Lightened-Up Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake

Even the strongest sweet tooth is defenseless against cheesecake. Add peanut butter and chocolate and willpower becomes pretty useless, too. That’s why it’s such a shame to know the restaurant-style slice sets you back by nearly a day’s worth of calories. With numbers that heavy, it’s hard to justify indulging even for a special occasion or once-a-week cheat treat. What you can defend is this high-protein, low-cal cheesecake recipe. You’ll never have to resist the sweet combination of peanut butter, chocolate and cream cheese ever again.

Lightened-Up Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake

Macros for cheesecake (per slice): 207 calories | 11.7 g net carbs | 27 g protein
Macros for frosting (per tablespoon): 16 calories | 1 g net carbs | 2 g protein

Cheesecake:

1 Peanut Butter Supreme Quest Bar, cut into pieces
½ cup powdered peanut butter
2 scoops Cinnamon Swirl Cellucor Whey Protein Powder
½ cup erythritol
1 ½ cups non-fat Greek yogurt
8 oz. fat-free cream cheese, softened to room temperature
½ cup low-fat cottage cheese
½ cup liquid egg whites
3 Tbsp. almond milk
½ tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. cinnamon

Topping: Quest Cravings Peanut Butter Cups

Protein frosting:

1 scoop Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard French Vanilla Casein Protein Powder
2 Tbsp. coconut flour
1/3 cup erythritol
½ cup almond milk
4 oz. fat-free cream cheese, at room temperature
¼ cup low-fat cottage cheese
10 drops French vanilla liquid stevia
½ tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degress F and coat a springform pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, combine Peanut Butter Supreme Quest Bar pieces with almond milk and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir until mixture is melted.
3. In a blender, process cream cheese, cottage cheese, egg whites and yogurt until thoroughly blended and smooth.
4. Pour the cream cheese mixture into the Quest Bar-milk mixture and stir well.
5. Add powdered peanut butter, protein powder, erythritol, vanilla and cinnamon and mix well.
6. Pour cheesecake batter into the prepared springform pan and bake for 25-30 minutes.
7. While you wait, prepare the cream cheese protein frosting by processing all frosting ingredients in a blender until smooth. Set in the fridge to thicken.
8. Note: The cheesecake should still be wobbly when you remove it from the oven. The cake will set as it cools, but be careful not to over-bake!
9. Crumble Quest Cravings Peanut Butter Cups on top and chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours (or overnight).
10. When ready to eat, cut into 8 even slices and pipe 1 tablespoon of frosting onto each slice. Enjoy!