Yes — moist bakes like cheesecake come out well, but nothing browns, because the heat is all underneath. Two multi-cookers sold in the United States on this site name a cake or bake program.
Who names it
COMFEE’, $73.79 — a cake maker program among the nine functions its listing names (the title says 12-in-1), on a 6-quart pressure cooker.
Ninja PossibleCooker PRO Plus, $139.99 — Bake and Proof among nine functions, on an 8.5-quart pot that is not a pressure cooker.
The Instant Pot Rio Mini, the Cosori and the Ninja HyperHeat list neither — and bake perfectly well on manual pressure with the pot-in-pot method.
What it actually is
A pot heated from below, held at a set temperature, with a lid. That bakes. It does not brown.
What comes out well
Cheesecake, bread pudding, steamed and dense cakes, custards — anything that wants gentle, moist heat rather than a crust. Under pressure they cook in a pan set on the trivet above a cup or two of water.
What does not
A crust or a top color. Nothing above the food is hot.
Anything that needs a fan, which none of these pots has.
The pan, and the pot
A 7-inch springform or round pan fits most 6-quart pressure cookers with room to lift it out on a foil sling; a 4-quart pot takes a 6-inch pan. A nonstick or ceramic inner pot makes a direct bake easier to turn out; a stainless pot wants lining or greasing.
The alternative in the same kitchen
An air-fry toaster oven, with top and bottom elements and a fan — the BLACK+DECKER 5-in-1 at $61.99 or the Elite Gourmet French-door at $84.99. That is the appliance for baking, and it is why “can I” and “should I” have different answers. See also can I bake a cake in an air fryer.
And the fill line
Whatever goes in a pressure cooker respects the line inside the pot, baking included — with the pan, the trivet and the water counted. Your manual is the authority.
Prices quoted in this text were read on 2026-10-18. The live price is at the top of the page.
What readers want to know
Why no browning?
The heat comes from under the pot. Without an element above it, the top of whatever you bake stays pale — which is the same limitation a slow cooker has. A pressure-cooked cake is steamed rather than baked, which is why it comes out moist and never crusty.
What bakes best in a pressure cooker?
Cheesecake, above all — the steady, moist heat sets it without cracking and without a water bath. Then bread pudding, dense steamed cakes and custards. They go in a separate pan on the trivet, with water in the pot underneath — the pot-in-pot method — and a 7-inch springform fits most 6-quart cookers.
Do I need a cake program?
No. A cake program is a preset time and pressure; the same bake works on the manual pressure setting with the recipe's time. Two machines on this site name it — the COMFEE' has a cake maker program, the Ninja PossibleCooker PRO Plus lists Bake and Proof — and the rest bake just as well by hand.
Last reviewed 18 October 2026