Instant Pot Carrot Cake Cheescake

****Update this recipe at the bottom of page***

My husband loves carrot cake. He particularly likes the cream cheese icing. So when recently searching for recipes for my Instant Pot that I was gifted at Christmas, I found this Carrot Cake Cheesecake combo.

I always want full transparency with my recipes, so below are my conclusions if this recipe works or not. Here is my recipe and my results.

Instant Pot Carrot Cake-Cheesecake

Cheesecake Ingredients:

• 8 ounces cream cheese softened
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 tbsp sour cream
• 1 tbsp all purpose flour
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Cake Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup crushed pineapple
• 1 cup grated carrot (two medium carrots)
• 1/4 cup walnuts

Cooking Directions

1. Prepare 6" spring form pan by greasing with butter. If no spring form available, line 6" cake pan with aluminum foil and grease.
   
2. Mix all cheesecake ingredients together until smooth on medium speed of an electric mixer. Set aside.
   
3. In another bowl combine oil and sugar and mix until blended.
   
4. Add remaining ingredients except pineapple, carrot and walnuts. Mix until well combined.
5. Add carrot and pineapple until well incorporated.
   
6. Add walnuts to batter and stir by hand.
7. Pour 2/3 of cake mixture into pan, then gently pour 2/3 of cheesecake batter on top. Pour remaining cake mixture on top of that, then remaining cheesecake batter. Spread gently to cover completely.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
8. Add 1 cup water and trivet to Instant Pot.
   
9. Tightly seal top of cake pan with tin foil.
   
10. Set pan on top of trivet and set Instant Pot to 35 mins.
    
    
    
    
11. Let naturally steam vent for 10 minutes.
12. Remove cake pan and tin foil. Let cool on counter, then refrigerate. Best if left for at least 2 hours in fridge.
13. Top with cinnamon or plain whipping cream if desired.
14. To make cinnamon whipped cream, add 1/4 tsp to cream while whipping.

CONCLUSIONS:

After letting the Instant Pot naturally release the steam for 11 minutes, I removed the cake from the pot. It was very, very underdone.

Decided to put in the regular oven to finish baking.

Baked a 350 degrees for 45 minutes. And it was perfect.

This is a great recipe, I just wouldn't use the Instant Pot to cook it in. My suggestion is to make the recipe as above, only instead of using the instant pot, I would bake in a 350 degree oven for 90 minutes.

***Here's the update***

I realized that I did not mention starting with a graham cracker crust.

Mix one cup of graham cracker crumbs with 2 tbsp melted butter. Press down into the bottom of the pan, and refrigerate until ready to put cake batter into.

Important note: The second time I tried this recipe, I didn't have any graham cracker crumbs, so used the same amount of gingersnap cookies. The ginger flavour really works well with this recipe. Will post the gingersnap cookie recipe I used on another blog, but you can also use store purchased gingersnaps.

Since this second time around I'm not using the Instant Pot, I used parchment paper to line the dish rather than tinfoil. This will make a tidier cheesecake in the end.

The end result baking entirely in the oven, is a much higher, richer cheese cake. With these lovely defined lines. Conclusion: Do not try in the Instant Pot. This is a fabulous cheese cake, but bake it in the oven.