry there have been issues. I will update the post with this suggestion. Fingers crossed no one has this problem again!
I covered the cake with parchment and foil to cook and resulted with just a wee bit of moisture on top which I dabbed up with a napkin.
This cheesecake is sooo good! My guests loved it, albeit very rich… more leftovers for us!
Debi, you made me one heck of a happy foodie!!! Thank you so much for letting me know that yours came out OK. Makes me think my Instant Pot may be losing a bit of its pressure cooking juice and that the recipe is OK. Thanks for trying it and am so happy everyone loved it! Yes, it is super rich.
Question, Suzie. Why do you make a foil ‘sling’? I’ve made many, many cheesecakes in my IP and have never made a foil sling. Just seems like a lot of extra work to me. I put 1 cup of cold/cool water in the bottom of the inner pot, put in the trivet and place my cheesecake pan on that. I’ve covered my cheesecakes with a variety of products and have found foil to be the best, so far. If covering your cheesecake with foil you do have to ‘cook’ it 5-10 minutes longer than if it were covered with parchment or food-grade paper towels, but there seems to be less condensate on the cheesecake. If there is a bit of condensate (fluid) on the cake, I dab it up with dry food-grade paper towels. Now, I’d like to know if I am the only one doing cheesecake this way. I’d appreciate some input. Thanks everyone! Happy IP’ing! And, thanks, Suzie for all your work.
That is what the cookbook said to do Iris and I did find it was easier to take out when still hot. Good to know about the paper towel trick for the condensation, thank you! I have no idea if the sling is a technique everyone else is using. If you don’t need it, don’t bother! I need all the help I can get getting that cheesecake safely out of there. Thanks for writing Iris and happy IP baking!
I saw your note about it not cooking properly. I’m wondering if there is an issue with your IP? I make this ALL the time, using this recipe and I’ve never had a problem with it.
It could definitely be an issue with my particular IP. It is over 5 years old so… Thank you for letting me know that you haven’t had a problem with it Monica, that’s reassuring! I would rather be an issue with my machine than the recipe which I know is so good.
OMG!!!! I love this post. Well done, you. Looks so rich and yummy.
Thank you!!! I just wish it had been consistent, second time was a total write-off! Glad you like the post.
When making Cheesecake in an Instapot I always use the trivet which keeps it up out of the water. No chance of it getting water seeping thru to make it soggy. Still use the foil sling to lower it into pot as well as lifting it out when completed. The chocolate cheesecake sounds delicious! I am going to give it a try.
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