Creamy Cheesecake with Caramel Sauce and Biscoff Cookie Crust - Pressure Cooker Style, in 15 minutes!

Hi everyone!  I have been Missing In Action, from this blog, for three weeks. This is a first, and I have so missed not having the time nor energy to share what I've been making for my family and friends.  I have been busy with a summer school class. My husband and I were blessed to travel to British Columbia, which we absolutely loved.  Two days after our Canada adventure ended, I headed into the busiest two weeks of my job.  I've been wanting to share this recipe with you for a while, because I love cheesecake. So, I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaack!

Now that summer is under way-- and rapidly coming to a close-- I think about people who lives in climates where it gets really HOT. Where I live, I'm happiest when our average temperature hit 75 degrees. I have friends and family who live in Texas, Missouri, Rhode Island and parts of Arizona. I cannot fathom what it's like to live in triple-digit weather, nor do I understand what it's like to experience sticky humidity!

So, once again, I can give one more reason that owning a pressure cooker can be a life saver when it's too hot to bake.   I tested this theory by "baking" my first dessert in my electric pressure cooker.  Making a cheesecake seemed like the perfect choice to start with.  I've made many cheesecakes over the years. Some I've baked without a "baine marie" (water bath) and some with.  The theory behind using a water bath is to keep the oven moisture high and to cook more slowly.  A pressure cooker, I was confident, could do just that!

I like a traditional graham cracker crust, but this time I wanted to use Biscoff Cookies instead.  Otherwise known as speculoos cookies, these are very addictive.  The are buttery, crispy with a perfect balance of spice-- and just a hint of cinnamon.  I am happy to see that they are easier to find at my local grocery store, so I don't have to resort to ordering them from Amazon.

I didn't photograph the process of making the cream cheese filling, because it's basic and simple enough.  It's very important to bring the cream cheese to room temperature.  Using my stand mixer, I mixed the cream cheese and sugar until completely smooth (lump-free). Then I added pure vanilla extract blended until combined. Last,  added 2 large eggs (also at room temperature, and mixed until just combined.  (You want to avoid over beating, because it can cause too much air in the batter-- which could lead to a cracked surface.) 

I used 30 cookies, mixed with 3 tablespoons of melted butter, to make the crust.

Using a measuring cup, I was able to press the cookies into my springform pan*, and then I filled it with the cream cheese filling. *I had to order a 7" Spring form pan, so that it could fit inside my pressure cooker (less than $8.00).  I thought it was a worthwhile investment, so that I would have a smaller cheesecake, which could (potentially) lead us to less gluttony. At least, that was the justification while waiting for the UPS truck to pull out front of my house.

 I smoothed out the filling...

Then, filled the pressure cooker pot with 2 cups of water.  I made a foil sling so that I could easily lift out the cheesecake, when it was finished. The springform pan is placed on top of a trivet, so there is not worry that water will leak into the pan. I love it!

Traditional oven-baked cheesecakes take about an hour.  But, with the pressure cooker, it took 15 minutes! For reals...

Once my digital pressure cooker beeped, I let it sit for ten minutes-- which is referred to as a "natural release".  I unlocked the lid, removed it and my cheesecake looked like a souffle.

Once I lifted the cheesecake out, using the foil sling, I set it on a wire rack to cool completely.  Here's the hardest part-- waiting for at least 4 hours (or overnight) before cutting into it.

The next morning, I unhinged the spring-form pan, and (with a breath of relief), the cheesecake revealed itself.

Using a large spatula, I was able to carefully slide the cheesecake onto a serving plate.
NOTE: The dark "splotches" on the crust is where the crust caramelized, rather than being water-logged.  The fear that most cheese cake bakers have is that the crust would turn out soggy, from the water bath. I'm very pleased to report that this did not happen. Halleluia!

My son-- who absolutely adores cheesecake-- is smitten with smothering the cake with cherry pie filling. I don't disagree.  This time, I figured that caramel would be a perfect pairing with the Speculoos Cookie Crust.  I like to make my own caramel, as a rule. But, this time, I used a quality store-bought salted caramel crust.

So, here comes the first slice of Pressure Cooker Cheesecake.  I can hardly wait to try this!

TASTING NOTES:   I can personally recommend that the crust is crazy delicious.  It's a nice change from graham cracker crust (though I like that as well).  The cheesecake was creamy, with a perfect balance of vanilla.  It's velvety....creamy... dreamy.

My son was the next person to take a taste.  He much prefers a traditional graham cracker crust, and lamented that there weren't cherries on top.  Son, this cheesecake is so easy to make, that your wish desire can easily be fulfilled.

I thank Barbara of "Pressure Cooking Today" for inspiring me to adapt her  Pressure Cooker Cheesecake recipe.  I have said this many times, and I'll continue to do so-- pressure cooking is nothing to fear. It's so much fun, that once you try it, you will wonder what took you so long to get with this renewed popular retro-style of cooking. 

A printable recipe is at the end of this post.