If you must go in the store because, for example, your child went in unattended, or your husband is in there picking out the wrong flavors of taffy, or because it’s raining outside and you don’t have an umbrella, or because you think you spotted a rice cake and just want to check it out, stay away from the fudge counter.

Head to the back of the store where they stash the nasty candies with names like toxic waste, cry baby, viper blast, dragon fire, and atomic fizzion. Feign interest in the floor tiles or inspect the store front windows for fingerprints. Do not look at the front of the store near the cash register where the spacious glass case houses 22 varieties of fudge, displayed in large, pan-shaped chunks.

If your husband left his wallet in the car and needs you to pay for the taffy and you place yourself, through no fault of your own, with in sniffing range of the 22 varieties of fudge, breathe through your mouth until you can safely exit the store. Do not, under any circumstances, look at the fudge.

Except of course you might happen to notice a particularly curious bit of fudge, creamy brown with orange swirls running through it. “What in the world is that?” you ask yourself. You’ve seen fudge with M&M’s, rocky road fudge, fudge with green mint swirls and even white chocolate caramel swirl fudge. This orange swirl fudge is simply a mystery. Whatever you do, do not approach the fudge to get a closer look.
If you are like most people who don’t eat fudge, you will probably need to find out what kind of fudge this is, simply to satisfy your curiosity; for research, of course. Once you know what new flavor has been added to the old line up of fudge stand-bys, you will be able to leave the store and not think about fudge for the rest of the day. So, peek if you must, at the little tag stuck into the fudge with a little plastic pick, but do not linger.

When the fudge peddler offers you a free sample of the fudge you’ve been drooling over, whatever you do, do not accept. (And why were you drooling in the first place? It was supposed to be a quick peek, no time for drooling!)

If you must, fake a foreign accent or total ignorance of the English language to quickly escape the free-fudge-sample-pusher, do it, and run for the door. Do not try to explain to the tempter holding a small bite of fudge on a toothpick almost directly under your nose that you really shouldn’t, that you don’t care for fudge and that you were just curious. Don’t smell the little sliver of fudge on a toothpick, don’t look at it, and for heaven’s sake, don’t take it. Just back away, slowly and deliberately, then turn and run.

If you linger too long, you might realize the toothpicked free fudge sample is really just a sliver, a wafer-thin sliver. It’s nothing, really, compared to that giant pan shaped block mocking you under the glass. Fudge man probably can not put it back with the rest of the fudge now that it’s been severed from its block. He will just have to throw it away. You may as well take it and complete your fudge research by tasting the little bit of fudgy goodness.

You might realize all these things and more, but they will be misguided rationalizations. Do not take the free sample.

The free sample tastes delicious of course. We all knew you’d eat it. Just get it over with and put as much distance between you and the fudge as soon as possible. Ignore the way the creamy fudge feels in your mouth. Pay no attention to the endorphins that are being released in your body: you’re not happy, it’s just chocolate! And please, please don’t take notice of the multi-sized boxes available to take fudge home in.

Of course you would never buy the box that holds 5 hunks of fudge and a 6th hunk for free. It’s $10 after all and someone who spends that much on fudge clearly has a fudge problem. The $5 box may not be as good of a deal, but it holds fewer hunks of fudge that you will not be eating.

Buy the small box of fudge, not for you, of course, and leave the store while you still have a shred of dignity.

Makes 8 servings, about 1/2 cup each

ACTIVE TIME: 20 minutes

TOTAL TIME: 1 hour

EASE OF PREPARATION: Moderate

1/2 cup whole-wheat pastry flour (see Ingredient notes)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar or 3 tablespoons Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking (see Ingredient notes)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup 1% milk
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips (optional)
1 1/3 cups hot brewed coffee
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar or Splenda Granular
1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, toasted
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 1 1/2- to 2-quart baking dish with cooking spray. Whisk whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, sugar (or Splenda Sugar Blend), cocoa, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Whisk egg, milk, oil and vanilla in a glass measuring cup. Add to the flour mixture; stir with a rubber spatula until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips, if using. Scrape the batter into the prepared baking dish. Mix hot coffee and brown sugar (or Splenda Granular) in the measuring cup and pour over the batter. Sprinkle with nuts. (It may look strange at this point, but don’t worry. During baking, cake forms on top with sauce underneath.)
2. Bake the pudding cake until the top springs back when touched lightly, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool for at least 10 minutes. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve hot or warm

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per serving: 220 calories; 7 g fat (1 g sat, 3 g mono); 27 mg cholesterol; 38 g carbohydrate; 4 g protein; 2 g fiber; 237 mg sodium. 2 1/2 Carbohydrate Servings

Exchanges: 2 1/2 other carbohydrate, 1 fat

Per serving with splenda: 157 calories, 20 g carbohydrate, 1 Carbohydrate Serving

TIP: Ingredient notes
Whole-wheat pastry flour–the whole-grain equivalent of cake flour–adds fiber and a rich, nutty taste.

Substituting with Splenda: In the EatingWell Test Kitchen, sucralose is the only alternative sweetener we test with when we feel the option is appropriate. For nonbaking recipes, we use Splenda Granular (boxed, not in a packet). For baking, we use Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking, a mix of sugar and sucralose. It can be substituted in recipes (1/2 cup of the blend for each 1 cup of sugar) to reduce sugar calories by half while maintaining some of the baking properties of sugar. If you make a similar blend with half sugar and half Splenda Granular, substitute this homemade mixture cup for cup.
When choosing any low- or no-calorie sweetener, be sure to check the label to make sure it is suitable for your intended use.