Valentine's Day and the Chocolate Monster

You can probably tell by now I'm a bit of a foodie. I like to cook, and I also know my weaknesses. I'm doing great with the healthy eating overall and can turn down a bowl of creamy pasta any day, but if you stick a box of, say, Cap'n Crunch under my nose, I'm wiggling like an excited puppy. Darn sugar and chocolate. So what to do tomorrow? I always make a special Valentine's Day dinner for my family, and this is where my good friends at Cooking Light come in.

The menu for tomorrow, which won't blow anyone's eating plan: Shrimp scampi over whole-wheat pasta, mixed baby greens salad with chopped veggies, and Mocha-Chocolate Pudding Cake with light ice cream (recipe below). I guarantee no one in my family will feel they've been stiffed, either.

Valentine's Day also usually involves chocolates in heart-shaped boxes, and by that I mean I get one for myself. A big one. And it has to be heart-shaped, because with any other shape of box, the candy doesn't taste as good. No heart-shaped box this year. I know it will render me completely useless in the face of Pure Cardio/Cardio Abs.

MOCHA-CHOCOLATE PUDDING CAKE
This can be in the oven in less than 10 minutes, and it bakes with its own pudding layer on the bottom. This makes four small servings.

1/4 cup + 2 TBSP sugar
1 TBSP butter
1/4 cup milk
1 TBSP brewed coffee, Kahlua, or water
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
Cooking spray
Whipped cream or low-fat ice cream
--------------------
1/3 cup sugar
2 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp instant espresso or coffee granules
1/2 cup plus 2 TBSP boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a small baking pan, around 6X9". Melt the butter in a glass bowl and mix in the 1/4 cup plus 2 TBSP sugar. Add milk and liqueur or coffee, beat well. In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, 2 TBSP cocoa, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients gradually and stir until well-blended. Spoon the batter evenly into the greased pan.

In a separate bowl, combine the 1/3 cup sugar, 2 TBSP cocoa powder, and teaspoon of espresso powder. Sprinkle over the top of the batter and pour the boiling water over batter. Do NOT stir. Bake for about 20 minutes until the middle just barely springs back when touched. The pudding will be bubbling up around the edges. Invert servings into bowls and top with whipped cream or ice cream.
Nutritional information (minus ice cream): About 275 calories, 3.6 g fat, 5 g protein, 55 g carbohydrate