THE MOST TRUSTED COPYCAT RECIPES
THE MOST TRUSTED COPYCAT RECIPES
Shoney's Hot Fudge Cake Reduced-Fat

Shoney's Hot Fudge Cake Reduced-Fat

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If you've ever laid your fork into one of these, you know how tough it is to take just one bite. Now you don't worry about stopping there. TSR drastically reduces the fat in this clone of the Shoney's creation with the help of reduced-fat devil's food cake mix and fat-free ice cream. Just be sure to get the type of ice cream that comes in a rectangular container, so that slicing and arranging the ice cream on the cake is make easier. Breyer's makes excellent fat-free vanilla ice cream and the container works well for this recipe. You may have some ice cream left over, which you can eat with the small cake or cupcakes you can bake with the cup of leftover cake batter.

Nutrition Facts

Serving size–1 slice
Total servings–12
Calories per serving–328 (Original–522)
Fat per serving–9.5g (Original–20g)

Source: Top Secret Recipes Lite by Todd Wilbur.

Get This

_main
  • 1 18.5-ounce box reduced-fat devil's food cake mix
  • 1 1/3 cups water
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 3/4 cup egg substitute
  • 1 half-gallon box fat-free ice cream (Breyer's is good)
  • 1 16-ounce jar chocolate fudge topping
  • 1 can whipped cream
  • 12 maraschino cherries
Do This

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Mix the batter for the cake as instructed on the box of the cake mix by combining the mix with the water, oil, and eggs in a large mixing bowl.

3. Remove a scant 1 cup of the batter from the bowl and set it aside, then add the remaining batter to a well-greased 9x13-inch baking pan. We won't be using the extra batter that was set aside, so you can discard it or use if for another recipe, such as cupcakes.

4. Bake the cake according to the box instructions (about 30 minutes). Allow the cake to cool completely.

5. When the cake has cooled, carefully remove it from the pan and place it right side up onto a sheet or wax paper. With a long knife (a bread knife works great) slice the cake horizontally through the middle, and carefully remove the top. It helps to position the cake near the edge of your kitchen counter so that you can get a straight cut through the middle of the cake.

6. Pick up the wax paper with the bottom half of the cake still on it, and place it back into the baking pan.

7. Take the ice cream from the freezer and, working quickly, tear or cut the box open so that you can slice the ice cream like bread.

8. Make six 3/4-inch slices of ice cream and arrange them side-by-side on the cake in the pan. Cover the entire surface of the cake with the ice cream slices. Fill in any gaps with additional ice cream. You may have about one-fifth of the ice cream left over in the box.

9. When you have covered the entire surface of the bottom cake half with ice cream slices, carefully place the top half of the cake, right side up, onto the ice cream in the pan. You should now have a layer of fat-free ice cream sandwiched between the two halves of reduced-fat cake. Cover the entire pan with plastic wrap or foil (trim the wax paper from the edges if necessary), and place the pan into your freezer for at least a couple of hours.

10. When you are ready to serve the dessert, slice the cake so that it will make 12 equal slices—that is, cut lengthwise twice and crosswise three times. If you will not be serving the entire dessert, only slice what you will be serving and save the rest, covered, in the freezer until you are ready to use it (it should keep for several weeks).

11. Heat up the fudge in the microwave or in a jar immersed in a saucepan of water over medium/low heat.

12. Pour about 2 tablespoon of fudge over the top of each slice of cake, and then add a small portion of whipped cream (about 2 tablespoons) on top of that.

13. Place a cherry onto the pile of whipped cream and serve.

Serves 12.

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    This unique blend of five ripe ground chili peppers of varying intensity wakes up practically any dish, adding awesome flavor and perfect—but not overwhelming—heat. The peppers included in the blend range from sweet (bell) to hot (habanero). The sweet hits your tongue first, then the hot creeps in.

    Hell Flakes does NOT contain salt, vinegar, MSG or other ingredients found in liquid hot sauces—you get just pure chili flavor!

    Hell Flakes is made from 100% natural chili peppers, which are a thermogenic, anti-inflammatory food. Capsaicin in the peppers helps to supercharge your metabolism so that you burn calories even after you've finished eating, and the peppers have an anti-inflammatory effect on your body to help give you relief from aches and pains.

    Hell Flakes takes crushed red pepper flakes to the next level with smaller flakes and better flavor. Hell Flakes comes in a long-lasting flip-top shaker bottle to distribute the micro-flakes perfectly over your food. 

