Who knew that you could make something like an Instant Pot cheesecake with chocolate swirl? I never imagined when I first bought my IP that I would be making dessert in it! Well, it turns out that it makes an amazing cheesecake.
Originally I purchased the IP for dinner type dishes and even Instant Pot mashed potatoes. I quickly expanded my options when I discovered dessert could be made in it. Dessert is one of our favorites after all! If I could, I would eat it first before dinner just so I had plenty of room for it - shh that is our secret.
Are you ready for a great treat? Grab a cup of homemade hot chocolate and get ready to enjoy this cake!
Making the cheesecake
This is a nice and simple recipe that honestly if you don't want the extra chocolate, you can just leave it out and make it plain. Please note that the chocolate swirl is a slightly harder layer as it is made with chocolate chips. It adds an impressive look and amazing flavor!
I also highly recommend using espresso powder as noted in the recipe to help enhance the chocolate flavor, but it is optional if you do not have it or struggle to find it. We get ours at Walmart, but our other supermarkets do not have it.
Before you do anything else:
Most important step is to take the cream cheese, yogurt and eggs out of the fridge. Let them sit on the counter until they are room temperature. I take my cream cheese out for about 2 hours usually. Eggs and sour cream for about 1 hour.
The texture of your Instant Pot cheesecake depends on this step! You will most likely end up with a lumpy texture if you do not follow this.
Making the crust
As you can see, our crumbs are all different sizes and the flavor is amazing. No worries if your crumbs are not all perfect tiny specs 🙂
We like to use either cinnamon or honey graham crackers here and add in the espresso powder and cocoa for flavoring, but you could also get chocolate graham crackers. Chocolate sandwich cookies make another great chocolate crust!
Graham cracker crust
Use 10 full crackers and crush into tiny pieces. We put them in a bag and use a rolling pin, but you can also pulse them in a food processor. Pour the crumbs into a bowl for mixing.
Add in the cocoa powder, espresso powder and sugar. Stir with a fork until combined well. Pour in the melted butter and mix until the graham cracker pieces are evenly coated. Press down into the bottom of the 7 inch springform pan as tight as you can pack it down. I use a glass jar to squish it down. The springform pan got lined with parchment paper on the bottom to make it easier to serve.
Cookie crust
Chocolate sandwich cookies are a great crust. You need regular for this tho, not double stuff (as much as I love double stuff!) It will take 15 cookies crushed. This can be done the same way as the crackers, either in a bag with a rolling pin or a food processor.
Add in the melted butter and stir until the cookie crumbs are evenly coated with butter. Pack it down into the bottom of the springform pan as tight as you can, using something like a cup or jar to pack it down.
The filling
This is a simple yet delicate process. As much as it pains me to say this, you are best to use a hand mixer for this. You can use the stand mixer, but do be careful with mixing too much after adding the eggs.
Place the cream cheese in a mixing bowl and beat it with the hand mixer until smooth. This will be about 30 seconds. Add in the sugar next and mix for another 20 seconds. The yogurt and vanilla extract are next. Mix until the are just incorporated. We use either sour cream or plain yogurt in cheesecakes with similar results, so if you prefer (or have sour cream) you can use that in place of the yogurt.
The eggs are the delicate process. If you over whip them here, you will not have a good texture and will have too much air. I add them one at a time and mix for 5 seconds each. You will see here above that it is not perfectly combined but I finish mixing it carefully and slowly with my spatula before pouring it on top of the crust. This will help keep new air bubbles from getting into the batter and it will help get rid of ones in there already.
The chocolate swirl
This is a special process but it is easy. I don't always use an oil to melt chocolate chips, but you do need something when adding espresso to it. I like to use refined coconut oil for this. It doesn't have a flavor of any kind so it is perfect for melting. But you can use other oils or even shortening.
Melt the oil/shortening in a pan. Add in the espresso powder and mix well. Now add in the chocolate chips, stirring often until they are just melted and liquid. Do not walk away while melting them. They go from perfect to scorched very quickly.
Drop into blobs on the top of the cheesecake and swirl the blobs around with a fork. You can make nice designs or just swirl it around with no pattern at all. It will look amazing either way!
Cooking the Instant Pot cheesecake with chocolate swirl
I put mine in the silicone sling accessory here, but you can also use the trivet and make a foil sling. With this silicone sling, you do not use the trivet. With a foil sling you need to use the trivet.
