Instant Pot Robin Eggs Mini Cheesecakes
Robin Eggs Mini Cheesecakes decorated with Whoppers Easter candies are the perfect spring dessert. These Pressure Cooker Mini Cheesecakes have rich, creamy New York-style cheesecake loaded with colorful Robin Eggs. A fun Instant Pot mini cheesecake recipe just in time for Easter.
My family went crazy for my Robin Eggs No-Bake Cheesecakes, so I thought it would be fun to make it an Instant Pot / electric pressure cooker.
This pressure cooker dessert has a more traditional New York-style cheesecake batter that’s dotted with colorful Whoppers Robin Eggs.
🐣 These quick and easy mini cheesecakes are guaranteed to be a hit at your Easter celebration! 🐣
Update: Since writing this recipe several years ago, I’ve started using adorable mini mason jars to make pressure cooker cheesecakes. This post has been updated to reflect these upgrades!
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Making 3-Ingredient Graham Cracker Cheesecake Crust
The first step in making these delightful Robin Eggs Mini Cheesecakes is a perfectly buttery crust. Our recipe is only three ingredients that cook up to a classic crust on the bottom of each pressure cooker cheesecake.
Simply mix up graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and a bit of sugar to line the bottom of each mason jar.
💡 Tip: I like to use a #40 scoop (about 1.5 tablespoons) to loosely scoop the crust into the individual jars. Then I use an inexpensive tart tamper to really press the crust into place.
After filling the jars with crust, pop them in the freezer for 10 minutes to firm them up.
How to Make Mini Cheesecakes in an Instant Pot / Pressure Cooker
An Instant Pot is one of the most popular brands of electric pressure cookers. They are easy to use and your Instant Pot can help you create these delicious Robin’s Egg Mini Cheesecakes!
This recipe will work in any brand of electric pressure cooker, including the Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi, or Power Pressure Cooker XL.
While your graham cracker crusts firm up in the freezer, whip up the simple New York-style cheesecake batter.
These Easter-themed cheesecakes benefit from tangy cream cheese and sour cream for some serious flavor.
The batter itself is a quick dump-and-mix recipe, with a few important notes:
- All of your ingredients should be room temperature.
- Don’t use a food processor to chop the Whoppers Robin Eggs candies. You still want good-sized pieces of candy in your cheesecakes, not dust.
- We like the mini Robin Eggs for this Pressure Cooker Cheesecake recipe, but you’re welcome to use the larger size if you prefer.
- Be sure not to overmix the cheesecake batter. Gently fold in the chopped Whoppers Robin Eggs at the end to bring color and crunch to your cheesecake batter.
(See all my Tips for Making Perfect Instant Pot Cheesecake here.)
How to Cook Mason Jar Cheesecakes
Because everything is cuter when it’s smaller, I love making individual pressure cooker cheesecakes instead of one big cake. Plus, it’s automatic portion control! 😉
I cook these adorable cheesecakes in twelve mini (4-ounce) mason jars.
I first tried making cheesecakes in mason jars for our Instantly Sweet Cookbook: Mini Lemon Cheesecakes, and I fell in love with how adorable they come out. (See how cute?!)
Mason jars are the perfect size for mini cheesecakes that cook evenly into creamy, single-serving treats.
💡 Tip: To fill the jars evenly, I like to use a #16 scoop (2 ounces or just under 1/4 cup). If you don’t have one, a kitchen scale is another great tool to make sure each filled jar weighs the same.
After filling, you can stack the glass jars right inside the pressure cooker pot. Start by adding a cup of water to your pressure cooking pot. This will produce the steam you need to bake the custards.
Next, stack your jars inside the pot. Start by placing a short trivet on the bottom with six mason jars on top. Then place a second rack in the middle and the remaining six mason jars on top of that.
➡️ If you don’t have two pressure cooker racks, you can place canning rings under the bottom six jars. Then place a rack on top and stack the remaining six jars on top of the rack.
When the cheesecakes finish cooking, set them on a wire rack to cool. Be sure the cakes are 100% cooled before putting the lids on the jars. Then, let the covered cheesecakes set in the fridge overnight for the best flavor and texture
Decorating and Serving Robin Eggs Mini Cheesecakes for Easter
I dressed up my Robin Eggs Mini Cheesecakes with a swirl of whipped cream and some extra mini Robin Eggs on top.
If you’re feeling very festive, bring more of an Easter look to your mini cheesecakes with an adorable nest of candy eggs on top. (See our Malted Milk Chocolate Cake from Barbara Bakes for a how-to on this decorating strategy.)
🍫 This recipe doesn’t have to be just for Easter! 🍫
You can easily adapt this Instant Pot Mini Cheesecake recipe to use Cadbury Mini Eggs, M&Ms, Reeses Pieces, and most other candies.
More Festive Easter Recipes
🐰 If you haven’t had your fill of cute Easter sweets, try some of these favorites from my baking blog, Barbara Bakes:
- Every year since the kids were young, we’ve started the day with these bright and easy Overnight Citrus Cream Cheese Pull-Apart Rolls.
- These Easter Shortbread Sandwich Cookies are filled with sweet-tart lemon curd and decorated with adorable cookie cut-outs.