    Our award-winning Hell Flakes were developed by food hacker Todd Wilbur, host of Top Secret Recipe on CMT-TV, and author of 12 Top Secret Recipes cookbooks.Buy up to 3 bottles to ship for one low price!

    1.9-ounce shaker bottle. Money-back guarantee. Kosher certified. Gluten-free.

    You may also like Top Secret Steak Rub and Top Secret Chicken Rub.

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  • Score: 4.00 (votes: 1)
    Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2

    Exclusive signed copy. After 10 years of research in the Top Secret Lab, America's Clone Ranger emerges with his highly anticipated follow-up to the best-selling Top Secret Restaurant Recipes cookbook.

    Author Todd Wilbur reveals 150 new secret formulas for duplicating the taste of your favorite dishes from America's biggest restaurant chains including Applebee's, Olive Garden, Outback Steakhouse and many others.

    Todd's simple recipes and detailed blueprints will have you creating culinary copycats that will fool even the most critical connoisseurs at a fraction of the cost of eating out. But beware, everyone will be so amazed, you may have to start taking reservations!

    Discover the secrets to making your own versions of Original Pancake House Apple Pancake, Olive Garden Sicilian Scampi, The Cheesecake Factory White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cheesecake, Chili's Grilled Baby Back Ribs, Romano's Macaroni Grill Penne Rustica, Applebee's White Chocolate & Walnut Blondie, Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits, Tony Roma's Baked Potato Soup, Houston's Chicago-Style Spinach Dip, Benihana Ginger Salad Dressing, IHOP Country Griddle Cakes, Carrabba's Chicken Marsala, T.G.I. Friday's Pecan-Crusted Chicken Salad, Chili's Southwestern Eggrolls, Olive Garden Lemon Cream Cake, Bennigan's The Monte Cristo, P.F. Chang's Orange Peel Chicken, Outback Steakhouse Kookaburra Wings and many more.

    Other books you may like:Top Secret Restaurant Recipes and Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 3.

