Hot Pink Valentine's Day Cheesecake

This Hot Pink Valentine's Day Cheesecake is the perfect dessert for your sweetheart. This is a creamy vanilla cheesecake colored hot pink and decorated with bright and fun Valentine's sprinkles. Date night at home just got better with this special treat!

Jump to:

• Video
• Valentine's Day Cheesecake
• Why You'll Love this Valentine's Day Cheesecake
• Ingredients for the Valentine's Cheesecake
• Tools Needed
• How to Make a Valentine's Day Instant Pot Cheesecake
• Decorating Tips to Make Your Cheesecake Stand Out
• Variations
• Pro Tips
• More Valentine's Day Dessert Ideas
• Recipe

This dessert is more than just a treat; it has the flavor of a classic cheesecake recipe, but is colored hot pink and decorated. It will be the centerpiece of your Valentine's Day celebration. With its bold bright color and creamy texture, this cheesecake just makes me happy on so many levels. 😍

Video

Valentine's Day Cheesecake

A couple of years ago my oldest son bought a home about 10 minutes from us and he and my second son moved into that house.

While it hurt my heart deeply for my kids to move out, I was also so super proud of him that he could do that at the age of 24. Bonus: I can send all of my other kids over there to hang out when the hubby and I want a quiet date night at home. 

That's exactly what we'll plan to do for Valentine's day this year and what we've done for other inexpensive, yet super relaxing date nights. My husband is also my best friend and while we love a night out, we especially love a night at home alone.

We get to relax in our PJs, rent a movie on Amazon (or binge-watch a favorite show), cook food we love, save money, and have the house to ourselves. Our ideal meal is steaks, salads, potatoes, and of course an amazing dessert. 

While there are many options for Valentine's day desserts, this Valentine's cheesecake checks all the boxes.

Why You'll Love this Valentine's Day Cheesecake

Pretty. This pretty pink cheesecake is bright hot pink. Add the heart sprinkles on top and that makes it the perfect dessert for the day of love 😉

Dessert for Two. This mini cheesecake is made in the Instant Pot, so by default, it's small. The whole cheesecake is 'technically' 6 servings, but let's be honest: it's really perfect for two. Make a romantic dinner at home, then serve this delicious Valentine's Day dessert.

Make Ahead. As with all cheesecake recipes, this one has to chill and is best if it sets overnight, so you can make it ahead and have one less thing to do on the special day. This is the best part of making this delicious cheesecake!

Ingredients for the Valentine's Cheesecake

This list of simple Ingredients will end up making a very delicious, impressive dessert:

• Cream Cheese - Philadelphia Cream Cheese is terrific, but I also use generic brands
• Sugar
• Vanilla extract - homemade or store-bought
• Whole Eggs + 1 Yolk
• Graham Crackers (1 sleeve = 1 ½ cups Graham Cracker Crumbs)
• Sugar
• Melted Butter - I use salted butter
• Hot Pink Gel Food Coloring
• Valentine’s Day Sprinkles - I love tiny heart sprinkles and a mixture of nonpareils. But this time of year it's easy to find Valentine's decorations so choose any you like!
• Cooking Spray 
• Water 

Tools Needed

• Instant Pot Springform Pan
• Instant Pot
• Instant Pot Sling

Instant Pot

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Instant Pot Springform Pan

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Valentine's Sprinkles

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How to Make a Valentine's Day Instant Pot Cheesecake

This dessert has a traditional cheesecake flavor that's amped up with Valentine's color & decorations. 

Make the Crust

1. Place your graham crackers in a food processor and process until you get fine crumbs. 
2. Pour them into a small bowl, then add in 4 tablespoons of sugar and your melted butter. Mix until well combined.
3. Spray your springform pan with cooking spray.
4. To make the graham cracker crust, press your crumb mixture into the bottom of your pan, and slightly up the sides. Set aside. 

Make the Cheesecake Filling

1. In a separate bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, add cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, eggs, and egg yolk for the cheesecake filling.
2. Using the paddle attachment, mix on medium or low speed until smooth. 
3. Add in your pink food coloring and mix again until well combined and hot pink color is achieved. 
4. Pour the cream cheese mixture over the crust. Tap on the counter a few times until you get all the bubbles out of the cheesecake batter.

1. Place the pan in your instant pot sling.
2. Add one cup of water to your instant pot. 
3. Pressure cook for 30 minutes.
4. Naturally vent for 15 and then release.
5. Blot any excess water with a paper towel.
6. Let cool down to room temperature.
7. Refrigerate for 4 hours. 
8. Add sprinkles on top. 
9. Use a sharp knife to release the cheesecake from the edges of the pan, then serve and enjoy!

Decorating Tips to Make Your Cheesecake Stand Out

Valentine's can be a special occasion, so make your Valentines cheesecake special with simple garnishes or extra touches. Here are a few possibilities:

• As I've done - add lots of fun Valentine's Day sprinkles!
• Drizzle with white chocolate or milk chocolate.
• Top with chocolate-covered strawberries to make it extra rich and indulgent.
• Garnish with a chocolate heart candy.
• Whip heavy cream to stiff peaks and garnish your cheesecake with fresh whipped cream and maybe some fresh berries or a drizzle of this raspberry sauce. You can pipe this on with a piping bag and tip or just add a dollop with a spoon.

Variations

OREO Cookie Crust: Instead of the graham cracker crust, this creamy cheesecake can be made with an OREO crust. Use the same amount of butter mixed with 1 ½ cups of crushed OREOs.

Lemon Cheesecake: To give the cheesecake a citrus kick, you can add a teaspoon of lemon extract to the batter. 

No Instant Pot? This Valentine cheesecake recipe can be baked in the oven in a water bath. Wrap the pan in foil to assure no water leaks in, then place it in a pan larger than the springform pan. Add ½ inch of hot water. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until the center is almost set. Cool following the same instructions as beflore.

Pro Tips

• Have all ingredients at room temperature for the best cheesecake texture. If any ingredients are cold, your batter and cheesecake will be clumpy.
• For clean slices, dip your smooth knife blade in hot water, then cut a slice. Wipe it off and repeat to get consistent clean slices.

More Valentine's Day Dessert Ideas

• Happy Valentine's Day: A Simple Valentines Sheet Cake
• 13+ Valentine's Cakes & Party Ideas
• Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake
• 25+ Flavors of Fall Cheesecake Recipes
• Strawberry Cheesecake Pie
  
• Heart Cake
  
• Perfect Valentine Brownies
  
• Deviled Strawberries

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