Betty Crocker's Warm Delights

Admittedly, "Betty Crocker's Warm Delights" sounds like something that would be nominated for an award at the next Adult Video News banquet. When, in reality, they're like having an Easy Bake Oven without going to all the trouble of actually buying one.

I'll be honest, I'm not much of a dessert guy or sweet eater. In fact, I'm almost 41 years old and college educated yet I still had to look up whether "dessert" had one "s" or two. Sad. But I do like the occasional dessert, like a low-fat pudding or a huge hunk of tiarmasu from Vaccaro's in Baltimore.

When we first spotted Betty's Warm Delights on tv, though, I was immediately intrigued. How exactly was I going to bake this warm cake in my microwave? Luckily, Chris jumped at the chance to give them a try, too, so I grabbed a couple varieties – Molten Chocolate and Molten Caramel – and brought them home from the store.

Now, I've never actually used an Easy Bake Oven, but I'm guessing these things work on somewhat the same principle. You have a little microwaveable bowl, some cake mix and a packet of goo (chocolate or caramel). You add a few tablespoons of water to the mix and stir it up. Then you snip the end from a goo pack, squeeze it atop the batter and pop the whole thing in the microwave for about 30-45 seconds.

What comes out is something like a hot bowl of cake with some melted chocolate – or caramel – sitting atop it. The end result wasn't all that earth-shatteringly great, though the fact that they're only 150 calories per bowl makes them a somewhat fun, slightly interactive treat.

On our second go round with them, we upped the ante a bit. I got the bright idea that something cool is often good with something warm, so I made the bowls and topped them with a couple tablespoons of Fat Free Devil's Food Pudding. A few more calories but I'll be damned if they weren't a whole lot better.