Mardi Gras is just around the corner, and I gotta say, this is really the only time of the year I miss living in the south because boy do they know how to celebrate properly. I had never even heard of King Cake until my 30s when we moved to Florida…but the first time I had some, I was immediately hooked. A cinnamon roll/cake hybrid? Truly, the king of cakes for sure. But since I had to go gluten free back in 2019, I have had nary a slice. I decided to make Mardi Gras magic happen and came up with a recipe for gluten free King Cake mini cheesecakes. This way you can throw beads with one hand while eating dessert with the other. These beautiful little babies are bursting with cinnamon sugar swirls and a soft, pillowy cheesecake.
Mini King Cake Protein Cheesecakes
Creamy protein cheesecake meets buttery cinnamon-sugars swirl
Ingredients
CRUST*60 g (~2/3 cup) graham cracker or shortbread crumbs, pulsed to a fine powder
*12 g (1 TBS) Madhava allulose sweetener
*21 g (1.5 TBS) light butter
CHEESECAKE FILLING
*150 g (5.33 ounces) 1/3 the fat cream cheese at room temp
*150 g (5.33 ounces) nonfat Greek yogurt
*1 egg
*1 tsp vanilla extract
*20 g Quest vanilla milkshake protein powder
*48 g (1/4 cup) Madhava allulose sweetener
CINNAMON SWIRL
*48 g (1/4 cup) Lakanto golden monkfruit
*1 1/4 TBS cinnamon
*28 g (2 TBS) light butter, melted
Directions
- Line muffin tin with 7 silicone cupcake liners and preheat oven to 350.
- In a food processor or blender, combine all crust ingredients until sticky.
- Press about 1.5 teaspoon of the crust mix into each silicone liner and press until it begins to run up the edge of the liner.
- Bake for 5-8 minutes, until golden; then set aside on the counter to cool.
- Whisk all cheesecake ingredients together in a large bowl until smooth.
- In a small bowl, melt the butter then add the cinnamon and allulose, mixing until a paste forms.
- Distribute 1 TBS batter into each cupcake liner, then top each with a small amount of the cinnamon mix.
- Cover this with another tablespoon of batter, then top this with another small scoop of cinnamon sugar mix.
- Use a toothpick to draw swirls in the cinnamon sugar mix.
- Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, turn off the oven and crack the door, leaving the cheesecakes in the oven for an additional 10 minutes to finish baking.
- Place cheesecakes on a cooling rack (to speed up, place this in the fridge for 1 hour or freezer for 30 minutes).
- Once the cheesecakes are totally cool and set, remove from silicone liners.
- If desired, top each cheesecake with 2 TBS of Cool Whip (not included in macros) and Mardi Gras sprinkles!
- Keep leftovers in fridge in an airtight container, and enjoy!
Nutrition
Macros7 servings
153 cal/8.7 c/10 f/6.9 p per cheesecake
Kate Bakes Cakes 