Microwave Peanut Butter and Jelly Cake

By Carolina Gelen

Updated May 21, 2026

  • Andrew Bui for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Kaitlin Wayne.
Media 1 of 2
Ready In
10 min
Rating
5(20)
Comments
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With six ingredients you likely already have in your pantry, this recipe promises the comfort and nostalgia of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in a moist cake — in only ten minutes. Great for nights in when you’re looking for a little something sweet, this peanut butter-forward cake doused in a jammy syrup cooks in about two minutes in the microwave. Take this dessert to the next level with a scoop of ice cream scooped right in the center: The contrast between the warm, jammy cake and cold ice cream delivers an irresistible bite.

Watch Carolina Gelen make this dish in this video.

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Ingredients

Yield:2 servings

  • 1 large egg

  • ¼ cup/50 grams light brown sugar 

  • ¼ cup/64 grams creamy peanut butter, plus more for topping (see Tip) 

  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 

  • 2 heaping tablespoons of your favorite jam for PB&J’s 

  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice 

  • Vanilla ice cream, for serving (optional)

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a medium microwave-safe bowl, whisk together the egg, brown sugar and  peanut butter until smooth. Whisk in the flour until combined. Using a silicone spatula, scrape the batter off the sides, pushing it towards the center of the bowl. 

    1. Step 2

      Microwave on high for 60 to 75 seconds, until the cake’s edges are puffed up but the center is barely set and looks slightly underdone (you’ll microwave it a bit more soon). Remove the bowl from the microwave.  

    1. Step 3

      In a small bowl, whisk the jam, lemon juice and 2 teaspoons water. Drizzle the mixture on the cake. Dollop or drizzle a heaping spoonful of peanut butter on top of the jam in 5 random spots.

    1. Step 4

      Microwave on high for about 1 minute more, until the jam is sticky in the center and syrupy around the edges. Top with ice cream and serve warm.

Tip

  • If using unsweetened, minimally processed peanut butter (100-percent peanuts), add an additional tablespoon of light brown sugar to the cake batter for additional sweetness. The result will be a tad gooier due to the lack of emulsifiers in the peanut butter.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
20 user ratings
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Comments

Morgan

Decadent I love you

Roxanne G.

Wow, this was truly delicious! I used Trader Joe’s peanuts-and-salt-only crunchy peanut butter, so added a tad more brown sugar as suggested, and it came out great.

Cecily

i fear this might be microwave-dependent. i did not deviate from the original recipe at all. cake itself came out better than most microwave cakes, but still a bit gummy – maybe beat the egg first and add in only half? and it was still in desperate need of vanilla extract (highly recommend adding that). if you value the texture of the jam syrup at all i would not put it in at the end for a full minute. mine completely liquidized and split with the pb. flavor was fine, nothing vanilla ice cream can’t fix, but i would make adjustments if you have an overzealous microwave

Roxanne G.

Wow, this was truly delicious! I used Trader Joe’s peanuts-and-salt-only crunchy peanut butter, so added a tad more brown sugar as suggested, and it came out great.

Morgan

Decadent I love you

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