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Instant Pot White Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake garnished with peppermint candies on white background

Instant Pot White Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake

Instant Pot White Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake is a perfect balance of white chocolate and mint. Sweet, but not too sweet, and you can still taste the cheesecake. A wonderful Holiday cheesecake!

Course Dessert
Cuisine American, Holiday
Keyword pressure cooker peppermint cheesecake recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 5 hours 45 minutes
Servings 8 servings
Calories 469 kcal
Author Sandy Clifton

Ingredients

Chocolate Crust

  • 20 Chocolate Sandwich Cookies (filling scraped out so you have 40 halves)
  • 1 Tbsp Sugar
  • 3 Tbsp Butter, melted

Cheesecake Filling

  • 2 8 oz Pkgs Cream Cheese, room temp
  • ½ cup Sugar
  • 2 tsp Vanilla
  • 1 cup White Chocolate Chips
  • ½ cup Heavy Cream, room temp
  • ¾ tsp Peppermint Extract
  • ½ cup Sour Cream
  • 2 tsp Corn Starch
  • 3 Eggs, room temp

Chocolate Ganache Drizzle Topping (Optional)

  • ½ cup Chocolate Chips semi sweet
  • ⅓ cup Heavy Cream

Instructions

Prepare the Pan

  1. Use a 7 or 8 inch cheesecake pan (I use a push pan, but you can use a springform pan as well. Whatever will fit comfortably in your pressure cooker and hold all of the filling).

  2. If using a 2" high pan or a 6" pan, line the sides with parchment that stands above the rim at least 2 ½". This will give the extra batter room, and contain the cheesecake when it rises.

  3. Spray the pan with baking spray. If you have parchment paper, cut a piece to fit the bottom of your pan and spray that too (I use parchment liners).

Prepare the Pressure Cooker

  1. Put 1 ½ cups of water in the inner liner of the pressure cooker.
  2. Put the trivet in the pot as well.

Prepare a Sling

  1. Usually made with aluminum foil, used to get the cheesecake in and out of the pot easily.
  2. Fold a 28” length of foil along the long end 3 times. You will end up with a sling that is 28” x 3”

Prepare the Crust

  1. Scrape the filling out of the cookies and place them in a food processor. Discard the filling.

  2. Add the sugar and pulse several times until the cookies turn into fine crumbs.

  3. Add the melted butter and pulse several times to combine and soften the crumbs. You may need to scrape the bowl of the food processor and pulse a few more times.

  4. Pour crust mixture into your prepared pan and use your fingers or the bottom of a small glass (or a tamper) to press the mixture into place. Cover the entire bottom of the pan and come up the sides a little. You do not have to come all the way up the sides. You want the crust to be about ¼” thick or so.

  5. Put the pan in the freezer to chill and firm up while you prepare the cheesecake filling.

Prepare the Cheesecake Filling

  1. Clean the crust residue out of the food processor.
  2. Add the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla and process until smooth and creamy.
  3. Pulse a several times until well combined.

  4. In a microwave safe bowl, add the white chocolate chips and heavy cream. Heat for 25 seconds in microwave. Stir very well and put back in for another 25 seconds. Stir very well again. It may take a couple minutes of stirring to become creamy, which is what you want.

  5. Let it cool to luke-warm, then stir in the sour cream (which helps cool it), and add it to the cream cheese mixture.

  6. Add the peppermint extract and the corn starch. Pulse several times to combine. Then process for a minute to make it smooth and creamy.

  7. Add the eggs last. Pulse just until combined. If you whip the eggs too much the cheesecake will puff up and won’t have the right consistency.
  8. Take the crust from the freezer and pour the filling into the pan.
  9. Cover the pan with a paper towel, then with a piece of foil. Crimp the edges around the pan so it stays taut and secure.
  10. Lay the sling out and set the pan on it, centered. Gather up the two ends and very carefully lift the pan and set it in the pressure cooker, leaving the sling with it. Just fold over the two ends of the sling on top of the pan.

Cook the Cheesecake

  1. Close the lid of the pressure cooker and set the steam vent to the Sealing position.

  2. Press the Manual (or Pressure Cook) button/dial and then the + or - button to choose 45 minutes.

  3. When cook cycle ends, let the cooker naturally release pressure until the pin in the lid drops down. Then turn off the pot and open the lid, but let the cheesecake sit in the pot for another 10 minutes. Cooling it slowly helps eliminate cracks.
  4. Gather up the two ends of the sling and VERY carefully lift the cheesecake pan out of the cooker and onto a cooling rack.
  5. Leave covered for 10 minutes, then carefully peel off the foil/paper towel and check for doneness.
  6. Cheesecake is done when it jiggles just a little when the pan is shook. You don't want waves, but it should jiggle a little. It will firm up in the fridge. If it looks too loose, cover it back up and cook for another 5 minutes, and let naturally release for 15 minutes.
  7. Let cool for an hour, then put the pan in the fridge to chill for at least 4 hours before serving. I prefer to make my cheesecake in the evening and let it cool overnight.

  8. After the cheesecake is cooled and set, you can remove it from the pan and decorate, if desired.

Chocolate Ganache Topping (Optional)

  1. In a microwave safe bowl, add the chocolate chips and heavy cream. Heat for 25 seconds in microwave. Stir very well and put back in for another 25 seconds. Stir very well again. It may take a couple minutes of stirring to become creamy and glossy.

  2. Drizzle over the cooled cheesecake and let set up in the refrigerator.

Recipe Notes

A 6 inch pan, if you can get all of the filling into it, will take about 5 minutes longer to cook.
An 8 inch pan will take about 5 minutes less cook time.

Altitude affects cook time.