Instant Pot Cardamom & Ginger Cheesecake

One of my favourite whole spices has got to be cardamom. It’s subtle – so not overpowering like the clove, it doesn’t have cinnamon’s heat, or star anise’s hint of liquorice – it’s just a lovely, wholesome flavour that almost envelopes you as you devour it. So when I saw a cheesecake recipe for the Instant Pot, I knew I had to try a cardamom version. Inspired by Jo’s lemon and ginger cheesecake, I used a gingernut biscuit base for this, followed by a creamy, rich cardamom filling and topped with crushed pistachio nuts and toasted coconut for texture. This really is a delight to eat and the texture from ‘baking’ it in the Instant Pot is quite  possibly the best I have ever tasted.

You will need:

A 6-inch or 7-inch springform pan

Foil, to make slings to lift the pan out of the Instant Pot

Trivet

200 grams of gingernut biscuits

50 grams of melted butter

560 grams of cream cheese (I used full fat Philadelphia)

100 grams of caster sugar

125 ml of double cream

2 teaspoons of freshly ground cardamom

2 tablespoons of cornflour

2 eggs

A handful of pistachios, coarsely crushed

2 teaspoons of desiccated coconut, toasted

Method

Blitz your gingernut biscuits into a fine crumb in your food processor. If you don’t have one, put the biscuits in a ziplock bag, top with a tea towel and take a rolling pin and go.to.town! Once you have a pile of crumbs, add in your melted butter so you have the texture of wet sand.

Decant the biscuit base into your pan and evenly distribute it across the bottom and up the sides. I like a thick crust so this was perfect for my 6 inch pan. Using a glass helps me do this quite easily. Set it aside whilst you work on your filling.

Using a mixer, whip your cream cheese until it’s nice and fluffy. Then add all the rest of your ingredients and whip for no more than 30 seconds. Use a spatula to incorporate any bits left out and then leave the mixture alone to avoid overworking it.

Pour your mixture into your biscuit base – tap it gently to ensure the filling settles nicely.

Now, prepare your Instant Pot. Begin by switching it onto Sauté mode to heat the pot. Pour in 1.5 cups of water and pop in your trivet. Thread a foil strip through each trivet handle and then lower in your pan. Cover the cheesecake with either several sheets of kitchen towel, foil, or a silicone (oven/microwave safe) lid, and then put on your Instant Pot lid.

Ensure the valve is set to Sealing, then choose a manual cycle on High for 30 minutes. When this is complete, allow the pot to naturally release pressure for 10 minutes. Then release the rest of the pressure. When you remove the cheesecake, check that it is mainly set, with a little wobble in the middle. After cooling it on a rack, pop it in the fridge for at least four hours, or overnight if possible.

When you’re ready to dig in, top it with your crushed pistachios and toasted coconut. Then savour it – it is a dream to slice and like chai in a cake. You’re welcome.

 

Recipe adapted from Every Nook and Cranny