Instant Pot Mexican Hot Fudge Cheesecake

What could be more decadent than Mexican Hot Fudge with Cheesecake! Rich fudge with a little kick, mmmm!

 

I found a recipe recently for hot fudge sauce and it got me thinking about Mexican Hot Fudge with cinnamon and cayenne pepper in the sauce. So I went hunting and found this recipe and adapted it slightly for the ingredients I had on hand. Instead of the baking squares I used some unsweetened chocolate chips. The fudge works best if you first melt the butter, then add in the sugar and stir until the sugar is dissolved before adding the chocolate. Otherwise the texture of the sauce may be too grainy. Also, the times listed on the recipe are not accurate…it takes a bit longer to melt the ingredients before you can add the milk.

 

I used some of the sauce in the cheesecake and saved some for topping it too. I used to own a cheesecake business, so I can bake cheesecakes in my sleep now. I don’t make them often any longer, but I have been wanting to try one in my Instant Pot and decided this would be a great one to try. I was a bit skeptical about the results in the Instant Pot, worrying there would be moisture dripping into or on top of the cake, which there was, but it was not a huge amount, and a light touch with a paper towel after removal from the pot soaked it right up.

 

The baking time is probably not any shorter than baking in the oven, by the time you figure in pressure release time, but the consistency of the cake was fantastic, rich and creamy, not dried out at all and no cracks! When I first took it out of the pot I felt like it might be a bit underbaked, but as it cooled it firmed up nicely, so the 35 minutes of high pressure was just right for great texture!

 

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Whether using a springform pan or a removable bottom pan you do want to wrap the bottom of the pan in foil so the moisture does not seep into the crust. You also want to keep your crust as flat on the bottom of the pan as possible, and not try to have the crust come up the edges of the pan, as this could result in a soggy crust. A couple of recipes I saw said to set the pan on a paper towel and then wrap with foil, so I did that and it worked well. I think you could also wrap the bottom of the pan with cling wrap and foil and get the same results. I used a 7″ removable bottom pan and it fit perfectly on top of the metal trivet with the arms raised up, so I could easily get the pan out when the cake was finished. If necessary you could also create a lifter with a strip of foil extending beyond both sides of the pan for lifting…just be careful it does not interfere with the seal. I think the next time I try this I am going to also wrap the top of the cake pan with plastic and see what happens. I don’t know if the pressure and moisture will cause the plastic to get into the batter, but I think it’s worth one experimental attempt…I will be sure to post about that when I try it.

Mexican Hot Fudge Cheesecake Recipe

Crust Ingredients: Makes one 7-inch crust

• 8 oz Oreo or Chocolate Cookies
• 4 oz melted butter
• pinch salt
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Pulse cookies in a food processor until crushed then add butter and salt and mix together. If you do not have a food processor you can place the cookies in a plastic bag and roll over the bag with a rolling pin to crush the cookies.

Press crust into bottom of pan using the bottom of a flat glass to compress the crust.

Cake Ingredients: Makes one 7-inch cheesecake

• 16 oz cream cheese at room temperature
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 eggs at room temperature
• 1 cup hot fudge sauce at room temperature
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch salt

To ensure that your cake does not have lumps of cream cheese, the cheese should be at room temperature. If you don’t have time to wait for it to come up to room temperature you can place the wrapped cheese in a plastic bag and soak it in hot tap water for a few minutes to soften the cheese. If you need to bring eggs up to room temperature just place them in a bowl of warm tap water as well. If your hot fudge sauce is refrigerated, just place a cup of the sauce in the microwave on medium power for 30-60 seconds then stir and it should be a good consistency for mixing into the cake batter without it getting too hot.

When mixing your cake always start with the cream cheese and sugar and mix well until smooth and creamy, stopping occasionally to scrape the bowl sides and bottom and the mixer paddle too. Once there are no lumps and the batter is smooth you can then add the cocoa powder and mix thoroughly until the color is consistent, scraping the bowl and paddle once again. Next add the eggs, one at a time, mixing between. Once you have added the eggs you do not want to over mix the batter at this point. Add the hot fudge sauce, mix well then add the heavy cream, vanilla and salt and stir until incorporated. Before pouring batter into the pan you want to lightly spray the insides of the pan sides to prevent the batter from sticking to the pan. Be sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of the pan, mixing in any uneven colored sections before pouring the batter into the pan.

Place 2 cups tap water into the Instant Pot, then place the cheesecake on the trivet, seal the lid and cook on high pressure for 35 minutes. Allow the pressure to release naturally before removing the lid.

Once you remove the cake from the pot you will want to allow it to cool at room temperature for about a half hour before placing in the refrigerator. You may find when you remove the foil from around the pan that the butter leaked out onto the bottom of the pan, so you might just need a warm, damp towel to clean that up before cooling in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours or overnight before serving.

Serve with hot fudge and whipped cream with a little cocoa powder sifted on top. Enjoy!