Strawberry Peanut Butter Cup Microwave Cake

I’ve tried out my fair share of protein mugcakes (mostly from people I follow on Instagram), and I can say that some of them have been utterly disappointing. You need to have the perfect ratio of wet ingredients to protein powder so the cake isn’t too dry or gritty in texture, but also not so wet that you can’t even eat it. I’ve thrown a couple straight into the trash after taking them out of the microwave. Sad times. A while back I made a delicious Single-Serve Molten Chocolate Mugcake that has been a fall back ever since, but I wanted to create a protein based one this time around. So, I am happy to report that this cake has the perfect ratios, a great taste, is high in protein, and start to finish takes about 10 minutes since it is cooked in the microwave and requires no oven.

Besides being a cake you can make quickly when your cravings hit, another great part about it is that you can use the base (the recipe without the strawberries or peanut butter cups) and turn this into any kind of cake you want. Add some peanut butter and cocoa powder for a Reese’s version, or some coconut, dark chocolate chips, and almonds for an Almond Joy cake. Not sure why I am so focused on these candy bar themes? You get the idea.

Now let’s talk about Quest Nutrition protein products for a second. Quest produces one of the best protein bars on the market. They are extremely low in sugar (only 1 grams) and carbs (only 5 active grams), high in protein (around 20 grams), and they are gluten free. They are also free of preservatives! Not only that, but they taste amazing. I’m pretty much obsessed with these protein bars and I’ve done some crazy things to get them (like pack almost my entire suitcase full of them on my way back to Mexico from Christmas break). A new flavor, Cookies & Cream, is coming out this week and I’m dying to get my hands on it.

Quest also has some other products that are not bars, but are still high in the protein department, like Quest Pasta and Quest Cravings Peanut Butter Cups. I used these peanut butter cups a while back in my Dark Chocolate Quest Peanut Butter Cup Halloween Bark. I’ll be honest- they are a little dry when eaten alone (but that doesn’t mean I don’t thoroughly enjoy one as a way to satisfy my sweet tooth and get in some extra protein at the end of the day), but I really love the way they taste microwaved in with this cake or added to my morning oatmeal. They add the perfect touch of peanut butter and chocolate and I don’t have to feel guilty about all kinds of yucky ingredients or empty calories. Such a win, win.

You can definitely substitute your classic Reese’s peanut butter cups or a Justin’s Almond Butter cup in place of the Quest cups. Whatever you have that will add that touch of chocolate and PB is going to work great here.

However, when you include half a scoop of vanilla whey protein powder and one of these protein peanut butter cups you are getting 33 grams of protein in this microwave cake! That’s huge!

Let’s talk more about the details of the cake and what it tastes like:

It is moist, not dried out, thanks to a super ripe banana, egg whites, and strawberries.
It has the perfect amount of chocolate and peanut butter from the peanut butter cups.
It acts as a great canvas for some more peanut butter related toppings.
It provides a base recipe for any other mix-ins you want to try.
It can be kept completely gluten free with the use of gluten free certified oats.

Fun story- I spent about an hour deciding on and reworking the type, color, and placement of the font for the first photo. Can any bloggers please tell me how you make it look so easy!? All tips for perfect and beautiful looking text on photos being accepted.

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