This Meyer Lemon Protein Cheesecake with Honey Hemp Crust has a delicious mix of flavors and textures to make your tastebuds dance! It is a sweet citrus cheesecake made with Meyer lemons over a base made from honey and hemp seeds. A high-protein, low-carb indulgent treat!
Like I do with all my protein cheesecake recipes, I used Neufchâtel cheese, which is marketed as low-fat cream cheese. I like the flavor, and it lacks the fillers you tend to find in fat-free cream cheese. But to make this a lower fat indulgence, you can certainly try it with fat-free cream cheese, if you like.
For the base, I combined honey with Hemp Hearts (shelled hemp seeds) for added flavor and texture. I like buckwheat honey, but I'm sure others would also be great! The crust didn't really stay firm like a crust (which makes sense, since honey thins when it warms), but it was easy enough to fix that while plating the cheesecake. To avoid that issue, though, you can make 8 individual mini-cheesecakes in ramekins.
**If Meyer lemons are out of season, I'd split the Meyer lemon juice and zest into ½ lemon, ½ orange. That should give about the same level of sweet and tart, and still a great burst of citrus flavor.
Give this Meyer Lemon Protein Cheesecake with Honey Hemp Crust a try! Your taste buds will thank you!
And if you love Meyer lemons, try these Meyer lemon and starfruit protein cupcakes. A burst of sunshine in cupcake form!
Recipe
Meyer Lemon Protein Cheesecake with Honey Hemp Crust
Equipment
Ingredients
Crust:
- ½ cup Hemp Hearts 80g
- 2 tablespoons buckwheat honey 30ml or 42g
Cheesecake:
- 2 packages Neufchâtel cheese 16oz, 448g
- ⅛ teaspoon stevia powder
- 4 large eggs whole (200g)
- 8 oz fat-free Greek yogurt 227g
- ½ cup natural vanilla whey protein 40g
- 1 tablespoon Meyer lemon juice 15ml (or ½ tablespoon lemon juice and ½ tablespoon orange juice
- 1 tablespoon Meyer lemon zest or ½ tablespoon lemon zest and ½ tablespoon orange zest
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F (163C).
- Prepare your 6" springform pan by lining the bottom with parchment paper, and brushing the sides with coconut oil (or non-stick cooking spray). Wrap the bottom of the pan with aluminum foil. (More details here.)
- Make the crust by first mixing the Hemp Hearts and honey.
- Press into the bottom of the springform. Set aside.
- Using an electric mixer on medium speed (for a Kitchen-Aid type mixer) or low speed (for a hand-held mixer), cream the Neufchâtel cheese.
- Add stevia, and continue with mixer until well combined.
- Add eggs, one at a time. Continue with mixer until well combined.
- Add Greek yogurt. Mix well.
- Add whey powder. Continue with mixer until well combined.
- Add Meyer lemon juice and zest. Mix well.
- Pour into pan.
- Place pan in water bath in oven. (Place springform in a larger pan that has about an inch of water.)
- Bake for 30 minutes at 325F (163C). Then reduce the temperature to 200F (93C) for about 35-40 minutes. The cake should be firm around the edges, but the very center should be jiggly. The cake should not be browning on top.
- Remove from oven, and let cool at room temperature.
- Refrigerate for several hours (cake will continue to set) before serving.
- Slice, and enjoy!
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