I recently helped my friend out with a very special occasion by dressing a traditional cheesecake in a pineapple and Malibu rum sauce.  After doing this I was inspired to take that recipe & make a version that was a little more figure friendly.  So I present to you my protein cheesecake recipe topped with a yummy but less naughty version of the Malibu Rum & pineapple topping I previously created.  This is an awesome and tropical combination of creamy cheesecake, fresh pineapple, & coconut rum.   It is low calorie, low fat, higher protein, & lower carb.  It is a little time consuming but it is overall easy to make.  You can whip this up Sunday night then enjoy it all week long guilt free as dessert or snack.  This recipe is very balanced with protein, carbs, & fat so feel free to enjoy it anytime!

Ingredients for cheesecake:

*8 ounces 1/3 less fat cream cheese softened (Philadelphia recommended)

*1 cup low fat ricotta cheese (Sorrento recommended)

*1 cup 1% fat cottage cheese (Friendship recommended)

*2 scoops vanilla casein protein powder

*1 full egg plus 3 egg whites

*1 teaspoon vanilla extract

*1/2 teaspoon lime (or lemon) juice

*1/2 cup stevia

*1/4 cup erithrytol

Ingredients for Malibu rum & pineapple topping:

*1 cup fresh, finely chopped pineapple

*1/2 cup water

*1/4 cup erithrytol

*2 ounces Malibu rum (or another coconut rum of choice)

(Left out the vanilla extract & lime juice for my picture-oops!)

Preheat oven to 350.

Using a springform pan place nonstick foil or parchment in the bottom of pan.  Spray sides of pan with nonstick spray.  You can also use a regular pie pan or even a square pan if you don’t care as much about the presentation.  It will still taste the same 😉   Just make sure you spray whatever pan you use with nonstick spray.

Process everything except eggs in a food processor or high speed blender until smooth.  Scrape down the sides a few times to ensure it is incorporated well.  You can double check if it is sweetened to your liking before adding the eggs now too.  I like a less sweet cheesecake especially since topping is sweet.  Add more no calorie sweetener now though if you prefer.   Then add egg & whites & process again until just incorporated.

Pour into pan & bake for 1 hour.  Then turn off oven but leave cheesecake to rest in oven with door closed for 2 hours.  After 2 hours remove and let cool another 45 minutes to 1 hour or so on counter.  Then cover up pan & place in fridge overnight (or for at least an additional 4 hours)  I know that’s a lot of waiting lol!  It’s worth it I swear!!

The top is going to get very brown in the oven.  You can cut off the top of it carefully with a knife before serving or you can use my little trick & serve it upside down as I am showing in 2nd pic.  Honestly it is not the prettiest of all cheesecakes however the topping will definitely make it look prettier & unless you’re a cheesecake snob who cares 😉

Once cheesecake has fully rested & set you can make the sauce.  Add everything except rum into a small saucepan & cook for 10-15 minutes over medium high heat stirring frequently.  Mixture should cook & thicken up.  Once thickened and pineapple is nice & soft remove from heat & add Malibu.  Cook again for about a minute.  Set aside to cool for 15 minutes or so.

To serve add about 2 tablespoons of topping to each slice of cheesecake or dump all the topping over the cheesecake if you’re serving the whole thing right away.  For a non alcoholic version you can serve the cheesecake with fresh berries or simply leave out the Malibu.  Both the cheesecake & topping store well in the fridge for several days too!

Check out these amazing nutritional stats too!!

Makes 8 VERY GENEROUS slices of cheesecake

Per slice including 2 tablespoons of Malibu rum pineapple sauce:

195 calories

7.8 grams fat

15.8 carbs

1.2 grams fiber

17.4 grams protein