When I got my Instant Pot I knew you could make desserts in it, and since I love desserts, I knew I would be using that feature. What I didn’t know is that the sealing rings in the lid of the Instant Pot holds odors like nobody’s business so unless I wanted pulled pork smelling cheesecake I would need to buy more sealing rings. As I don’t currently have any other sealing rings, I ended up making this cheesecake recipe in the oven with a water bath and it turned out beautifully. I am going to post the instructions for the Instant Pot method here, but if you don’t have one, it makes a delicious 6″ cheesecake in the more classic manner also. Recipe and photo courtesy of mybakingaddiction.com.

• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons Challenge Dairy Unsalted Butter, melted
• 16 ounces Challenge Dairy Cream Cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• cherry pie filling, optional

Tightly wrap the bottom of 6-inch springform pan in foil and spray the inside of the pan with non-stick cooking spray. In a small mixing bowl, stir together the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. Press the crumbs into the bottom of the prepared pan. Place pan in freezer for 10-15 minutes. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar and mix until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Making sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add in the flour, heavy cream, and vanilla and mix until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan. Cover the top of the pan with a piece of foil. Pour 1 1/2 cups of water into the Instant Pot and place the trivet in the bottom of the pot. Create a “foil sling” by folding a 20-inch long piece of foil in half lengthwise two times. This “sling” will allow you place and remove the springform pan with ease.Place the cheesecake pan in the center of the sling and carefully lower the pan into the Instant Pot. Fold down the excess foil from the sling to ensure the pot closes properly. Lock the lid into place and make sure the vent is closed “sealing”. Press the “Manual” button and cook on high pressure for 35 minutes. When the Instant Pot beeps, hit the “Keep Warm/Cancel” button to turn off the pressure cooker. Allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes and then do a quick release to release any pressure remaining in the pot. Carefully unfold the foil sling and remove the cheesecake from the pot to a cooling rack using the foil sling “handles”. Uncover the cheesecake and allow it to cool to room temperature. Once the cheesecake has cooled, refrigerate it for at least 8 hours, or overnight. Before serving, top with pie filling and whipped cream if desired.

*If you are baking this in the oven instead, simply put your wrapped pan in a 9×13 pan with water in it and bake it for about 40 minutes in a 350 oven. There should still be a slight wobble in the center, just turn off the oven and leave the door cracked so it can finish baking for about 10 minutes.

I continue to be on a mission to find as many banana desserts as I can that only use ripened bananas. I always have bananas in the house and want to build a repertoire of recipes that I can use them in. There is nothing worse to me than artificial banana flavor so I promise that any recipe you find on my site will steer far clear. I was really impressed with this cheesecake recipe. I had never seen a banana cheesecake recipe before and this one turned out perfectly. I served it with strawberry and blueberry compote. Recipe and photo courtesy of bakingbeauty.net.

• 3 cups crushed vanilla wafers
• 3/4 cup butter, melted
• 4 large ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 4 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
• 4 8 ounce blocks of cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 powdered sugar

For the crust, preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch cake or springform pan. Wrap the outsides with aluminum foil. Set aside. Place vanilla wafers into a plastic bag or food processor. Process/crush until you have fine crumbs. In a medium bowl, combine wafter crumbs and melted butter. Press vanilla wafer mixture evenly into pan. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Cool completely.

For the filling, mash bananas with a for until smooth in a small sauce pan. Stir in brown sugar and lemon juice. Cook for 3-5 minutes until sugar is dissolved and bananas are cooked. Remove from heat. Stir in 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract. Let cool completely. In a large bowl mix cream cheese til light and fluffy. Cream in sugar until fully combined, scraping the bowl as necessary. Stir in eggs and vanilla. Stir in banana mixture until just combined. Evenly pour filling into prepared crust. Place cake pan into a roasting pan. Fill pan around halfway full with hot water. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45-60 minutes or until the center is firm. Cool on a wire rack. Refrigerate for a few hours before serving.

For the topping, in a large chilled bowl, whip cream with a chilled whisk. Whisk until thickened. Stir in powdered sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Whip until soft peaks form. Garnish with whipped cream, sliced banana, and vanilla wafers if desired. Store in the refrigerator.

This banana cake was the best combination of banana bread and cake. It rose beautifully, was light and fluffy, but still hearty like banana bread. Topped with cream cheese frosting it is a sure-fire crowd pleaser. Recipe courtesy of yellowblissroad.com.

• 3 ripe bananas mashed
• 2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice divided
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 cups flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda*
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Cream cheese frosting

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease and flour and 9×13 pan. Measure 1 1/2 cups of milk, and add 1 1/2 tablespoons of lemon juice. In a separate bowl, mix the mashed bananas with the other tablespoon of lemon juice and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the 2/3 cup vegetable oil with the granulated and brown sugar. Then add the eggs one at a time, stirring well after each egg. Add the teaspoon of vanilla and mix well. Add 1 cup of the flour along with the 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda to the large mixing bowl. Mix well. Add 1/2 cup of the milk/lemon juice mixture and blend. Add another cup of flour and mix. Then another 1/2 cup of milk and mix. Repeat with the remaining one cup of flour and 1/2 cup of milk. Fold in the bananas, and pour into your prepared 9×13 pan. Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs (Mine was finished in 50 minutes). Let the cake cool completely, and then frost with the Cream Cheese Frosting.

*If baking at altitude, reduce baking soda to 1 teaspoon and add an extra 1/4 cup of flour. You could also sub buttermilk for the sour milk mixture.