Pour 1 cup of water into the bottom of your Instant Pot. If using the trivet, place that in and the cheesecake on top. If using the silicone sling, place it directly into the pot.
Close the lid and set the vent to sealing. Cook on high pressure for 27 minutes and then naturally release. Carefully remove the lid (there will be moisture on the lid.) Using a paper towel, carefully blot any moisture that has dripped onto the top of your cake. Allow to cool on a metal rack on the counter for about an hour before placing in the fridge uncovered for at least 4 hours. You can cover after the 4 hours but not before or you will end up with unwanted moisture as it is cooling.
We enjoy our Instant Pot cheesecake with chocolate swirl served with some fresh homemade whipped cream. You can even make some chocolate whipped cream if you like a lot of chocolate!
Instant Pot Cheesecake with Chocolate Swirl
Equipment
- Instant Pot
- 7 inch springform pan
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
- 10 graham crackers crushed into crumbs
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder unsweetened
- 1 tbsp sugar
- ¼ tsp espresso powder
- 4 tbsp butter unsalted, melted
The Filling
- 16 oz cream cheese softened to room temperature
- ¼ cup plain yogurt room temperature
- 2 eggs room temperature
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
The Chocolate Swirl
- ¼ tsp espresso powder
- 1 tsp oil see notes
- ½ cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- First start out by taking your cream cheese out. It will need to sit out for probably close to 2 hours (depending on the temperature in your house) before being ready to mix. The yogurt and eggs need to sit out about an hour before mixing.
Making the Crust
- Crush graham crackers into crumbs using either a food processor or a bag with a rolling pin. Pour them into a bowl.
- Stir in the sugar, espresso and cocoa powder. Add the melted butter and stir until the crumbs are evenly coated with butter.
- Using a jar of a cup, pack it the mix down into the bottom of the spring form pan. Pack them down as tight as you can.
Making the Filling
- Add the cream cheese to a mixing bowl. With a hand mixer, beat it for about 30 seconds or until it is smooth and creamy.
- Add in the sugar and beat again for about 20-30 seconds.
- Next add in the vanilla extract and the yogurt. Beat until just incorporated.
- This is a delicate step. Add the eggs one at a time but only beat for about 5 seconds each time. It will not be fully mixed.Continue to carefully stir the mixture with a spatula, slowly until it is fully incorporated - doesn't take long.
- Pour the filling over the crust and spread it evenly with a spatula.
The Chocolate Swirl
- Heat the oil up in a saucepan and add the espresso powder. Stir it well.
- Pour the chocolate chips into the oil mix and stir often until they are just melted and like a thick syrup. Do not walk away while melting, there is a quick line between melted and scorched.
- Carefully drop blobs of the melted chocolate on top of the cheesecake and swirl around with a fork.
Cooking the Cheesecake
- I use a silicone sling, but you can use the trivet and a foil sling if you don't have the silicone one. To make a foil sling:Take a piece of foil that is about 20 inches long and fold it lengthwise 3 times, like folding a letter. So you now have a 20 inch sling that will be strong enough to take a cheesecake out of the Instant Pot.
- Place the spring form pan on the sling.
- Pour 1 cup of water into the Instant Pot. Add the trivet only if using a foil sling. The silicone sling has it's own built in trivet.
- Place the cheesecake into the Instant Pot and lock the lid. Set the vent to sealing.
- Hit manual/pressure cook (different models have different buttons) and set for 27 minutes.It will take around 7 minutes to build pressure.
- Allow to naturally release pressure which will take about 7-10 minutes.Carefully remove lid as there will be moisture on the lid.Once you remove your cheesecake, set it on a wire rack to cool for an hour on the counter. If there is any moisture, carefully blot it with a paper towel before cooling.
- Once it has cooled on the counter for about an hour, transfer it to the fridge to cool uncovered for at least 4 hours. You can cover it after 4 hours and letting it set for longer before serving is best. Do not cover before letting it cool in the fridge, it creates excess moisture.Serve and enjoy!
Marilyn Lesniak
Thank you for sharing at #OverTheMoon. Pinned and shared. Have a lovely week. I hope to see you at next week’s party too!
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Dawn
Thank you Marilyn 🙂 I always enjoy going to your parties! Hope you have a great week.