    Contents
    Applebee's Mud Slide
    Applebee's Perfect Apple Margarita
    Applebee's Perfect Sunrise
    Applebee's Onion Peels
    Applebee's Baked French Onion Soup
    Applebee's Santa Fe Chicken Salad
    Applebee's Almond Rice Pilaf
    Applebee's Bourbon Street Steak
    Applebee's Chicken Fajita Rollup
    Applebee's Crispy Orange Chicken Bowl
    Applebee's Honey Grilled Salmon
    Applebee's Tequila Lime Chicken
    Applebee's White Chocolate & Walnut Blondie
    Benihana Ginger Salad Dressing
    Benihana Japanese Onion Soup
    Benihana Mandarin Orange Cheesecake
    Bennigan's The Monte Cristo
    Buffalo Wild Wings and Sauces
    --Spicy Garlic Sauce
    --Medium Wing Sauce
    --Hot Wing Sauce
    --Caribbean Jerk Sauce
    California Pizza Kitchen California Cosmo
    California Pizza Kitchen Thai Crunch Salad
    California Pizza Kitchen California Club Pizza
    California Pizza Kitchen Jamaican Jerk Chicken Pizza
    Carrabba's Bread Dipping Blend
    Carrabba's House Salad Dressing (Creamy Parmesan)
    Carrabba's Chicken Marsala
    The Cheesecake Factory Mini Crabcakes
    The Cheesecake Factory Sweet Corn Tamale Cakes
    The Cheesecake Factory Chicken Madeira
    The Cheesecake Factory Bang-Bang Chicken & Shrimp
    The Cheesecake Factory Original Cheesecake
    The Cheesecake Factory White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cheesecake
    Chevys Fresh Salsa
    Chevys Mango Salsa
    Chevys Chile Con Queso
    Chevys Garlic Mashed Potatoes
    Chevys Sweet Corn Tomalito
    Chevys Flan
    Chili's Salsa
    Chili's Boneless Buffalo Wings
    Chili's Boneless Shanghai Wings
    Chili's Chicken Crispers
    Chili's Chili Queso
    Chili's Lettuce Wraps
    Chili's Southwestern Eggrolls
    Chili's Chicken Enchilada Soup
    Chili's Southwestern Vegetable Soup
    Chili's Honey Mustard Dressing
    Chili's Grilled Baby Back Ribs
    Chili's Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie
    Chili's Molten Chocolate Cake
    Claim Jumper Garlic Cheese Bread
    Claim Jumper Fire-Roasted Artichoke
    Claim Jumper Cheese Potatocakes
    Claim Jumper Spicy Thai Slaw
    Claim Jumper Meatloaf
    Denny's Fabulous French Toast
    Denny's BBQ Chicken Sandwich
    Denny's Club Sandwich
    Hard Rock Cafe Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
    Hard Rock Cafe Bar-B-Que Beans
    Hard Rock Cafe Pig Sandwich
    Houston's Chicago-Style Spinach Dip
    Houston's Honey Lime Vinaigrette
    Houston's Cole Slaw
    IHOP Cinn-A Stacks
    IHOP Country Griddle Cakes
    IHOP Country Omelette
    IHOP Harvest Grain 'N Nut Pancakes
    IHOP Pumpkin Pancakes
    Islands China Coast Salad Dressing
    Islands Island Fries
    Islands Tortilla Soup
    Islands Yaki Soft Tacos
    Joe's Crab Shack Blue Crap Dip
    Joe's Crab Shack Garlic King Crab Legs
    Lone Star Steakhouse Lettuce Wedge Salad
    Lone Star Steakhouse Baked Sweet Potato
    Lone Star Steakhouse Lone Star Chili
    Margaritaville Crab, Shrimp and Mushroom Dip
    Margaritaville Jamaica Mistaica Wings
    Margaritaville Key Lime Pie
    Marie Callender's Lemon Cream Cheese Pie
    Marie Callender's Pumpkin Pie
    Mimi's Cafe Carrot Raisin Bread
    Mimi's Cafe Corn Chowder
    Mimi's Cafe French Market Onion Soup
    Olive Garden Limoncello Lemonade
    Olive Garden Bruschetta
    Olive Garden Sicilian Scampi
    Olive Garden Stuffed Mushrooms
    Olive Garden Toasted Ravioli
    Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli
    Olive Garden Minestrone Soup
    Olive Garden Chicken Scampi
    Olive Garden Chocolate Lasagna
    Olive Garden Frozen Tiramisu
    Olive Garden Lemon Cream Cake
    Olive Garden Tiramisu
    Original Pancake House Apple Pancake
    Original Pancake House German Pancake
    Outback Steakhouse Honey Wheat Bushman Bread
    Outback Steakhouse Grilled Shrimp On The Barbie
    Outback Steakhouse Kookaburra Wings
    Outback Steakhouse Bleu Cheese Dressing
    Outback Steakhouse Caesar Salad Dressing
    Outback Steakhouse Honey Mustard Salad Dressing
    Outback Steakhouse Ranch Salad Dressing
    Outback Steakhouse Tangy Tomato Dressing
    Outback Steakhouse Cinnamon Apple Oblivion
    Outback Steakhouse Sydney's Sinful Sundae
    P.F. Chang's Mai Tai
    P.F. Chang's Chang's Spare Ribs
    P.F. Chang's Chicken in Soothing Lettuce Wraps
    P.F. Chang's Shrimp Dumplings
    P.F. Chang's Garlic Snap Peas
    P.F. Chang's Chang's Spicy Chicken
    P.F. Chang's Dan-Dan Noodles
    P.F. Chang's Lemon Pepper Shrimp
    P.F. Chang's Mongolian Beef
    P.F. Chang's Oolong Marinated Sea Bass
    P.F. Chang's Orange Peel Chicken
    P.F. Chang's Chocolate Torte
    Red Lobster Tartar Sauce
    Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits
    Red Lobster Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp
    Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Crab Bake
    Red Lobster Parrot Bay Coconut Shrimp
    Red Lobster Red Lobster New England Clam Chowder
    Red Lobster Teriyaki Glazed Fresh Fish
    Red Robin Seasoning
    Red Robin 5 Alarm Burger
    Red Robin Banzai Burger
    Red Robin Teriyaki Chicken Burger
    Roadhouse Grill Roadhouse Rita
    Roadhouse Grill Roadhouse Cheese Wraps
    Roadhouse Grill Baby Back Ribs
    Romano's Macaroni Grill Chicken Portobello
    Romano's Macaroni Grill Chicken Scaloppine
    Romano's Macaroni Grill Penne Rustica
    Ruby Tuesday Creamy Mashed Cauliflower
    T.G.I. Friday's Black Bean Soup
    T.G.I. Friday's Broccoli Cheese Soup
    T.G.I. Friday's Pecan-Crusted Chicken Salad
    T.G.I. Friday's Sizzling Shrimp
    Tony Roma's Blue Ridge Smokies Sauce
    Tony Roma's Baked Potato Soup
    Tony Roma's Maple Sweet Potatoes
    Tony Roma's Carolina Honeys BBQ Salmon
    Waffle House Waffles

