This Instant Pot Gingerbread Cheesecake is festive, spicy, creamy, and delicious! It’s made in a Pressure Cooker in minutes without turning on your oven. Perfect holidays dessert for two (or four)!
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This post first appeared on Imagelicious on December 19, 2017
It’s been a year since I took the plunge and got myself an Instant Pot pressure cooker on Black Friday. It took weeks (actually months) before I actually fell in love with this appliance.
In fact, I was teeny-tiny disappointed with it. I tried so hard to love it (or even just like it) but I just couldn’t get over a few things.
All those recipes that promised dinner in 20 minutes seemed mocking me. What 20 minutes? They still took an hour with all the time it took to build the pressure and release the pressure.
I even wrote an article with 7 Things You Need To Know About Instant Pot. I wish I read something like this before buying it.
A year later and I am in love with my Instant Pot. I use id 3-4 times a week and sometimes multiple times a day. And there are a lot of Instant Pot Recipes on Imagelicious now.
This Instant Pot Gingerbread Cheesecake for Two was my first Instant Pot Recipe that I posted. I actually have been making Gingerbread Cheesecake (oven version) every Christmas for over 7 years now.
DO YOU WANT MORE INSTANT POT RECIPES?
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It’s creamy, it’s spicy, it’s intensely festive! It smells like Christmas and tastes amazing. Smooth and soft and dense, just like a cheesecake should be. It has a lovely spicy crust made with a mixture of ginger snaps cookies and regular butter cookies (Maria is a popular brand).
Note about cookie crust: Because I make this Instant Pot Gingerbread Cheesecake in ramekins, I do not add a lot of butter to the crust. I will not be making slices of cheesecake so I don’t worry about the crust crumbling a little bit. Feel free to add more butter if you’d like.
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Why use Instant Pot to make Gingerbread Cheesecake
Making this Instant Pot Gingerbread Cheesecake for Two means that you have your oven free to cook the rest of your Christmas dinner, such as Sheet Pan Christmas Ham Dinner for Two or Sheet Pan Turkey Dinner for Two.
It is also a lot easier using a pressure cooker to make the cake instead of the oven. You don’t have to deal with pouring boiling water into pans, making sure that you don’t spill it and burn yourself (yes, that happened to me the first time I made a cheesecake over a decade ago), and, most importantly, you don’t have to wrap the pan in multiple layers of foil and pray to foil gods that the water won’t seep into the cheesecake.
I still don’t know why that happens and why it happens randomly. One day my cheesecake is perfectly protected from the water bath in its’ cozy foil cocoon and another day the water gets into the foil and soaks the crust. Does anyone know why and how to prevent it from happening???
Well, using Instant Pot means that this Gingerbread Cheesecake isn’t even exposed to a water bath, so there’s no chance of soggy crust.
How long does it actually take to make Instant Pot Gingerbread Cheesecake
What about the time? Is it Instant making the cheesecake in the Instant Pot? No! Not even close to instant but it is significantly faster especially if you take into account the time that it usually takes to preheat the oven.
It takes about 10 minutes for Instant Pot to come to pressure, then 4 minutes cooking time (add 1-2 extra minutes for a bit firmer cheesecake). Natural release takes another 10 minutes or so. That is under 25 minutes in Instant Pot.
Let’s add another 20 minutes to make the crust and the gingerbread cheesecake filling. I am actually being very generous as I am pretty sure it can be done in 10-15 minutes.
So, altogether, you get this amazing Instant Pot Gingerbread Cheesecake for Two in under 45 minutes.
Any difference in taste between oven cheesecake and Instant Pot Gingerbread Cheesecake?
Well, it tastes exactly the same as your regular oven cheesecake! So, if you love cheesecake but don’t love making it or if you want to make smaller portion of this dessert without getting the whole oven and water bath ready, then Instant Pot is extremely helpful.
How to make Instant Pot Gingerbread Cheesecake
Making this Instant Pot Gingerbread Cheesecake for Two (or actually four since the portions are pretty big) is easy. You can use either your big stationary mixer, hand mixer, or, like I do, a small food processor.
Just mix all the room temperature ingredients until creamy and smooth, pour into the prepared ramekins that have cookie crust at the bottom, loosely cover the cheesecakes with foil to prevent condensation and place on a rack into your Instant Pot or another pressure cooker.
Add some water to the pot, set the time, and wait until it beeps. Let the pressure release naturally. Chill well in the fridge and enjoy!
Do you really need to chill cheesecake?
Yes, you really need to chill this Instant Pot Gingerbread Cheesecake really well. I would suggest at least 4-6 hours in the fridge. Otherwise it’s a bit on a creamier side.
If you prefer firmer cheesecake, try increasing pressure cooking time to 5 or 6 minutes.
Want more Instant Pot Desserts?
- Instant Pot Brownies
- Instant Pot Hot Chocolate
- Instant Pot Baked Apples
- Instant Pot Pumpkin Pudding Cake
DO YOU WANT MORE INSTANT POT RECIPES?
Join my Real Ingredients Instant Pot Recipes Facebook Group!!! It’s a fun and safe place to share your own Instant Pot recipes made with Real Ingredients.
Are you looking for a great Holiday Gift?
