Item: Warm Delights Minis: Molten Chocolate Cake

Price: about $2.50 for two 1.23 ounce bowls

Where to Buy: Any grocery store.

Review: I'm cheap, so instant desserts don't usually find their way into my shopping cart. But I found out that Betty Crocker was sending free samples of the Warm Delights Minis to anyone who signed up for the email newsletter (sorry- the promotion's over). I got mine in the mail just a week or two later.

I peeled open the box hoping that my sample would be of the Molten Chocolate Cake. Success! Like a Russian nesting doll, the box contained yet another box which contained nearly everything you need: the bowl, the cake mix and a fudge pouch.


The preparation was even easier than I expected: stir the cake mix with 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon of water. Squeeze the fudge on top. Cook in the microwave for 30 seconds. Voila.



Unfortunately, I think the name of the cake is a misnomer. I suppose you could call the lines of fudge on top of the cake "molten," but it certainly was no chocolate volcano. In addition, the cake had a light, airy flavor that reminded me of gingerbread.

Overall, I was hoping for a richer chocolate flavor, but at 150 calories I was prepared to be underwhelmed. I was.

For me, the price was right: free. But even if I didn't want to go to the trouble of making a homemade dessert, a boxed brownie mix would be just as cheap as the regular price of the Warm Delights and taste infinitely better.