Wednesday, May 19, 2021

Protein Cheesecake for every weeknight dessert

 I've been making this recipe for a while, think 3-4 years in various iterations and adapted it a number of times. This is my favourite, and my husband's favourite,  version to date. Previous versions were higher in protein and lower in fat but honestly these changes effect the taste so significantly that I don't consider them worth it but I will highlight them below.


The reason I am posting this is because I recently watched a fantastic Cupcake Jemma New York cheesecake. Now that video was great, the recipe was more than likely a wonderful representation of a genuine New York cheesecake and I'm sure it's delicious.  Thing is, is it THAT delicious? The cheesecake part includes full fat cream cheese, sour cream,  double cream and a bunch sugar. Now look, I've made plenty of traditional cheesecakes and I am not shaming calorie dense foods. I am the first person to eat sweets, chocolate, dessert, icecreams etc. I love it all!! However when you taste this protein cheesecake you will see This. Is. Delicious!!!! It is really delicious, properly delicious. To me it tastes like normal cheesecake and when you compare the ingredients to more traditional cheesecake and definitely to New York cheesecake you will see that it offers a little more nutritional bang for your calorie buck and to me a dessert that fully tastes like dessert but nourishes my body is the actual dream. Now let's be clear this is not as nourishing as idk a chicken salad with a variety of vegetables and grains but I'm not comparing it to that. This is a dessert that builds muscles and that's frickin awesome in my book.


So let's get started, here's what you'll need.

1 x 180g lowest fat philadelphia cream cheese 

1 x 180g pack full fat philadelphia cream cheese

1 500g tub 0% fage Greek yoghurt

2 full eggs and one egg yolk

1 tbsp vanilla paste

1 scoop whey protein powder (flavour of choice) (optional)

1/2 tsp salt

Optional 2 tbsp sugar

1 x 250g packet of lower fat digestive biscuits

3 tbsp or more to taste butter

Substitutions- you can sub out the full fat cream cheese for all low fat

You can use mostly egg whites n maybe one full egg

You can either completely take out the biscuit bases or substitute it with less or another option

I've tried any and all of these changes over the years and they work fine but every change will impact texture and taste and as an mentioned I don't think it's worth it. This is, for me anyway,  the best balance of form and function. 

Final you can add more sugar, no sugar or sweetener. Do this to taste. Another good option is a whey powder with sweetener in it.

How do we do this -

1.Crush the biscuits into crumbs 

2. Melt the butter

3. Mix the 2 together. The biscuits should look sandy but not wet. They don't stick together very much but the additional moisture from the cheesecake will help bind this.

4. Line an 8x8" or 9x9" square tin with greaseproof paper. Then pour your biscuit crumbs on the bottom and push them flat.

5. Put in the oven at 160'C for 15 minutes. Take out and let cool. 

6. Using a whisk gently beat the cream cheeses together.  We're not looking to incorporate air but just to mix thoroughly and loosen it up. 

7. Add the yoghurt and beat 

8. Add the vanilla, salt, sugar and beat

9. Add protein powder and beat. If you want to now is a great time to taste and see if you need this sweeter.

10. Add the eggs and beat.

11. Pour on top of the biscuit base. Smooth out and put into the oven. Cook on 160 for 40 minutes but keep an eye on it. You're looking for it to be a little bit jiggly but firm on the sides and like firm jelly in the middle. 

Take it out of the oven and let it cool on the counter and then chill in the fridge. This is at least a 10-12 hour process I'm afraid.  Although I always take a sneaky taste straight out of the oven. 

At that's it. Then just enjoy, reap the benefits of extra protein and thank me later. 😄





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Protein Cheesecake for every weeknight dessert

 I've been making this recipe for a while, think 3-4 years in various iterations and adapted it a number of times. This is my favourite,...