I’m always up for a foodie challenge, as my recent sweet protein pizza post highlighted, so when I was approached by PhD Woman to take part in a protein bake-off competition, of course I jumped at the chance!
Tasked with creating a ‘show stopper’ creation made using PhD Woman Exercise Support protein powder, the recipe with the most likes across the brand’s social media channels will be crowned the winner…I decided to go for a chunky, moist brownie with a delicious cherry and cheesecake swirl on top, a combination of some of my favourite flavours and sweet things all rolled into one!
Easy to make, gorgeous to look at and even better (and healthy!) to eat, I hope this proves to be a recipe for success!
Ingredients:
For the brownies –
- ¼ cup cacao powder (I used Kaizen Living)
- 2 scoops PhD Woman UK Exercise Support Chocolate Cookie powder
- ⅓ cup natural sweetener
- ⅓ cup buckwheat flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 eggs
- 3 tbsp coconut oil (I used Lucy Bee)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp almond milk
For the cherry sauce –
- 200g frozen cherries
- 2 tbsp natural sweetener
- 1 tbsp cornflour
For the cheesecake mixture –
- 250g 0% fat Greek yogurt
- 1 egg
- 4 tbsp natural sweetener
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Get baking!
- Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C and line a baking brownie tin with greaseproof paper.
- Firstly, put your frozen cherries in a pan with a dash of water and the sweetener. Bring to the boil then simmer for a few minutes. Mix the cornflour with a little cold water to make a paste, then pour this in while on a low heat, stirring until thickened. Set aside.
- Now for the brownie batter. In a large bowl, mix together the buckwheat flour, protein powder, cacao powder, baking powder and sweetener. Whisk together the eggs, coconut oil, vanilla essence and milk, then gradually pour this over the dry ingredients. Mix well until you have a smooth, slightly thick batter, then pour this into your baking tray (it should reach about half way).
- Finally, the cheesecake mixture: simply whisk everything together until thick and smooth. Spoon the cherry mixture on top of the brownie batter evenly spread out leaving gaps, then fill these i with the cheesecake mixture. Now use a knife to swirl everything around to create a marble effect. Bake for about 30 minutes, until cooked through and risen. Leave to cool.
- It will firm up while cooling, so now you’re ready to slice up (makes about 12 generous squares) – enjoy warm or chilled as a decadent dessert, and keep the rest (if they don’t all get eaten up!) in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
Want to help me win? Pretty please! Head over to the PhD Woman Facebook page to hit ‘Like’ to help me get the most, I’d love you forever 🙂 SpammyB x