Chocolate Pudding Cake

I am currently addicted to Cooking Light Magazine. There are so many great looking recipes and all that I have tried have come out tasty. I have tried a couple of dinner recipes and they have turned out as well. This is another great one that will be made over again. You really can't go wrong with a slightly crunchy top with moist cake in the middle and as the base a warm pool of chocolate lava. Top it off with some no sugar added vanilla bean ice cream and you are still within the limits of still being a little bit better for you.

I should mention that this recipe was originally Mocha Pudding cake, but since the hubby and kids are very fond of mocha, I left that part out. :)

Chocolate Pudding Cake
From: Cooking Light

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar, divided
6 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa, divided
1 1/2 Tbsp instant coffee granules
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup 1% low-fat milk--I used fat free milk
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
Cooking Spray
1 Cup boiling water
Vanilla love fat ice cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, 2/3 cup sugar, 1/4 cup cocoa, coffee granules, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Combine milk, oil, and vanilla in a bowl; add to flour mixture, and stir well. Spoon batter into an 8 inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray.

Combine 1/3 cup sugar and 2 Tbsp cocoa. Sprinkle over batter. Pour 1 cup boiling water over batter (do not stir). Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until the cake springs back when touched lightly in the center (cake will not test clean when a wooden pick is inserted in center). Do not over bake. Serve warm with ice cream.

Note: This recipe is easy to double. Spoon into a 9x13 inch baking dish; bake at the same temperature and time/

Dark Chocolate Ice Cream

I have a confession, before now, I have never made homemade ice cream. I am completely hooked now. It all started with Sabrina and Alex, who got it from Dianne. You see, Dianne hosted an ice cream week, and I just couldn't take it any longer. A few years ago, I asked for an ice cream machine for Mother's Day, and I got it. Only, I have never used it! So, I dug it out, blew off all of the dust, and proceeded to read the directions. Melt some chocolate with some heavy cream, let cool...add a little more heavy cream, some sugar, half and half, and sweetened condensed milk. Easy enough? Yes, it was! And it is fantastic. The picture above is after freezing for about 4 hours, so it was a little on the soft serve side. I let the rest freeze overnight, and the next day it was firm enough to scoop and very creamy. What better way to so goodbye to the Summer than with homemade ice cream?

Dark Chocolate Ice Cream
recipe from Dianne's Dishes

5 oz baking chocolate

1 pint of heavy cream

1 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk

1/2 of 1 pint of half and half

1/4 cup sugar

In a sauce pan over medium heat, or in the microwave on low, melt chocolate with 1/2 of the heavy cream until completely smooth. Be careful and don't let it go too far or the chocolate will become grainy. Let cool completely.

Stir in sweetened condensed milk, half and half, the rest of the cream and sugar until smooth. Place mixture into your ice cream freezer and freeze according to your machine's directions. Once the ice cream has hit the soft serve stage you can serve immediately or you can place in an airtight container to harden further and make it more scoopable.

Notes: It is extremely important to let your mixture cool completely BEFORE you begin the freezing process or it most likely will not set up.