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Short-Order Kitchen

Single-Serve Baked Protein Cheesecake

By Wes Ellis1 min read
A slice of baked cheesecake piled with blueberry compote on a dark plate.
Recipe card
Servings
1
Prep
10 minutes
Cook
10 to 20 minutes, plus 1 to 2 hours chilling
Method
Oven
Heat
350°F
Difficulty
Easy
Jump to ingredients & directions ↓

Part 8 of the thread Protein cookies, cheesecakes and bites

THE SHORT VERSION4 points
  • Bake at 350°F and start checking at 10 minutes; it can take up to 20.
  • A pinch of white vinegar gives it that cheesecake tang.
  • Pull it with a slight jiggle in the center, then chill 1 to 2 hours.
  • Top with blueberries or strawberries, plus protein frosting if you want it.
THE RECIPE · SINGLE-SERVE BAKED PROTEIN CHEESECAKE

Ingredients

Cheesecake

Topping

Protein frosting (optional)

You'll need

  • Small ramekin or oven-safe dish
  • Mixing bowl
  • Whisk or fork
  • Oven or toaster oven

Directions

Bake

  1. Heat the oven or toaster oven to 350°F and grease a small ramekin.
  2. Whisk the protein powder, yogurt, cream cheese, vinegar and sweetener until completely smooth, with no lumps of cream cheese left.
  3. Pour it into the ramekin.
  4. Bake, checking at 10 minutes. It's done when the edges are set and the center is mostly set with a slight jiggle. Some ovens need up to 20 minutes. Don't overbake it.

Chill and top

  1. Let it cool in the dish, then chill for 1 to 2 hours.
  2. If you want frosting, stir the protein powder into the yogurt until smooth and spread it on.
  3. Top with berries, and whipped cream if you like. Serve cold.
Notes Keeps covered in the fridge for up to 3 days. Roughly 250 to 285 calories and 40 g protein per serving, give or take.

wesellis.com/blog/baked-protein-cheesecake/

This is a single-serve protein dessert, not a holiday cheesecake, and it's better if you go in with that expectation. What you get is a small, tangy, custardy ramekin that tastes a lot more like cheesecake than it has any right to, with fruit on top.

Why the vinegar

Real cheesecake gets its tang from a lot of cream cheese. This one uses only a spoonful, so a pinch of white vinegar fills in that sour note. You won't taste vinegar. You'll just taste something closer to cheesecake. Use a light hand; a third of a teaspoon is plenty.

Tip

Get the cream cheese properly soft before it goes in. Cold cream cheese leaves little white lumps that never bake out.

Stop early, then wait

Small ramekins cook fast and dry out faster. Pull it when the middle still wobbles a bit. Chilling finishes the job and firms it into something you can cut with a spoon. Eating it warm is allowed, but it's closer to a pudding at that point.

The frosting here is the same mix that goes on the Chocolate Strawberry Protein Brownie. If you don't want to wait on the oven and the fridge, the no-bake Protein Cheesecake Fluff takes five minutes, and the Berry Cheesecake Protein Shakes take less.

LINKED FROM4 notes

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