When I was tasked by PhD Nutrition to create a sweet protein pizza, I was well up for the challenge. I’ve only ever made the cauliflower, low-carb savoury version before, so I was a little apprehensive but had some ideas in mind!
After playing around in the kitchen using one of my favourite PhD Nutrition diet whey protein powder flavours – Mint Chocolate – in the base, I was super happy with this protein packed, low carb concoction. Together with a vanilla coconut cream topping with colourful berries and a cacao drizzle sauce to decorate, I can confidently say: mission accomplished! Hope you enjoy this delicious, sweet twist on a classic.
Ingredients:
For the base –
- 1 cup coconut flour
- 2 scoops Mint Chocolate PhD Nutrition diet whey protein
- ¼ cup ground almonds
- 2 tbsp cacao powder (I used Kaizen Living)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tbsp natural sweetener
- 2 eggs, whisked
- 2 tbsp coconut oil (I used Lucy Bee)
- ½ tsp peppermint extract
- Preheat the oven to 190 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together the coconut flour, protein powder, ground almonds, baking powder, cacao powder and sweetener.
- Gently melt the coconut oil in a small pan, then leave to cool for 10 minutes.
- Pour the oil into the bowl along with the beaten eggs and peppermint extract and mix well, until it comes together to form a dough. If it’s too crumbly and dry, add a little water; if it is too wet, add a little more coconut flour.
- Dust a clean work surface with some coconut flour and roll out the dough into a circle – it’s up to you how thick/thin you want it (it will rise a bit) but don’t go too extreme!
- Transfer to a lightly greased baking tray and bake for about 10-12 minutes, until cooked and slightly golden. Leave to cool on a wire rack.
For the vanilla cream topping –
- 1 pot Coyo coconut yogurt, chilled
- 1 scoop PhD Woman Vanilla Creme Exercise Support whey protein
- 1-2 tbsp almond milk
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Simply mix the ingredients together well in a bowl so you have a thick vanilla paste – you need to be able to spread it but not runny! Chill in the fridge until needed.
For the topping –
I used a mixture of fresh strawberries (halved), blueberries and fresh mint leaves, but you can use what you want! Raspberries, cherries and mango would work well too.
For the cacao drizzle –
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tbsp date nectar/coconut syrup or honey
- 1 tbsp cacao powder
- ½ scoop PhD Nutrition Mint Chocolate diet whey protein
Melt the coconut oil in a small pan with the honey/syrup/nectar, then whisk in the cacao powder and protein powder so there are no lumps. You want a sauce that can be used to drizzle, but not too runny (add more protein powder) or thick (add more honey/nectar/syrup).
Ready to assemble?
Now for the fun part! Once your pizza base has completely cooled, remove the vanilla cream from the fridge and spread evenly over the base (you may have a little extra leftover). Decorate with berries, then drizzle your cacao sauce over and add a few sprigs of mint. Now slice like a pizza and enjoy!
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