Banana Bread-Bottom Cheesecake

YUM.

I am not a huge fan of banana bread, but after trying this recipe, I am in love! I saw this recipe on my Tasty app and thought, "what the heck, let's try it out"! The banana bread part of it was so moist and so yummy, and the cheesecake part was great because it wasn't as rich as regular cheesecake (less guilt after eating it!)

Here is the ingredients list for the banana bread layer:

• 4 ripe bananas (the riper, the better!)
• 4 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon

For the cheesecake part:

• 32 oz. (4 blocks) cream cheese, softened*
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tbsp. gelatin powder
• caramel sauce, to taste

*I always use reduced fat cream cheese whenever I make a cheesecake, and I have found no difference in texture or richness compared to cheesecakes made with "full-fat" cream cheese. Just make sure that no matter what type of cream cheese you use that it is as soft as possible! This will make mixing easier, especially if you do not have a stand-up or electric hand mixer and have to do it all by hand!

How to do this:

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. In a large mixing bowl, mash up the bananas using a fork to create a banana mush
3. Add in oil, egg, sugar, and vanilla. Mix until combined
4. Add in flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Mix until just combined; DO NOT OVER MIX!
5. Pour banana bread batter into a greased or non-stick springform pan
6. Bake for 30-40 mins, or until top is set
7. In a large mixing bowl, mix together softened cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla
8. Microwave the milk for about 2 minutes, or until hot. Quickly stir in gelatin powder until dissolved; about 5 minutes
9. Pour gelatin mixture over cream cheese and mix until smooth
10. Pour cheesecake mixture over banana bread
11. Cool for 3 hrs or overnight
12. Drizzle with caramel sauce

Enjoy!

This is how mine turned out! Definitely one of my better recipe attempts and it tasted SO good! 

Here is the link where you can watch the video where I learned how to make it:

https://tasty.co/recipe/banana-bread-bottom-cheesecake

Let me know how yours turned out in the comments! Feel free to share any tips too! :)