Protein Carrot Cake Cheesecake – Sugar Free & Gluten Free

Perfect Protein Carrot Cake Cheesecake with a protein carrot cake base and high protein cheesecake top! With protein powder replacing sugar and some flour, and very little oil, this low calorie healthy carrot cheesecake will be your new go-to Easter dessert recipe.

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Okay this one was a pain. A very big pain. It took 3 attempts, but finally a protein carrot cake cheesecake that is worthy to be shared.

What went wrong the first two times? I spread the carrot cake batter, and then cheesecake filling on top and let it bake.

Sounds about right? No. The carrot cake by itself would take a lot longer to cook than the cheesecake, so when I stopped baking to prevent the latter from cracking and over-baking, the former remained under-baked.

The result was basically a cheesecake on a carrot cake base that was all raw in the middle.

Which is healthier carrot cake or cheesecake?

For any regular recipe, a carrot cake and a cheesecake are both unhealthy because of the oil in the first, and high amount of sugar in both; In this recipe, the protein carrot cake and protein cheesecake are both healthy because there’s no oil and no sugar used at all!

Ingredients for the best Protein Carrot Cake Cheesecake

This healthy carrot cake protein cheesecake is made with clean and simple ingredients, has no oil and no sugar, and also uses gluten-free flour!

The Healthy Carrot Cake Layer

For the wet ingredients:

• Shredded Carrots
• Unsweetened Applesauce; as a replacement for oil
• Sugar-free Maple Syrup for low calorie recipe with no sugar! I use the monk fruit maple syrup from Lakanto
• Non-fat Greek Yogurt for extra high protein carrot cake base
• Almond Milk
• Egg

And for the dry ingredients:

• Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
• Unflavored Protein Powder to replace some of the flour (and carbs) in the recipe for a slightly low carb high protein carrot cake. I used a whey-casein blend from Quest Nutrition which is great for a protein powder baking recipes.
• Vanilla Protein Powder to add some sweetness. This is the replacement for sugar and also some of the flour. Quest again here.
• Spices – feel free to make  your own using a blend of ground cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger
• Baking Powder

The Protein Cheesecake

• Reduced Fat Cream Cheese, which might also be called Neufchâtel, for a low fat and low calorie recipe
• Vanilla Protein Powder – this makes for a sugar free protein cheesecake since it serves as the sweetener in place of sugar. I used the vanilla protein powder from Quest for this recipe.
• Non-fat Greek Yogurt to add the slightly sour flavor, creaminess and even more protein! You need this here because the recipe is without sour cream.
• Almond Milk
• A Half Egg and Egg White
• Cornstarch

A high protein frosting for the carrot cake:

For the perfect high protein carrot cheesecake, I topped the cheesecake layer with a frosting that’s sweetened with protein powder!

Simple ingredients here as well:

• Greek Yogurt
• Vanilla Protein Powder; Quest again here

How to make Healthy Carrot Cake Protein Cheesecake

What makes this high protein healthy carrot cheesecake even better is that it’s super easy to make too.

High protein baked goods can be tricky because of how protein powder works in baking, but this follow this recipe and you’re surely going to have the best carrot cake cheesecake.

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F and line bottom of an 7″ springfoam pan with parchment paper round and spray sides with cooking spray.

2. Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl: whole wheat pastry flour, unflavored protein powder, vanilla protein powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and baking soda.

3. Add all the wet ingredients: unsweetened applesauce, almond milk, Greek yogurt, maple syrup and egg.

4. Whisk to just combine.
   Be gentle and don’t over mix the batter or the protein powder will make it too dense.

5. Add in the grated carrots and gently fold again.
   You should have a thick, but pourable batter.

6. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 15 mins.
   Insert a toothpick, tester or thin knife and make sure it comes out dry.

And now the High Protein Cheese Cake

The protein cheese cake layer of this carrot cake recipe adds a nice texture and flavor contrast, and definitely is worth the effort!

