“Caramel Apple Cheesecake”
That’s it!, I was googling for a Fall cheesecake idea; the moment I saw the name, my mind immediately jumped to images of apple picking at nearby orchards, and I knew what I was going to make. Instant Pot Caramel Apple Cheesecake, here we come.
Making my own caramel topping is fun, but I took the easy way out this time and bought it at the store. (Look for it in the ice cream toppings aisle.) The only downside to store-bought topping? No extra caramel candies lying around for me to munch on. My sweet tooth wasn’t happy…but my calorie counting app was.
That is, except for the cheesecake itself. Hey, I deserve a treat!
This is my standard cheesecake technique - and yes, I don’t cover my cheesecake with foil. (I always get a question about that in the comments, from people who have read my New York Cheesecake recipe.) After pressure cooking, I pat the cheesecake gently with the edge of a paper towel to soak up any condensation. There usually isn’t much, and the cheesecake cooks so much more evenly without the foil cover.
Other than that, there are only two other tricks to pressure cooker cheesecake. The first is the pan - you need a 6- to 7-inch springform pan to fit in the pot. The second is gently lowering the cheesecake into the pot. The silicone baking sling I shared last week makes it easy, but I made my own slings with aluminum foil for many years, so I included instructions on how to do that in the recipe.
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Instant Pot Caramel Apple Cheesecake
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 8 pieces of cheesecake 1x
Description
Instant Pot Caramel Apple Cheesecake. An awesome Fall cheesecake, cooked in about 45 minutes thanks to pressure cooking.
Ingredients
Crust
- ¾ cup graham cracker crumbs (4 whole graham crackers, crushed)
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
Cheesecake
- 1 pound regular cream cheese, softened (2 (8-ounce) packages)
- ⅔ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup apple pie filling
Topping
- More apple pie filling
- Caramel topping
Instructions
- Prepare the pan: Spray a 7-inch cheesecake pan with nonstick cooking spray. Mix the graham cracker crumbs with the melted butter, spread the crumbs evenly across the bottom of the pan, and pack down, pushing the crumbs up the sides a little. Spread the ½ cup apple pie filling in a single layer on top of the crumbs, then set the prepared pan aside.
- Make the cheesecake filling: Soften the cream cheese by leaving it out at room temperature for at least 1 hour. (Or soften the cream cheese in the microwave, 30 seconds to 1 minute). Beat the cream cheese in an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. With the blender still running at medium speed, slowly add the sugar, and then the vanilla. Beat on medium speed until the sugar is completely blended, about 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides. Add the eggs one at a time, beating each on low speed until just blended. (Don’t over-beat the eggs.) Pour the filling into the prepared cheesecake pan.
- Lower the cheesecake into the Instant Pot: Put 2 cups of water in the instant pot (or pressure cooker). If your rack has handles, set the cheesecake on the rack and slowly lower it into the pot. (If your rack does not have handles, set the rack in the pot, then make an aluminum foil sling for the cheesecake: fold a 2-foot long piece of aluminum foil over a few times until it is a long strip about 4 inches wide. Center the cheesecake pan on the sling and carefully lower it into the pot, setting it on the rack.)
- Pressure cook the cheesecake for 20 minutes with a natural pressure release: Lock the lid on the cooker and pressure cook on high for 20 minutes in an Instant Pot (use Manual or Pressure Cook mode) or other electric PC. Or, pressure cook for 16 minutes in a stovetop PC. Let the pressure come down naturally, about 20 minutes more. (If you’re in a hurry, you can quick release any pressure left in the pot after 15 minutes.)
- Cool the cheesecake, top with apples and caramel, and serve: Lift the cheesecake out of the pressure cooker. Loosen the cheesecake by running a paring knife around the edge of the pan. Cool the pan at room temperature for an hour, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. Top the cheesecake with apple pie filling, drizzle with caramel topping, and serve.
Notes
- Different sized pan: I haven’t had time to test them yet. I’ve heard from readers that a 6-inch wide, 3-inch high cheesecake pan will work…but it might take a little extra cooking. I’d go 25 minutes under pressure.
- Using an 8 Quart pressure cooker? I use this recipe as-is, with my 7-inch cheesecake pan in my 8-quart pressure cooker. It works great. Will it work with a larger pan in the larger cooker? Yes, but it will change the cooking time. I haven’t tested it, so I don’t know how long. If you’ve made larger pressure cooker cheesecakes, let us know how it went in the comments.
Tools
- 6 quart or larger pressure cooker (I love my Instant Pot electric pressure cooker)
- 7-inch springform pan (I use this one from Nordic Ware)
- Pressure Cooker Rack (I use this silicone pressure cooker baking sling from Oxo)
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: American
What do you think?
Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
Related Posts
Pressure Cooker Pumpkin Cheesecake
Pressure Cooker New York Cheesecake
Pressure Cooker Salted Caramel Cheesecake
My other Pressure Cooker Recipes
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Monica
I added some brown sugar, pumpkin pie seasoning, and cinnamon to really kick this into holiday gear. It turned out mouth watering!!! Everyone LOVED it.
Robin
I just made this and it didn’t cook long enough, now that I’m reading the added notes at the bottom I’m assuming my instapot is larger so I’ll adjust for that next time. I also made a small batch of the crumble topping for apple pie and baked it to top. This was an amazing recipe and will definitely make it again! Thank you!
Tom R
Oh, my. Amazing!