- Pop some popcorn, melt some candy melts, and toss in your leftover Easter chocolates for this irresistible Easter Rocky Road Popcorn.
- If you’re looking to go the no-bake route with your Easter cheesecakes, we have you covered with Robin Eggs No-Bake Cheesecakes.
🥚 And because it can’t be all about desserts on Easter:
- Start with a tray of Pressure Cooker Deviled Eggs to celebrate the occasion.
- My foolproof way of warming spiral Easter ham slices ensures your ham won’t dry out before serving.
- As a side, serve a comfort-food classic with these Cheesy Instant Pot Potatoes au Gratin.
Equipment
Ingredients
Cheesecake Crust
- Nonstick cooking spray
- 1 cup graham cracker crumbs about 8 crackers
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Cheesecakes
- 2 packages 8-ounces, each cream cheese, room temperature
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 cup Whoppers Mini Robin Eggs Malted Milk Candies rough chopped*
- Whipped Cream and additional Robin Eggs for decoration optional
Instructions
- Prepare twelve 4-ounce glass mini mason jars by spraying them with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, butter, and sugar. Press the crust evenly into the bottom and up the side of the jars about 1/2 inch.
- In a mixing bowl, combine cream cheese and sugar at medium speed until smooth. Add the sour cream, vanilla, and salt and mix just until blended. Add egg and mix just until blended; don’t over mix. Gently fold in the Robin Egg candies. Divide the batter evenly between the twelve mini mason jars. (You can do this with a 2-ounce disher or by weighing the jars and adding the same amount of batter to each jar.)
- Pour 1 cup of water into the pressure cooking pot, and place the trivet in the bottom. Place six jars on the trivet. Place a second trivet on top of the jars and place the remaining six jars on top.
- Lock lid in place. Select High Pressure and 2 minutes cook times. When the cook time ends, turn off the pressure cooker. Allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes, then finish with a quick pressure release. When the valve drops, carefully remove the lid.
- Remove the jars to a wire rack to cool. If necessary, remove any water drops from the tops of the cheesecakes with the corner of a paper towel. When the cheesecakes cool, refrigerate, covered with their jar tops, for at least 4 hours or overnight. Be sure the cakes are fully cool before covering.
- Serve the mini Easter cheesecakes topped with whipped cream and Robin Eggs, if you like.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Hi There
What size Instant Pot, or other, did you use, 6qt or 8 qt?
When I make my individual cheesecakes, I get 9 Standard size Silicone muffin liners (using only 1 brick of cream cheese) in my 8qt pot. Are these mini mason jars smaller than a standard size muffin liner?
Thanks and now I need to go out and get some Mini Eggs!
Hi Barb – all our recipes are created using a 6-quart pressure cooker. The 4-ounce jars are bigger than my silicone muffin liners. So you may want to divide the ingredients in half or make two batches. Enjoy!
I am making these for my husband and myself today!!! Hope we don’t eat all 12… lol
Great! Cheesecake freezes well so you can stash some in the freezer to help with portion control if you want. Enjoy 🙂
Would you be able to sub the robin eggs for Cadbury mini eggs??
Hi Megan – I haven’t tried it, but I think Cadbury Mini Eggs would work well. They’re one of my favorite Easter candies. Let me know if you try it.
Would these freeze well?
thanks!
kris
Hi Kris – yes, cheesecake freezes very well. Just thaw it in the refrigerator.
Is there a way to cut this recipe in half?
Hi Lynn – yes, you can cut the ingredients in half and only make 6 jars. Use 1 cup of water and the same cook time.
Instead of the cups, do you think I could substitute mini spring form pans with the same result? Or would they need to cook for a different time?
Hi Becka – I think mini springform pans would work great. Metal cooks a little faster in the pressure cooker, so you might want to reduce the cook time a minute depending on the size of the pans. Enjoy!
These are so cute and clever. I wish I had seen this before Easter. But, who cares? They’re good any time of year. These are beautiful!
Thanks Barbara! I think this is a great basic recipe that I could have fun with adding all kinds of things. The sky’s the limit!
Hi, Barbata– these are darling! If I needed to go in a not-quite-as-adorable route and do this as a whole cake, what size pan would be best and how should the cooking time be adjusted?
Thank you!!
Thanks Susan – I thought they turned out super fun too. If you want a bigger cheesecake, I’d try a 7 inch springform pan and a 20 – 25 minute cook time uncoverd. But I haven’t tried a big one yet, so let me know if you try it. 🙂
Thanks!
What a cute idea! Gosh it’s been so long since I’ve had Easter candy, Those malted eggs were ones I would reach for….and in a cheesecake, I’m sure I’d reach for them a lot faster. 🙂
I do love the way cheesecake cooks in the pressure cooker. Will have to give these individual ones a try.
Thanks Carol! Definitely give the individual ones a try. They’d be easy to eat a couple and put the rest in the freezer for another day.
I have an electric pressure cooker. Do I need to adjust the cooking time? This Sat I am trying your Meyer Lemon Cheesecake in my cooker. Can’t wait.
Hi Gail – all my recipes are created using an electric pressure cooker. So no changes are necessary. Enjoy!