Get my new cookbook, The Ultimate One-Pan Oven Cookbook. It has 75 recipes all made in the oven and all made in one pan. Great gift for any foodie!
DO YOU WANT MORE INSTANT POT RECIPES?
Join my Real Ingredients Instant Pot Recipes Facebook Group!!! It’s a fun and safe place to share your own Instant Pot recipes made with Real Ingredients.
Instant Pot Gingerbread Cheesecake for Two
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup ginger snap cookies (crushed into crumbs, about 25 g)
- 1/4 cup plain biscuits (crushed into crumbs, about 25 g)
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter (melted)
- 250 g cream cheese (1 package, room temperature)
- 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons fancy molasses
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- pinch cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 large egg (room temperature)
- more ginger snap cookies for decoration (optional)
Instructions
- Mix crushed ginger snap cookies and crushed plain biscuits with one tablespoon of melted butter.
- Divide the cookie crumb mixture between two oven-proof ramekins that are 250 ml each (or a bit bigger but not smaller). Press with the back of a spoon to create a dense crust. Set aside.
- In a medium size bowl mix together the room temperature cream cheese, brown sugar, molasses, and the spices until everything is very smooth. You can either use a hand-held mixer, stand mixer, or, like I used in this case, a small food processor. Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl a few times to get all the cream cheese incorporated.
- Add the egg and mix just until it all comes together. Do not over mix as you don't want to whip the egg and create air pockets.
- Evenly divide the gingerbread cheesecake mixture and pour into each prepared ramekin.
- Loosely cover each ramekin with foil.
- Add 1 cup water to the Instant Pot.
- Place the wire rack that came with the Instant Pot into the pot and place the foil-covered ramekins onto the rack.
- Close the lid, turn the pressure valve to Sealing, choose either Manual mode or Pressure cooker mode (depending on your model) and use the arrows to select cook time of 4 minutes.It takes about 9-10 minutes to come to pressure.
- Once the 4 minutes of pressure cooking are up and your Instant Pot beeps that it's done, let it naturally release the pressure. This will take about 10 minutes.
- Carefully remove the ramekins form the pot. They will be hot.
- Chill the Instant Pot Gingerbread Cheesecake in the fridge overnight or for at least 4-6 hours.
- Optionally, decorate with more crushed ginger snap cookies
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Therese says
This looks delicious! Do you think this would work in a springform pan that fits inside the Instantpot? (I think it’s a 6 inch?). If so, any adjustments you’d make? Thanks!
Julia says
My guess would be that you’d need to double the recipe, otherwise you’ll end up with a really thin cheesecake. Don’t forget that if you are making a bigger cheesecake then you’d also need to add a bit more butter to the base, otherwise it’ll be too crumbly.
As for the cooking time, I don’t know exactly but it would need to be increased. I would suggest looking up Regular-sized Instant Pot Cheesecake and seeing how long they are cooked
Leah says
I love the flavor of gingerbread, all the warm spices and it just feels so perfect for winter! I am so excited to try this since I got an instant pot for Christmas, yay! I can’t wait to try it out, and I am already drooling because it sounds so good!
Julia says
Thank you! I’ve made this dessert a few times over the holidays already!
Kathy says
I am one of the rare ones that have not purchased an instant pot yet. I see wonderful recipes all over the internet and people loving every bit of it so I am actually curious to hear what you have to say. I attended culinary school and for the most part I and anti-gadgets=special appliances- etc! LOL
A no bake cheesecake? sign me up! Looks so creamy and delicious. Love everything gingerbread – so fabulous!
Julia says
Oh, I know exactly what you mean! I am also a bit anti-gadget. And here’s the thing, IP is useful, but it’s not a game changer unlike what other people say. I’m going to write a post about it actually
Amy says
I still don’t have an instant pot yet either and am worried about having a similar reaction about being disappointed in it! But then I see this beautiful cheesecake and it makes me rethink my whole stance, lol. This dessert sounds so wonderful and the texture looks like perfection!
Julia says
IP is definitely NOT a game changer in my opinion but it is useful. I am glad I have it but if you don’t have space or just don’t want extra stuff it’s not a necessity at all
Sarah says
I have (so far) absolutely refused to buy an Instant Pot, mostly because I don’t have room… but also because I’m terrified of pressure cookers! This seems like the best use I’ve seen of one so far though (I have no interest in quickly cooked meats)… I’ll be interested to read your full review!
Julia says
I was also quite terrified of it at first, haha 🙂 It turned out to be not that scary 🙂
lisa says
I have yet to get an instant pot and at this point, I feel like the only person on the planet (ok, exaggeration — in the food blogging world) without one. I have a pressure cooker and a slow cooker – so I’ve been resisting getting yet another appliance… But I bet I could figure a way to make these delightful gingerbread cheesecakes with the appliances I DO HAVE.
Julia says
Definitely not the last person on the planet not to have one 🙂 I know at least two more! Haha!
Amanda says
I still haven’t gotten an Instant Pot. I keep seeing all of these fantastic recipes, and I think I’m going to have to take the plunge! I do have an electric pressure cooker, but it seems like the Instant Pot has so many more features. This gingerbread cheesecake looks so luscious! I love that it’s made in little ramekins; such a cute presentation!
Julia says
I haven’t tried other IP features besides the pressure cooker function yet. On my list of things to do!