QUEST PUTS NEW ARROW IN VALENTINE’S DAY WITH GUILT-FREE SWEETS!

Valentine’s Day is Cupid’s time to sabotage your sugar-free goals with sugary crap and thoughtless sweets. Quest Nutrition has the perfect challenge for Cupid’s arrow with delicious protein packed recipe for Red Velvet Cake Pops. As you make know, I have a world class Quest Bar habit. I eat 3 day. I spend a weird amount of money on bulk boxes and have them shipped to my home from Amazon.  I am stoked about this pop recipe. Why? Because my kids are addicted to. I’m not sure if throwing Quest bars at 5 and 9 year olds is the healthiest breakfast, but it works. In fact, I have to hide my favorites (Oreo and now S’mores -OMG!!) from them or they’ll eat my stash. Yah, it’s weird around here.

RED VELVET CAKE POPS

Quest’s Red Velvet Cake Pops recipe is the reason you’ll tell that box of chocolates you’re seeing other desserts. This Quest creation allows you to fall in love all over again with red velvet cake. These rich, chocolaty cake bites are as beautiful as a bouquet of flowers and more delicious than your standard V-day treats.

Red Velvet Cake Pops:

Yields: 18 servings

Serving size: 1 cake pop

Prep time: 20 min

Cook time: 24 min

Ingredients:

Cake

1⁄ 2 cup Quest Vanilla Milkshake Protein Powder

1 Double Chocolate Chunk Quest Bar

1⁄ 2 cup almond meal

1 1⁄ 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

3 tablespoons zero-calorie sweetener

1⁄ 2 teaspoon baking soda

1⁄ 4 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1⁄ 2 tablespoon red food coloring

Coconut cooking spray

Frosting

1 scoop Quest Vanilla Milkshake Protein Powder

3 1⁄ 2 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese

1⁄ 4 cup zero-calorie sweetener

2 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream

1⁄ 2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate Coating

6 ounces sugar-free milk or dark chocolate

Steps

Cake

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• In a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl, heat unwrapped Double Chocolate Chunk Quest Bar for 10 seconds.
• Using a rolling pin, roll the bar out to 1⁄4-inch thickness.
• Bake for 4 minutes, or until bar is lightly crisped. Remove to cool.
• Break the crisped bar into pieces, place in a mini blender, and process into a powder.
• In a medium-size mixing bowl, add Quest Vanilla Milkshake Protein Powder, the powdered Double Chocolate Chunk Quest Bar, almond meal, cocoa powder, zero-calorie sweetener, baking soda, and salt, and mix well.
• Add almond milk, vanilla extract, and red food coloring. Mix cake base until fully incorporated and batter is dark red.
• Coat a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Pour in batter.
• Bake 18 to 20 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean and cake is completely cooked and springy.
• Remove and let cool.
• Break the cake into small pieces, and place in a large mixing bowl.

Frosting

• In a medium-size bowl, add Quest Vanilla Milkshake Protein Powder, cream cheese, zero-calorie sweetener, sour cream, and vanilla extract.
• Mix until smooth.

Assemble

• Add frosting to crumbled cake, and mix together until all frosting is incorporated.
• Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in freezer for 20 minutes.
• Remove cake from freezer. Take a small amount of cake batter and form eighteen walnut-sized balls.
• Break chocolate into even-size small pieces. Melt slowly over a double boiler or in a dry bowl that fits snuggly over a pot. (Water should not touch pot or bowl above it. Before placing pot on top, simmer water in pot on low heat, then turn off heat and place the dry bowl or pot with chocolate in it on top, and stir when chocolate starts to melt, until chocolate is shiny and smooth)
• Once chocolate is ready, remove cake balls from fridge and carefully submerge each into melted chocolate. Gently tap the edge to remove excess. If chocolate begins to seize, simply return to double boiler. Place each pop on wax paper and insert lollipop sticks.
• Chill for 10 minutes in freezer, or until chocolate hardens and creates a shell.

Nutrition Info:
Calories: 110
Protein: 7
Fat: 7
Net Carbs: 3
Fiber: 4

For further info on Quest Nutrition, check out Quest Nutrition

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