Loaded Pistachio/Lime Cheese Cake made with Greek Yogurt in Instant Pot

There are so many recipes floating on internet for instant pot cheese cake recipes. I have been trying for different ones with my editing and deleting ingredients. There are two recipes I finally came up with my own version, this one with condensed milk and next two recipes that I made plain and Mango cheese cake with was with regular sugar. First I am going to share this one with you. The next post will be of plain and mango cheese cake.

One thing you want to invest is the spring form pans specially made  for instant pot. The difference is the size for 6 quart instant pot you will need 7" spring form pan. Also I invested in a silicon sling which was well worth it. Some of the recipes are without eggs however the cheesecake without eggs came out little softer so this is the best recipe. I also added lemon and lime rinds and lime juice to the recipe, however if you like to omit you certainly can. I also made the pistachio caramel topping for it, but you can omit that or just use any fruit topping or serve it without topping.

 Ingredients:

For crust: 

  * 1 cup  pistachios coarsely ground in food  processor  (I used roasted shelled salted pistachios from Costco, but you can use un-roasted and unsalted)
  * 1/3 cup of brown sugar (I used organic coconut brown sugar)
  *  4 tables spoon of unsalted butter.

 For Filling: 

  *  16 oz  (2 cups) of Chobani plain whole milk Greek yogurt (I tried other brands but gave the best results for cheese cake and do not use low fat)

  *  3/4 cup of sour cream (you can use full fat or low fat) 

  * 1 can of condensed milk

  *  2 eggs at room temp

  *  1 (8 oz) pack of Cream cheese softened at room temp (you can use Neufchatel cream cheese)

  *  1/4 tsp of kosher sea salt

  *   2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

  * 2 tablespoon of corn starch 

  * Juices and zest from half lime and lemon each (save the other half of lemon for caramel topping).

 Ingredients and method for pistachio caramel syrup will be listed at end of this post with pictures as this is an optional choice.

  

 

 

 

Method to make crust: 

   * Preheat the oven at 350 F.

   * Wrap parchment paper on the base of spring form pan then attach it to the  the pan securing with lock.

   * Lightly spray the 7" spring form pan with baking vegetable oil spray and wrap the outside with aluminum foil.

   * In food processor coarsely grind the pistachio and mix with melted butter and brown sugar.

   * Press into the bottom and up to side of spring form pan, press it  firmly with flat bottom of a glass jar or a measuring  cup.

  * Place it in oven and bake it uncovered for 8 min.

  *  After 8 min take it out of oven and let it cool, you may put it in the fridge or freezer to cool off.

 

  

    

Method to make the filling and Baking cake in Instant pot: 

    * In the same food processor bowl that you ground the pistachios for crust add cream cheese, yogurt, sour cream, eggs, condensed milk, corn starch,  salt, blend and add   lime zest and lime juice from half the  lime, save half the lemon juice for caramel.

    * Add vanilla extract and mix well. 

     * Pour the filling in  baked and cooled  crust, tap on counter to take the air bubbles out.

   * Crush a handful of pistachio and sprinkle over the  filling in the spring form pan.

    * Cover the top of  pan with aluminum foil.

    * Pour 2 cups of water in to instant pot pan.

    * Place the trivet rack.

    *  I bought a silicon sling to for this you can place it in there or you can make and aluminum foil sling.

    * Carefully lower the sling with cheesecake spring form on to the trivet.

    * Close the instant pot lid, select manual pressure cook and make sure it is on high pressure.

    * Set the timer for 45 min and seal vent.

    * When it beeps you either turn it off or  switch to keep warm.

    * Allow the pressure to release naturally (do not turn the pressure release to venting) It takes about         20 min for all the pressure to release. 

    *When you see the pressure valve go down, remove the lid carefully, remove the sling and  spring         form pan.

    * Remove the foil on top and bottom. 

    * If you see some water on top of cheese cake you can gently use a paper towel to soak the water.

* Allow to cool at room temp for 30 min before transferring it to refrigerator to cool uncovered for at least 2 hours, then cover with plastic wrap. 

    * For best result I would then chill the cheese cake in fridge for 8 hours.

    * Before serving open the spring form pan and carefully with spatula slide the cake to cake stand, since you had lined the base of spring form pan with parchment paper it would come out easily.

    * Now you can cut slices with a sharp knife and serve it as is, or can top it with pistachio caramel that I made of with any other topping that you like. 

    *   Recipe for pistachio caramel syrup topping  is as follows.

Ingredients and Method to make Pistachio Caramel:

* 1/2 cup of salted whole roasted shelled pistachios.

* 1/2 cup of granulated sugar.

* 1/2 cup of water

* 1/8 tsp of fine sea salt

* Juice from half the lemon that you saved earlier.

* 1/2 teaspoon of corn starch.

* 1  teaspoon of vanilla.

* Line a baking sheet with foil. 

* Heat the nuts in 200 F oven for few min.

* Cool and either crush them in ziplock bag or leave them as whole as I did for more bolder look.  Set aside.

* Pour 1/2 cup of water in to a heavy saucepan.

* Pour sugar and salt in the pan and pat down. 

* Cover the pan and cook over medium heat for 2-3  min.

* Uncover and cook without stirring until the syrup begins to color slightly.

* Cook for another min and add the nuts, corn starch and lemon juice.

* Cook for another min, make sure it does not harden.

* Add vanilla mix well.

* Let it cool and then top it on the slice of cheese cake if you desire.

Note that you heat the nuts on high in microwave for one min instead of heating them in oven.

Hint for crust: You can use  dates ground in food processor with pistachios instead of using brown sugar.  I would still add butter and bake it for 8 min at 350 F preheated oven. However I prefer the brown sugar better.

Enjoy !! 

Recipe adapted  from several recipes on line by Surekha and Photographs by Surekha.