Instant Pot Chocolate Chip Cheesecake -- The Cake We Made for the Girl Who Became Her Own Person

Amber turned 18 Saturday. I cannot locate a feeling for this. I hold it in my mouth and try to describe it and the words leave. My daughter is 18. My daughter who came to me at 8 with her brother and her grief and her pink backpack is 18. She is legally her own person. She can vote. She can sign a contract. She can enlist in the military if she wanted to, which she does not. She is 18 and still my daughter and the distance between those two things is the whole job of motherhood and I am not done and I never will be.

We had a dinner. Small — just us six plus Gayle. Amber asked for eggplant parmesan, which was an absurd request and also very her, and I made it from scratch with three eggplants and a sauce that took four hours. Chocolate sheet cake after. Dave gave her a silver ring — a simple band with a small stone — that he had bought himself and which had clearly taken him weeks to pick out because Dave buys jewelry the way Dave does anything, with agonized care. Amber said, "Dad." She almost never calls him Dad. He said, "Happy birthday, honey." She hugged him for a long time.

Gayle gave Amber a quilt. A quilt Gayle's mother had made in 1968 that had been in a cedar chest in Gayle's spare room since Gayle moved into the house in 1976. I had never seen it. Gayle pulled it out of a bag. It was blue and cream, a double wedding ring pattern, hand-stitched. Gayle said, "Your great-grandmother made this for me. I am giving it to you for college." Amber started crying. Gayle, for the first time in my life, cried in front of me and her. The three of us cried at the table and Dave and the boys found something to do in the kitchen.

Drove an Omaha run Tuesday, a Kansas City run Thursday-Friday. Sold four books on the road this week — signed them at three truck stops. A man in Topeka had his wife call me on his phone because she had read the book and could not believe her husband had met me. I spoke to his wife, a woman named Maribel, for eight minutes standing beside my truck. She was crying. I was almost crying. The book keeps doing this. I keep saying yes to it.

Sunday I slept in until 7, which is a decadence. Dave made coffee. The sun came through the sunroom window. I drank coffee and read a book that was not mine. This is a good summer. It is the best summer I can remember.

Amber wanted chocolate sheet cake, and I gave her chocolate sheet cake — but this Instant Pot Chocolate Chip Cheesecake is the dessert I keep coming back to when a moment deserves something more than ordinary. It has that same celebratory weight to it, the kind of thing you set on the table and everyone goes a little quiet. If you have a birthday coming, or a quilt being handed down, or a hug that lasts longer than expected —this is the recipe for that day.

Instant Pot Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 5 hours (including chilling) | Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 16 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips, divided
• 1 cup water (for Instant Pot)

Instructions

1. Make the crust. Stir together graham cracker crumbs, 2 tablespoons sugar, and melted butter until evenly combined. Press firmly into the bottom of a greased 7-inch springform pan. Set aside.
2. Mix the filling. Beat softened cream cheese and 1/2 cup sugar together with a hand mixer on medium speed until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, mixing on low after each addition just until incorporated.
3. Add sour cream and vanilla. Mix in sour cream and vanilla extract until smooth. Do not overmix — keep it just combined to avoid air bubbles.
4. Fold in chocolate chips. Stir in 1/2 cup of the mini chocolate chips by hand. Pour filling over the prepared crust and smooth the top with a spatula.
5. Prepare the Instant Pot. Pour 1 cup of water into the Instant Pot insert. Place the trivet inside. Cover the springform pan tightly with foil to prevent condensation from dripping onto the cheesecake.
6. Pressure cook. Lower the pan onto the trivet using a foil sling. Secure the lid and set the valve to Sealing. Cook on High Pressure for 35 minutes.
7. Natural release. Allow the pressure to release naturally for 15 minutes, then carefully switch the valve to Venting to release any remaining pressure. Remove the lid and let the cheesecake rest in the pot for 5 minutes.
8. Cool and chill. Lift the pan out carefully. Remove the foil and allow the cheesecake to cool to room temperature on a wire rack, about 1 hour. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
9. Finish and serve. Before serving, scatter the remaining 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips over the top. Release the springform, slice, and serve cold.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 420 | Protein: 7g | Fat: 28g | Carbs: 36g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 280mg