1. Beat the softened cream cheese in a large bowl using a hand mixer until it’s completely smooth. This should take about 2 minutes
2. Add the greek yogurt and milk and beat again
3. Add the protein powder and cornstarch beat again (scrape down the sides so it’s all mixed in)
4. Now add the egg and egg white; Beat again to make the final cheesecake filling. Do not over beat here.
5. Spread the protein cheesecake filling on the carrot cake – about ⅔ if you have leftover cake batter for a pattern, then add teaspoon fulls of the batter all over, cover with remaining cheesecake filling.
6. Bake your cheesecake for about 23 minutes. The center should be cooked and just soft to the touch; It’s okay if it’s cracked.
7. Turn off the oven and leave the door slightly open so the cake cools.

For the Protein Icing

The protein powder frosting is the most easy part of this protein cheesecake recipe.

Mix together the ingredients – yogurt and protein powder, and then spread on top of cake.

Cool!

Let the carrot cake cheesecake chill in the fridge for about 4 hours until it is ready to eat.

Tips for High Protein Carrot Cake and Protein Cheesecake

• Use parchment paper on bottom of pan, ot the cake will stick to the bottom.

• Do not over mix the cake batter or the protein powder could get over-mixed and give a dense texture.

• Use room temperature cheesecake ingredients
  The cream cheese, yogurt and egg all need to be at room temperature or you will end up with lumpy cheesecake.

• Beat the cream cheese well so it turns out light and fluffy and does ot get weighed down by the other ingredients.

• Don’t overbeat the final cheesecake batter!
  This will cause too much air to get beat into the batter, and may cause the cheesecake to rise and fall.
  
• Use a low speed to beat cheesecake to avoid getting too much air inside.

• Use the waterbath!
  This lets the cheesecake cook slowly and evenly, and also prevents the rise and fall.
  
• Stop baking when the center is still slightly soft to touch (about 2” wide should be soft)
  The cheesecake will continue to cook a bit in the hot pan, and you don’t want it to crack.
  
• When done baking, leave the oven door cracked (with the cheesecake still inside) for about 1-2 hours.
  This prevents the carrot cheesecake from suddenly being exposed to cool temperature which could make it crack.

Can you store Protein Powder Carrot Cake Cheesecake?

This healthy carrot cake protein cheesecake keeps really well in the fridge or freezer; I tried out both options.

• You can keep the protein powder carrot cake cheesecake out at room temperature for a few hours in an airtight container.
• To store in the fridge, place in an airtight container for about a 3 days.
• To freeze the protein carrot cheesecake, cut it into slices if you want (wrap each slice in plastic wrap), and place in a freezer-safe zipper bag for up to 3 months.
  Be sure to let it thaw before you slice.

Alternate Ingredients for Healthy Carrot Cake Cheesecake

I strongly recommend using the ingredients and brands I recommended to get the perfect carrot cake protein cheesecake, but here’s some alternatives to try. I haven’t testing them all, so I can’t say how your cake might turn out.

• Whole Wheat Pastry Flour : can be replaced with all purpose flour or 1:1 gluten free baking flour.
• More flour to replace unflavored Protein Powder; Also reduce the milk to about 3 Tbsp.
• Use mashed Banana or Pumpkin Puree instead of Applesauce
• Coconut Yogurt in place of Greek Yogurt for a dairy free recipe
• Any other milk to substitute Almond Milk
• Regular Maple Syrup or Honey instead of sugar-free maple syrup, but the recipe will not be sugar-free anymore.

Substitutes for the Cheesecake layer

Similar as above:

Use coconut yogurt or even sour cream in place of the Greek Yogurt, and your choice of milk.
Feel free to use a whey protein powder here since the vanilla protein powder serves as the sweetener. Add in some extra stevia powder if your protein powder is not sweet enough.

Some more Protein Powder Cheesecake Recipes:

• Cottage Cheese Protein Ceesecake
• Mini Protein Cheesecakes on Protein Bar Crust
• No Bake Mini Protein Cheesecake Bites
• Protein Blueberry Cheesecake Bars
• Pumpkin Protein Cheesecake Jar
• Protein Blueberry Cheesecake

Or maybe a Protein Carrot Cake Recipes:

• Protein Carrot Cake Loaf
• Carrot Cake Protein Scones
• Best Ever Carrot Cake Protein Loaf
• Carrot Cake Protein Cupcakes
• Biscoff Carrot Cake – High Protein
• Carrot Cake Protein Blondies