When it comes to cooking at home, I’m all about making food with a good taste to effort ratio. By that measure, this peanut butter cake probably has the best ratio out of anything that’s ever come out of my kitchen.

For roughly one minute of work, you’ll be rewarded with a rich tender cake, covered in a gooey peanut butter sauce that tastes like it could have come from the kitchen of a 3 Michelin star restaurant.

It’s a flourless cake, which means it’s gluten-free. Aside from making it Celiac friendly, this makes it easier to make because you don’t need to worry about over-mixing the batter. It’s also very flexible because you can adjust the texture of the cake by the amount of time you cook it. On the low end, you’ll end up with a tender molten cake covered in a rich sauce. Cook it a little longer, and you’ll have a moist fluffy cake that can be frosted.

You’ll probably need to experiment with the timing for your microwave the first time. I recommend setting the microwave for 1 minute for the first cake, then stopping it when it looks done. Once you have the timing down the rest of the mugs should be a piece of cake!

For some variation, try using flavored peanut butter like Mighty Maple, Cinnamon Raisin Swirl, or Dark Chocolate Dreams, but be sure to halve the amount of sugar since the peanut butter is sweetened.

Prep time: 40 seconds
Cook time: 20 seconds
Total time: 1 minute
Yield: 4 mini cakes

Ingredients

For the cake
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
¼ cup sugar
½ teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
¼ cup Smooth Operator peanut butter

Procedure

1. Divide 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil between four microwave-safe mugs. Use a clean finger to spread the oil all over the bottom and all the way up the sides of the mug, and pour out any excess oil. It’s important that you give the mug a thick even coat of oil otherwise the cake will stick to the mug and become lopsided.

2. Add the sugar and baking powder to a bowl and whisk together. Add the eggs and peanut butter and whisk until smooth. Divide the mixture between the four mugs.

3. Microwave each cake separately. It’s done when the cake rises to the top of the mug (about 19 seconds in my 1000 watt microwave). Since microwaves vary in power, you may want to set the microwave for a minute for your first cake and stop it when it’s risen to the top.

The cake should be moist and tender on the inside and molten on the outside. If you prefer your cake cooked all the way through, you can leave it in the microwave for a few additional seconds, but don’t overcook it or it will become rubbery. See Marc’s amazing video on this recipe.