RICH. TANGY. DELICIOUSLY DENSE.
Cheesecake for breakfast? With 25g protein per serving, this baked New York style cheesecake is the perfect start to the day.
This the first recipe published on this site! I ate this cheesecake regularly for breakfast as I navigated the first few weeks and months on my Limbo CGM (Continuous Blood Glucose Monitor). It helped me have a high protein, low carb start in the morning or at brunch-time if I wasn’t eating early, without having to cook loads of eggs or meat.
Not everyone has the time or the will to cook in the morning. Me – I just love having something to wake up to look forward to that I don’t have to make any decisions about.
Unless the rest of the family dig in, which they invariably do, this recipe gives almost a week of ready made breakfast that tastes like a treat.
A walnut, butter and cinnamon crumb provides healthy fats. You really can sub with any nut, but walnut and cinnamon is delicious and the walnuts add some Omega 3 fats to your day, which are harder to come by if you aren’t a great fish eater.
Vanilla whey, eggs, quark or greek yogurt bake up to a slightly tangy vanilla cheesecake with an authentic baked cheesecake texture, firm with a little crumble.
Serve with raspberries, shredded coconut or seeds and a blob of quark or greek yogurt for the ultimate desert-for-breakfast feel. Without raspberries, this has little effect on my blood glucose line, with raspberries I need to be careful of quantities, so watch this if you are watching your blood glucose, or following a strict keto protocol.
To balance my breakfast, I also aim to eat this with a bowl of leftover veg – always get the veggies in everywhere!
Vanilla Protein Baked Cheescake
Ingredients
- 70 g ground walnut
- 30 g ground almond
- 20 g butter
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon (or 2 if you like cinnamon)
- 3 cups quark (or use greek or other full fat yoghurt)
- 3 scoops vanilla whey protein (other protein work fine also, with different texture outcomes)
- 3 eggs (medium or large)
- 12 g custard powder (2 level Tbsp)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 g pure monk fruit powder* 2 tiny measuring spoons
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 150C fan oven. (Regular oven approx 170C/340F).
- Line a 9inch (23cm) round tin with baking paper, or use a round pyrex bowl.
- Melt the butter, and add the cinnamon.
- Mix the ground almonds and walnuts, and add into the butter mix.
- Spread into the lined springform baking tin and press down, using a spoon or potato masher covered in greaseproof paper.
- Bake for about 8 min in the oven.
- Remove and allow to cool.
- Blend the quark or yogurt, vanilla protein and eggs in a food processor or with a beater.
- Add the custard powder, sieved baking powder, vanilla extract and monkfruit and blend well again.
- Pour into the tin and bake in the oven. Bake for 25min, then cover and bake for another 20 (total approx 45-50min) or until set, golden and slightly risen.
- When cooked it will be dry to an inserted knife, set and firm to touch. Turn off oven, leave door slightly open and leave to cool.
- Cool completely before removing carefully from springform tin, or slice directly from pyrex.
- Top with raspberry and greek yogurt.
- I use a vanilla whey with stevia, from bulk.com. You can use a plain whey and add extra vanilla also. To this I'd add a tiny teaspoon (1g) of pure monk fruit powder for a little sweetness.
- Figures based on whey with 12g carbs / 100g (3.6g per scoop). Different whey proteins will adjust nutrition content.
- The edges, with this cooking method, brown a little. If you want a lighter edge around the sides, then cook in a bain marie in a pyrex, but we all like it as it is.
