My cravings haven’t been too bad, but I have wanted a little more chocolate than usual.

Unfortunately, with only four or five weeks left till little Collyn makes his debut, I am dealing with heartburn. No chocolate! Well, sometimes I eat it anyway and deal with the pain. You have to sacrifice somewhere, why not for chocolate. Here’s two great recipes you can use morning or night.

Chocolate Chip Pancakes

1 and one-fourth cup all-purpose flour

3 tbs sugar

2 tsp baking powder

one-fourth tsp salt

1 cup half-and-half

2 large eggs, separated

3 tbs butter, melted plus 4 tbs, divided

one-half cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat griddle to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

In a small bowl, combine half-and-half, egg yolks, and three tablespoons melted butter. Add to flour mixture, whisking until smooth.

In a small bowl, beat egg whites at medium-high speed with an electric mixer until stiff. Gently fold into batter. Gently fold in chocolate morsels.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter on hot griddle. Ladle about a quarter of a cup of batter for each pancake onto hot griddle. Cook pancakes for 2 to 3 minutes, or until tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked. Turn and cook the other side. Repeat procedure with remaining 2 tablespoons butter and remaining batter.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with your favorite syrup.

Chocolate Fudge Cake

For the Cake:

2 cups brown sugar

one-half cup vegetable shortening

1 cup buttermilk

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted

3 eggs

2 cups sifted cake flour

1 tsp baking powder

one-half tsp salt

For the Hot Fudge Sauce:

1 (4 ounce) bar German Chocolate

one-half ounce unsweetened chocolate

1 stick real butter

3 cups powdered sugar

one and two-thirds cups evaporated milk

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To make the cake, cream the brown sugar with the shortening in an electric mixer. Add the buttermilk and vanilla then the melted chocolate. With the mixer running, add eggs one at a time. Sift the flour with baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the sugar mixture and beat for 2 minutes.

Grease and flour a 13x9x2-inch rectangular cake pan. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake until the cake is springy and a toothpick can be inserted and removed cleanly, about 40 minutes. Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes then turn it out onto a rack to finish cooling.

To make the sauce, melt the 2 ounces chocolate with the butter in a saucepan over very low heat. Stir in the powdered sugar, alternating with evaporated milk and blending well. Stirring constantly, bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer until the mixture becomes thick and creamy, about eight minutes. Stir in the vanilla. Serve slices of cake topped with warm fudge sauce and a big scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Until next time, have fun in the kitchen, experiment and indulge your cravings.

Laura Clements is a contributing food columnist for The Demopolis Times.