Happy Valentine’s Day… almost!

My husband, Morgan, and I have never been big on Valentine’s Day. I generally don’t care for holidays with a lot of expectation involved because they make me nervous! Morgan and I have a great time just going to a low-key restaurant/brewery or sitting in pajamas and watching a movie. But you want me to go somewhere fancy… and dress up… and have it be the most romantic day of the year? Well, I’ll take a rain check!

But wait, that doesn’t mean I don’t want a box of chocolate! And you can keep all the gourmet chocolates and truffles; I just want some good old Russell Stover.

And maybe it’s because I don’t like all the expectation associated with V-Day, but as of right now I don’t intend to bake anything on Saturday (it’s Russell Stover or bust!). But if you’d like to tempt your honey, I highly recommend this melt-in-your mouth, warm and chocolatey little cake.

I found this recipe in an old Kraft foods magazine. It was described as easy to prepare and, “under 200 calories, wonderful chocolate taste without being overly sweet.” Though I’ve heard people use the phrase “overly sweet,” I can’t say I understand the concept. My mantra is closer to, “bring on the sweets!” so I made a few small changes by adding about 1 cup of peanut butter chips along with 1/2 cup of bittersweet chocolate chips. It’s likely that these are no longer under 200 calories as advertised… whoops!

This recipe is also listed on the Kraft website, and I noticed in the comments that a lot of people complained that the cake completely fell in the middle just a few minutes after taking it out of the oven. I had this problem as well, probably because these cakes are flourless so the structure just isn’t the same, but a simple dollop of Cool-Whip disguises that instantly. And because you’re serving it warm out of the oven, they’re really not sitting around long enough for anyone to notice.

These little cakes are very easy to whip up, so you don’t have to worry about spending a lot of time in the kitchen instead of with your significant other. And because they’re individual serving sizes you get instant portion control! These sweet little cakes are truly heavenly.

Flourless Triple Chocolate Fudge Cups with Peanut Butter Chips
adapted from Kraft

3 squares semi-sweet baking chocolate (I used Baker’s brand)
1 tablespoon oil (I used Smart Balance)
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup peanut butter chips
1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
4 egg whites
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
4 tablespoons thawed Cool Whip Lite Whipped Topping

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a microwave safe bowl, microwave semi-sweet and bittersweet chocolate and oil for 20 second intervals, stirring between each interval until melted. Stir in cocoa powder and set aside.

Beat egg whites and sugar on high for approximately 3 minutes. Reduce speed and blend in melted chocolate. Stir in peanut butter chips.

Spoon batter into 6 paper muffin cups (I decided not to use paper cups when I made them, but I think it would be easier if you did… as I’ll describe in a minute).

Bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until center is puffed and set. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes. The tops will fall in as they cool. Gently slide out of the muffin pan when cool. Because the tops have fallen, it will be a little difficult to get them out without breaking the top more. Do the best you can, and plop Cool Whip on the rest to serve!

Makes 8 little cakes.

Tags: baking, cake, chocolate, dessert, easy, entertaining, valentine\'s day

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