Maple Bacon Cheesecake

Ingredients:

Crust:
1 cup Ritz crackers, Graham, chocolate or Nilla crumbs
2 tsp brown sugar
3 Tbsp melted butter

Filling:
2 8-oz pkg cream cheese (warmed)
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp maple extract or vanilla
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup real bacon pieces

Topping:
1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp maple extract or vanilla

Garnish:
Sweetened whipped cream, maple syrup and fleur de sel or sea salt

Directions:

Crust:

Combine ingredients with a fork and press it in the bottom of a cheesecake pan and up the sides a bit.

Filling:

**Important: Warm the cream cheese: Put the wrapped cream cheese in a ziplock bag but don't seal it. Push it into a sink or bowl full of hot tap water to force the air out and then seal it. Weight it down with a plate for about 15 minutes. It will be very soft and easy to blend.

Blend the warm cream cheese, maple syrup, brown sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add eggs and egg yolk and mix just until incorporated. Set 2 Tbsp of the bacon aside for garnishing and add the rest to the batter. Pour this into the prepared crust. No need to cover it with tin foil.

Pour 1 1/2 cups of water in the Instant Pot and put the cheesecake on the trivet. Close the lid and set the valve to Sealing. Hit the Pressure Cook (or Manual) button and use the + and – buttons to set the time.

PAN SIZE AND COOK TIMES:

6-inch pan --- 32 minutes
7-inch pan --- 29 minutes
8-inch pan --- 26 minutes

For 1 1/2 times the recipe:

7–inch pan --- 33 minutes
8-inch pan --- 36 minutes

For two times the recipe:

8-inch pan --- 33 minutes

When it beeps that it's done, leave it for a 15 minutes natural release. Then flip the valve from Sealing to Venting for a quick release and when the pin drops, open the pot and remove the cheesecake.

It may appear "jiggly". That's okay. Don't worry - it will firm up and settle down as it cools. Blot off any condensation with paper towel.

Topping: Whisk together the topping ingredients and let the sugar dissolve for several minutes. After an hour or so, stir it again and spread it over the cheesecake.

Cover the pan and refrigerate it for at least 4 hours or preferably overnight. When ready to serve, decorate with whipped cream and sprinkle with the reserved bacon bits. Drizzle with maple syrup and a light sprinkle of fleur de sel or sea salt.