Soggy Pumpkin Protein Bars..Any Ideas?

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I'm trying to make an alternative to high protein bars based on a recipe i seen.

Here's what i'm using:
280g pumpkin
5ml Vanilla extract
30g vanilla protein powder isolate
125g cottage cheese
250g light cream cheese
about 8 medium size strawberries
10g calorie free sweetner
2 egg whites

I blend everything together and put in a bread loaf tray, preheat oven to 300/180 and cook for about 30-35 mins.

Remove and put in fridge for about an hour. Although its quite tasty for a low calorie snack its also quite soggy, what can i do to make it much less soggy. I don't really have much cooking experience so it might be obvious but not to me.

Since its a low calorie snack i would like to try and avoid putting in anything too high in calories so keep that in mind but it solves the soggy issue then im happy to add a few calories.

The first time i used little smaller bar shaped containers and they seemed to cook better so i might use that instead of the loaf tray, more washing up though

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Your recipe looks like a cheesecake custard variation. To elliminate the "soggy" texture, drain the cottage cheese in a fine-mesh sieve. You may also want to drain the pumpkin, depending on how wet it is. Start you desert in a 425' oven and let it bake for about 5 minutes. Reduce the temperature to about 350' F. and bake for another 45 minutes. This should give the custard time to set.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[Steve Kroll]

Looks to me like you need an ingredient to absorb some of the moisture and add structure. Most protein bars have a filler component, for example, oatmeal, bran cereal, or even brown rice.

 

[Addie]

Welcome to DC. Someone will always have an answer to any questions you may have. This site is a lot of fun. We have a lot of laughs and share so much.

 

[power_bars]

Thanks everyone,

I tried draining the cottage cheese, i also tried blending the pumpkin and then draining it but it was very dry already. I done the 5 mins at 425 and 45 at 350, unfortunately it didnt help the texture even after leaving for about 20 mins to cook and then putting it in the fridge for several hours. However cooking it this way forms a nice thin crust which does compliment it.

I made a 2nd attempt this time following the same instructions but i forgot the protein powder and vanilla extract but did add 40g of oatmeal. It was initially a bit soggy but after i put it in the fridge for a few hours the texture improved considerably. The first one was like someone spilt water over your cake where as the one with the oatmeal was more like the texture of an apple tart. In fact it was very tasty and if you closed your eyes it tasted very like apple tart. I have no idea where the apple taste is coming from, ill probably put the protein powder in the next one and keep the oatmeal but i might drop the vanilla extract, for me i thought it was much nicer without it.

What i did also was put a few strawberries in a pan with 0 calorie sweetner and a small bit of orange juice and then i reduced it to a juice type texture and poured it over and it was very nice but i wish i could improve the texture some more so it was a bit drier but i suspect adding more oatmeal will take away from the texture too much.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Thanks everyone,

I tried draining the cottage cheese, i also tried blending the pumpkin and then draining it but it was very dry already. I done the 5 mins at 425 and 45 at 350, unfortunately it didnt help the texture even after leaving for about 20 mins to cook and then putting it in the fridge for several hours. However cooking it this way forms a nice thin crust which does compliment it.

I made a 2nd attempt this time following the same instructions but i forgot the protein powder and vanilla extract but did add 40g of oatmeal. It was initially a bit soggy but after i put it in the fridge for a few hours the texture improved considerably. The first one was like someone spilt water over your cake where as the one with the oatmeal was more like the texture of an apple tart. In fact it was very tasty and if you closed your eyes it tasted very like apple tart. I have no idea where the apple taste is coming from, ill probably put the protein powder in the next one and keep the oatmeal but i might drop the vanilla extract, for me i thought it was much nicer without it.

What i did also was put a few strawberries in a pan with 0 calorie sweetner and a small bit of orange juice and then i reduced it to a juice type texture and poured it over and it was very nice but i wish i could improve the texture some more so it was a bit drier but i suspect adding more oatmeal will take away from the texture too much.

You can firm it more by using the whole egg, and/or adding a 2nd egg to the recipe. Make sure to blend the egg in well. Another trick is to add cornstarch. The starch will absorb a good portion of liquid, helping to firm the end result.

One more trick, if you don't want to add additional starch, or egg, increase the amount of cream cheese in the recipe. This too will firm up your product.

You may will need to play with these techniques to keep the recipe lower calorie, and achieve the texture you want. Everything is a trade-off. If you add starch, you are increasing the sugar calories. If you increase the egg, you increase the protien callories. If the yolk is included, your get more fat. Increasing the cheese will increase both protein and fat calories. Adding additional cheese, or egg, will also affect the final flavor. Just things to thinkk about.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North