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Cooking Light has been one of my favorite magazines for years.  Their recipes, while usually light on fat, are full of flavor.  When the December issue arrived last month, I immediately noticed their recipe for Hot Chocolate Fudge Cakes and folded the page to save for later.  My kids and I decided that New Year’s Eve was the perfect time to make this recipe – after all, what could be a better way to bring in the new year than with a decadent chocolate treat?

Although the recipe calls for egg substitute, we used whole eggs instead.  If you choose to make this switch, you will need 1 egg for every 1/4 cup egg substitute.  I have a kitchen scale (that I normally use to weigh packages!) but the battery was dead when I tried to weigh my flour for this recipe.  Fortunately, Cooking Light probably knows that not everyone has a kitchen scale, and suggests the quantity of flour in cups as well. One more note – because I planned to share these with my children after dinner, I decided to leave out the espresso powder (for obvious reasons!).

Despite the fact that I cooked these cakes a bit too long, they turned out moist and delicious.  We will definitely save this recipe and make it again in the future – probably when we have people over for dinner.  What a treat!

Hot Chocolate Fudge Cakes
Cooking Light, DECEMBER 2008

3.4 ounces all-purpose flour (about 3/4 cup)
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
5 teaspoons instant espresso powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup egg substitute
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 (2.6-ounce) bar dark (71% cocoa) chocolate (such as Valrhona Le Noir Amer), finely chopped
2 tablespoons powdered sugar

1. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Sift together flour, cocoa, espresso powder, baking powder, and salt.
2. Place butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed 1 minute. Add granulated and brown sugars, beating until well blended (about 5 minutes). Add egg substitute and vanilla, beating until well blended. Fold flour mixture into sugar mixture; fold in chocolate. Divide batter evenly among 10 (4-ounce) ramekins; arrange ramekins on a jelly-roll pan. Cover and refrigerate 4 hours or up to 2 days.
3. Preheat oven to 350°.
4. Let ramekins stand at room temperature 10 minutes. Uncover and bake at 350° for 21 minutes or until cakes are puffy and slightly crusty on top. Sprinkle evenly with powdered sugar; serve immediately.

Yield:  10 servings (serving size: 1 cake)

CALORIES 260 (28% from fat); FAT 8.2g (sat 4.5g,mono 2.3g,poly 0.2g); IRON 2.3mg; CHOLESTEROL 12mg; CALCIUM 63mg; CARBOHYDRATE 43.9g; SODIUM 189mg; PROTEIN 5.1g; FIBER 1.8g