Description
Instant Pot Italian Ricotta Cheesecake. A lighter tasting cheesecake with a mix of ricotta and cream cheese.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 15 ounces whole-milk ricotta cheese, drained
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- ⅛ teaspoon salt (a pinch)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or ½ tsp vanilla + ½ tsp amaretto liqueur)
- Zest of 1 lemon or orange
- 2 large eggs
Toppings
- Powdered sugar
- Seedless raspberry jam, whisked until smooth
Instructions
- Drain the ricotta and soften the cream cheese for 1 hour: Drain the ricotta in a fine mesh strainer, and soften the cream cheese by leaving it out at room temperature; do both for at least 1 hour.
- Prepare the pan: Spray a 7-inch cheesecake pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Make the cheesecake filling: Beat the cream cheese, ricotta, sugar, cornstarch, and salt in an electric mixer on medium speed until the sugar is completely blended, about 3 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides. Add the vanilla and lemon zest, and beat on medium speed until mixed, about 1 minute. 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 steaming 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 20 minutes in a stovetop PC. Let the pressure come down naturally, about 15 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 powdered sugar and raspberry jam, 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, to set the center. Just before serving, dust the top of the cheesecake generously with powdered sugar, top with the whisked raspberry jam, and serve.
Notes
This cheesecake does not usually have a crust; if you want one, pack ¾ cup graham cracker crumbs mixed with 2 tablespoons of melted butter into the bottom of the prepared springform pan before adding the cheesecake batter.
The cornstarch helps keep the cheesecake from cracking, and a lot of the recipes I saw use it. But, I still get some cracking, even with the cornstarch, as the cheesecake settles. Oh, well.
If you have good fresh raspberries available, use them as a topping instead of the jam
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: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: Italian