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    • 10% off
  • Score: 5.00 (votes: 5)
    No Pudge! Original Fat Free Fudge Brownie Mix

    In 1995 pediatric nurse Lindsay Frucci discovered a way to make chewy, fudgy brownies without any of fat. Today you can find her brownie mix boxes in thousands of grocery stores and specialty markets throughout the country. All you have to do is add some nonfat vanilla yogurt to the dry mix and bake. 

    The brownies that emerge from your oven are good, but the mix can be pricey. One box of No Pudge! Fat Free Fudge Brownie Mix will set you back around four bucks, which seems like a lot when you consider that boxes of regular brownie mix from larger brands such as Pillsbury or Duncan Hines contain similar ingredients but sell for roughly half that. So I spent a week burning through gobs of cocoa, sugar, and flour in hopes of creating an easy No Pudge! Brownie mix copycat recipe that you can make for a fraction of the cost of even the cheapest brownie mix on the market. After much trial and error, I finally nailed it.

    I tried many batches with Hershey's and Nestle's cocoa, but eventually decided the best widely available unsweetened cocoa powder for the task is the stuff made by Ghirardelli. Use this cocoa powder for the best results. You'll also want to track down baker's sugar, which is a superfine sugar, and some powdered egg whites (health foods stores or cake decorating suppliers carry this). Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl, and when you're ready to make the brownies, simply mix in 2/3 cup of nonfat vanilla yogurt, just like with the real thing. In 34 baking minutes (same as regular minutes, but they seem much longer) you'll have one plate of amazing fat-free chocolate brownies ready to eat.

    Click here for more famous cookie and brownie copycat recipes.

    Source: Top Secret Recipes Unlocked by Todd Wilbur.

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  • Score: 4.77 (votes: 22)
    El Pollo Loco Creamy Cilantro Dressing

    Sliced chicken breast, romaine lettuce, pico de gallo, tortilla strips, and cotija cheese make up El Pollo Loco's Caesar Salad, but it is the fantastic creamy cilantro dressing recipe that gets the raves. Use my El Pollo Loco Creamy Cilantro Dressing recipe below and simply combine the ingredients in a blender. You'll soon have more than one cup of the delicious dressing cloned and ready to pour over any of your home salad creations.

    You can also make El Pollo Loco Flame Broiled Chicken, pinto beans, Spanish rice and more. Find my copycat recipes here

    Source: Top Secret Recipes Unlocked by Todd Wilbur.

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  • Score: 4.83 (votes: 6)
    Bennigan's The Monte Cristo

    Menu Description: "A delicious combination of ham and turkey, plus Swiss and American cheeses on wheat bread. Lightly battered and fried until golden. Dusted with powdered sugar and served with red raspberry preserves for dipping."

    It sounds crazy, but it tastes great: a triple-decker ham, turkey, and cheese sandwich is dipped in a tempura-style batter; fried to a golden brown; then served with a dusting of powdered sugar and a side of raspberry preserves. For over ten years, tons of cloning requests for this one have stacked up at TSR Central, so it was time for a road trip. There are no Bennigan's in Las Vegas, and since the Bennigan's chain made this sandwich famous, I headed out to the nearest Bennigan's in San Diego.

    Back home, with an ice chest full of the original Bennigan's Monte Cristo sandwiches well-preserved and ready to work with, I was able to come up with this simple clone for a delicious sandwich that is crispy on the outside, and hot, but not greasy, on the inside (the batter prevents the shortening from penetrating). My Bennigan's Monte Cristo recipe makes one sandwich, which may be enough for two. If you want to make more, you'll most likely have to make more batter so that any additional sandwiches get a real good dunking.

    Recently, Bennigan's restaurants across the country have been closing, but with this secret formula you can still experience the taste of the chain's signature sandwich. 

    Try more of my copycat recipes for famous sandwiches here.

