Banana & Coconut Protein Pie-Cake!

As you may have already guessed by the name.. I wasn't quite sure whether to call this creation a 'pie' or a 'cheesecake', because it turned out to be a rather tastey hybrid of the two!

It started off as a cheesecake, however my cake tin was a little larger than anticipated- hence the 'pie-cake' was born!

I was particularly pleased with the deliciously crunchy golden brown crust made from four of my favourite healthy staple ingredients..

The baked 'cheesecake' like topping turned out to be lovely and creamy, and the reflex bannoffee whey gave it the perfect punch of that sweet banana flavour!

Ingredients for the base:

90g old fashioned oats

30g virgin organic coconut oil

20g desiccated coconut

30g honey

Ingredients for the 'cheesecake':

1 large egg

1 egg white

2/3 large mashed banana (use the remaining 1/3 to decorate)

25g Reflex Banoffee Pie Instant whey Pro (See below for possible substitutions)

150g Cream Cheese

30g Total 0% Greek Yoghurt

1. Pre-heat oven to 160°C and line a cake tin (no larger than 7") with coconut oil and/or greaseproof paper

2. Thoroughly combine the base ingredients together and press into your cake tin and bake for 10 mins or until lightly golden brown then set aside to cool

3. Meanwhile, combine your mashed banana, cream cheese, greek yoghurt in a bowl

4. Whisk your eggs in a separate bowl until light and fluffy, then gradually combine with the cream cheese mixture

5. Stir in your whey at the very last moment to prevent any clumps forming in the batter

6. Pour the batter onto the cooled crusty golden oat base, then place in the oven on the middle shelf for around 30 minutes or until it looks as though it is starting to firm

7. Decorate the top of the cheesecake with the remaining 1/3 of your banana and a little sprinkle of desiccated coconut, then place back in the oven for a further 10-15 minutes or until the top and edges have turned golden 

Serves 4-8

*Possible substitutions:

I'm aware not everyone owns whey, (even though I'd highly recommend getting your hands on some - the Reflex brand is my ultimate all-time favourite!) as it can make baking 10x healthier, add heaps of flavour without any unwanted unnessesary excess calories, and can just make life generally a whole lot easier!  

You can simply omit the whey, however you would then probably need to add some form of granulated sweetner such as stevia or xylitol to keep it healthy & natural.. Or just make sure your banana is super ripe!