Instant Pot White Chocolate Strawberry Cheesecake

A white chocolate cheesecake slice topped with strawberries and red sauce, with the remaining cheesecake behind it.

Instant Pot White Chocolate Strawberry Cheesecake

Creamy cheesecake with a hint of white chocolate, covered with a delicious strawberry sauce made from fresh strawberries. And it's all made in the Instant Pot!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 40

Cooling and Chilling Time 9

Total Time 9 55

Servings slices

Calories 395kcal

Author Gary White

Ingredients

Cheesecake Crust

8 graham crackers 120 grams
3 Tbsp. butter melted

Cheesecake Batter

16 oz. cream cheese room temperature
⅓ cup sugar
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup white chocolate baking chips
½ cup heavy cream room temperature
2 large eggs room temperature

Strawberry Sauce

1 lb. strawberries ½ diced, ½ halved
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
½ cup sugar
½ tsp. vanilla
1 ½ tsp. cornstarch
2 Tbsp. water

Instructions

Cheesecake Crust

Place graham crackers in food processor and blend until fine. Or place in large zip top bag and roll with rolling pin to crush the crackers.
Place graham cracker crumbs in bowl and combine with melted butter. Using a fork, stir to combine well.
If desired, line the bottom of a 7x3-inch push pan or springform pan with a parchment circle to make the chilled cheesecake easier to slide off its base. Pour in the crumbs and use a flat-bottomed glass to press them into an even layer. Place the pan in the freezer while preparing the filling.

Cheesecake Batter

Combine cornstarch and sugar in a small bowl. Add cream cheese, sugar, and cornstarch to a medium bowl. Beat until smooth, using a spatula to scrape down sides of bowl as you go.
In a microwave safe bowl, combine white chocolate chips and heavy cream. Microwave chips and heavy cream for 20-30 seconds, then whisk until completely smooth. If chips are not melted after one minute of whisking, microwave for 10 second intervals, stirring in between, until smooth. The time needed will vary depending on how warm your house is, and the wattage of your microwave. In a warm house with a high wattage microwave, 20 seconds will be all you need.
Let white chocolate mixture cool until warm, not hot, then fold into cream cheese mixture until completely combined.
Add eggs and vanilla and beat until just combined.
Remove cheesecake crust from freezer and pour batter into pan. (Optional: Tap pan gently against table/counter to bring air bubbles to the surface. Use a fork or toothpick to pop air bubbles.)
Add 1 ½ cups water and 3-inch trivet to Instant Pot. Cover cheesecake with foil, and place on trivet. Cook for 40 minutes at high pressure, then allow a natural pressure release.
Once pressure is released, turn off Instant Pot and carefully remove cheesecake. Remove foil and allow cheesecake to cool for one hour or until room temperature.
Once cool, carefully run a paring knife around the edge of the cheesecake to separate from pan, but do not remove from pan. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.
Carefully push cheesecake up from push pan by placing center of push pan on a can or glass and pushing edges down. If using springform pan, gently remove outer edge of pan.

Strawberry Sauce

Dice half of the strawberries. Cut the remaining strawberries in half lengthwise. (Pick out the prettiest strawberries to keep for this step!)
Once the cheesecake is finished cooking, clean the Instant Pot. Add only the diced strawberries, vanilla, lemon juice, and sugar. Reserve the halved strawberries for the later step. Mix well, then select Sauté on the normal setting.
Bring to a simmer, stirring often. Let simmer until strawberries are almost completely broken down and sauce thickened (7 to 10 minutes).
Add cornstarch slurry (cornstarch and water mixed together) and stir. Then add halved strawberries and stir. Continue to cook until strawberry halves begin to soften (about 2 minutes). Remove inner pot from Instant Pot and allow sauce to cool completely.
Once sauce is cooled, spoon onto the top of prepared cheesecake. (See note.) You can put as little or as much as you want. We used it all, which resulted in sauce drizzling down the sides. Using two forks, flip all of the halved strawberries so that the cut side faces down. Refrigerate for at least two hours before serving.

Notes

Use a 7x3-inch push pan or springform pan and a 3-inch trivet to keep the pan above the measured water.
Freeze the prepared crust while making the filling. Use room-temperature cream cheese, heavy cream, and eggs, and mix just until combined after adding the eggs.
Let the cheesecake cool on the counter for about 1 hour, then refrigerate it in its pan for at least 6 hours before unmolding.
Prepare and cool the sauce during the initial cheesecake chill. Add the diced strawberries first; the reserved halves go in after the cornstarch slurry.
Add completely cooled sauce to the chilled, unmolded cheesecake. You can use less sauce or separate the berries from some of the sauce for a neater topping. Refrigerate for at least 2 more hours after topping.
Keep the finished cheesecake and leftover slices covered in the refrigerator.

Timing: The displayed 9 hours 55 minutes includes preparation, 40 minutes at high pressure, 1 hour of cooling, 6 hours of chilling, and 2 hours of refrigeration after topping. Time to reach pressure, natural pressure release, and any sauce cooling that extends beyond the cheesecake chill are additional.

Nutrition