Cocoa Powder Guide: How to Buy It, Store It, and What Even Is Dutch-Process, Anyway?
What do brownies, buttercream, and flourless chocolate cake have in common, aside from being things we’d like to eat today and every day? All three desserts get their rich, chocolaty flavor from one classic pantry staple ingredient: cocoa powder.
Unlike fancy baking bars, chocolate chips, or melty fèves, cocoa powder is relatively inexpensive. It doesn’t look like much but is actually quite powerful, as a few spoonfuls can transform an entire recipe. And best of all, cocoa powder is easy to use, sifting seamlessly into a batter or sauce without the fuss of a double boiler.
Even if you have a container of cocoa powder in your kitchen right now (and if you’re an avid baker, you probably do), you likely have a few lingering questions about the ingredient. So before you embark on your next chocolate-based culinary project, arm yourself with all of the cocoa powder intel you could possibly need: Scroll on to the learn what the product really is, how to store it, what to look for while you’re shopping, and details on the three most popular varieties.
What is cocoa powder?
Cocoa powder is made from dried and ground cocoa solids—what’s left over after most of the fat (a.k.a. cocoa butter) is processed out for other uses. Because it has the highest percentage of solids of any chocolate product, a little goes a long way in terms of imbuing a baked good or dessert with rich fudgy flavor. Most often you’ll find cocoa powder in a recipe whisked into the other dry ingredients; once hydrated, it will turn the whole batch of batter dark brown and deeply fragrant.
How to store cocoa powder
Like your spice collection, cocoa powder should be stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry place, such as your pantry or cupboard. The fridge or freezer might seem tempting, but both of those spots actually foster humid environments; for cocoa powder specifically, they should be avoided. Well-stored cocoa powder will keep for up to two years, but the strength of flavor does fade a bit over time.
Hot Chocolate- Inset
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Katherine SacksTypes of cocoa powder
Natural cocoa powder
This is the most common cocoa powder, both in stores and in recipes. “Natural” signifies that it is unprocessed beyond the initial separating from the cocoa butter and grinding into a powder; it is also sometimes labeled on packaging as “unsweetened cocoa powder” or “pure cocoa powder.” It is fruity, complex, and bitter in flavor, and light brown in color.
Cocoa beans are naturally quite acidic, and regular cocoa powder is as well, with a pH level between 5.3 and 5.8. This makes it a great addition to recipes that include baking soda, as the cocoa will trigger the chemical reaction that causes lift and lightness in your final bake.
Ghirardelli Unsweetened Premium Baking Cocoa Powder, 8 oz
$4.00, Amazon
Dutch-process
Dutch-process cocoa powder is made by soaking cocoa beans in an alkali solution—a process developed by a Dutch chemist in the 1800s—which neutralizes the acidity and cuts a bit of the bitterness. The resulting product is darker in color than natural cocoa powder, and less harshly flavored. It creates what some people consider a richer, fudgier flavor in baked goods. You will sometimes find it labeled as “processed with alkali” or “alkalized cocoa powder.”
If the recipe you’re referencing calls for just a small amount of cocoa powder, uses baking powder or a mix of baking powder and baking soda, or that never has to go in the oven (ice cream, sauce, custard, etc.), you can substitute Dutch-process for natural cocoa powder. But if your cake or brownie recipe relies on the lift of baking soda plus an acid to achieve the right consistency, be sure to stick to the non-alkalized stuff to wind up with the correct crumb and chew.
Droste Dutch-Process Cocoa Powder, 8.8 oz
$11.00, Amazon
Black cocoa powder
This is a style of Dutch-process cocoa powder that—as a result of heavy, repeated processing—is extremely dark in color. Black cocoa powder is how Oreo cookies and the chocolate biscuits on the outside of a traditional ice cream sandwich get their characteristically deep hue; if you’re looking to create a super dark baked good or chocolate sauce, this product is the key. The same rules apply for black cocoa powder as any Dutch-process powder in terms of baking soda versus baking powder as the leavening agent, so read the recipe carefully before subbing it in.
Black Cocoa Powder, 12 oz
$10.00, King Arthur Baking
Cacao powder
Though made from the same base ingredient, cocoa and cacao are slightly different things. Where cocoa powder is made from the solids left over after most of the fat is removed, cacao powder is the ground version of the whole cocoa pods and beans—they are still slightly processed, but at such a low temperature that the finished product is considered “raw.” Cacao is significantly more bitter than cocoa, so substituting it for cocoa in a dessert recipe will yield a much less sweet finished product; if you’ve ever had a cookie with cacao nibs in place of the chocolate chips, you know what I’m talking about. This makes the powdered version a useful ingredient in savory cooking as a tart alternative to paprika in stew, chili, tomato sauce, and barbecue-style rubs.
Raaka Chocolate Unroasted Single-Origin Cacao Powder, Set of 2
$28.00, Food52
Cocoa mix
This is a trick! Hot cocoa mix—the sweetened stuff you just add water or milk to when making a wintertime bev—is not the same as cocoa powder, though similar labeling and distracted shopping may mean you occasionally bring it home by accident. Reserve this stuff for festive drinking and not for baking; similarly, don’t expect hot water and natural cocoa powder to make a sweet treat. However, you can use natural cocoa powder to make your own cocoa mix from scratch with the addition of sugar and vanilla extract.
Public Goods Hot Cocoa Mix, 12 oz
$9.00, Public Goods
Fudgy Brownies - RECIPE
How to shop for cocoa powder
The first thing to consider when shopping for cocoa powder is the leavening agent you’re using in your recipe; baking soda means you’ll need to buy natural, while baking powder or a mix means you can sub in Dutch-process or even black cocoa. But there are other factors to look out for when you’re scanning the cocoa section of the baking aisle as well.
A cocoa powder’s price can reflect the quality of the beans used; higher-quality beans contain a higher percentage of fat, which makes for a richer flavor overall. But inexpensive cocoa powders don’t necessarily make for worse bakes. In fact, in many taste tests, Hershey’s natural cocoa powder edges out powders that cost twice as much, possibly due to the nostalgic flavor of the ingredient.
You may also choose to consider ethical growing practices when shopping for cocoa powder. Brands like TCHO or Valrhona, with “fair trade” and “organic” on their labels, are a good place to start, as are the websites of organizations dedicated to directing consumers to ethical chocolate options.
No matter what kind of cocoa powder you’re buying, always be sure to check the label to ensure that it’s made of 100 percent cocoa with no sugars, stabilizers, or anti-caking agents added.
How to use cocoa powder
If you’re making a chocolate dessert of any kind, chances are you’ll need cocoa powder. Brownies are the obvious use case, but birthday cakes, Bundt cakes, loaf cakes, flourless chocolate cakes, and cookies all benefit from the concentrated fudgy flavor of the pantry staple.
On the non-baked end of the spectrum, use your cocoa powder (natural, Dutch-process, or black) to make buttercream, ice cream, fudge, or fancy hot cocoa.
Originally Appeared on Epicurious
