Chocolate fudge cake may be difficult to resist, but the high calorie count means this treat is best reserved for special occasions. Depending on the recipe, the chocolaty dessert may be filled with an assortment of calorie-rich ingredients such as heavy cream, butter and even mayonnaise. If you're baking the cake from scratch, you can slash the calories in half by replacing the fattiest ingredients with leaner substitutes.

Calorie counts vary, but a recipe for an old-time fudge cake offered by "Good Housekeeping" contains 600 calories per serving, which is one-sixteenth of a cake. A leaner recipe by "Fitness Magazine" contains just 289 calories per serving, which is also one-sixteenth of a cake. The lighter cake uses lean ingredients such as Greek yogurt, reduced-fat cream cheese, egg whites and low-fat buttermilk. It also has less sugar, and uses grated beets for added sweetness.