    Source: Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2 by Todd Wilbur.

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  • Score: 4.71 (votes: 7)
    Wendy's Hot Chili Seasoning

    The little red packets of viscous hot sauce at the fast food giant have a cult following of rabid fans who will do whatever it takes to get their hands on large quantities. One such fan of the sauce commented online, "Are there any Wendy's employees or managers out there who will mail me an entire case of Hot Chili Seasoning? I swear this is not a joke. I love the stuff. I tip extra cash to Wendy's workers to get big handfuls of the stuff." Well, there's really no need to tip any Wendy's employees, because now you can make as much as you want in your own kitchen with my Wendy's Hot Chili Seasoning copycat recipe below. 

    The ingredients listed on the real Hot Chili Seasoning are water, corn syrup, salt, distilled vinegar, natural flavors, xanthan gum, and extractives of paprika. We'll use many of those same ingredients for our clone, but we'll substitute gelatin for the xanthan gum (a thickener) to get the slightly gooey consistency right. For the natural flavor and color we'll use cayenne pepper, cumin, paprika, and garlic powder, then filter the particles out with a fine wire-mesh strainer after they've contributed what the sauce needs.

    My recipe makes 5 ounces of sauce— just the right amount to fit nicely into a used hot sauce bottle—and costs just pennies to make.

    Try your Wendy's hot chili seasoning clone on a homemade bowl of Wendy's Chili.

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  • Score: 5.00 (votes: 1)
    Chick-fil-A Carrot and Raisin Salad

    The secret to cloning Chick fil-A's popular carrot raisin salad lies in proper carrot shredding technique. A standard shredder, like the type you might use to shred a hunk of cheddar cheese, creates a coarse shred that makes the salad taste much too "carroty." Instead, find yourself the type of fine shredder that is often used for Parmesan cheese. Sure, it'll take a little more elbow grease to reduce 5 or 6 carrots to ultra thin strips, but I guarantee you'll end up with a superior finished product that will help you forget all about the extra effort.

    Try more of my Chick-fil-A copycat recipes, like their famous chicken sandwich here.

    Source: Top Secret Recipes Unlocked by Todd Wilbur.

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  • Score: 5.00 (votes: 6)
    Baja Fresh Salsa Baja

    You won't find freezers, can openers, or microwave ovens at this national Mexican food chain. Since 1990 Baja Fresh has been serving up great food, made fresh with each order. As you're waiting for your food to come out, that's when you hit up the salsa bar, where you'll find several varieties of delicious fresh salsa, from hot to mild, ready to be spooned into little tubs that you can take to your table or to your car. One of the most popular selections is called Salsa Baja—its medium spiciness, smoky flavor, and deep black color make the salsa unique and mysterious. That is, until now, since I've got a Top Secret formula for you right here. But the recipe wasn't as easy to create as I first thought. I figured the tomatoes would have to be extremely blackened over a hot grill, but I wasn't sure how to get them dark enough to turn the salsa black without the tomatoes getting all mushy and falling apart on the barbecue.

    So, I went back to Baja Fresh before they opened to peer through the window to see if I could catch some hot salsa production action. I waited and waited. After several hours, as the lunch rush was beginning to wind down and no fresh salsa was in the pipeline, it was time for extreme measures to get things moving. I went in and ordered 30 tubs of Salsa Baja to go, and that did it. I ended up with a big bag filled with 2 gallons of salsa (thankfully they poured those 8-ounce portions into bigger bowls), and the restaurant went immediately into "salsa red alert" to replenished the now-dwindling salsa reserve. It was perfect. As I was grabbing my bag of salsa, a dude come out from the kitchen with a huge box of tomatoes and placed them all on the grill. I ordered a giant Diet Pepsi and parked myself at a close table to watch the process. That's when I discovered the secret. For super-charred tomatoes, they start with firm, chilled tomatoes, that aren't too big or too ripe. I also found out that the tomatoes must start roasting on the grill with the stem-side down. Crafting the rest of my Baja Fresh Salsa Baja copycat recipe was simple...

    Find more cool dips and salsa recipes here.

    Source: Top Secret Recipes Unlocked by Todd Wilbur.

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I'm Todd Wilbur, Chronic Food Hacker

For over 30 years I've been deconstructing America's most iconic brand-name foods to make the best original copycat recipes for you to use at home. Welcome to my lab.

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