powdered cocoa

[bakerchik]

What is the difference between regular and Dutch process cocoa? Does it make any difference to substitute regualr for specified Dutch process?

[KyleW]

According to the Food Lover"s Companion:

"The richer, darker Dutch cocoa has been treated with an ALKALI, which helps neutralize cocoa's natural acidity."

BTW, How are things in the home of Ashley Chevrolet?

Kyle

[thebighat]

KyleW is right. Natural cocoa treated with an alkali, usually potassium carbonate, is called Dutched cocoa. Natural cocoa has a sharp acidic fruitiness which, when treated, has a smoother milder flavor and it dissolves more easily. It also has a darker redder flavor. I use Dutched whenever possible, but I think if you only had natural, you could sneak a little baking soda into a formula and it will darken the cocoa.

[thebighat]

that would be a darker redder color

[mudbug]

From Glorious Chocolate by Tarla

...In 1828, a quest for a better beverage resulted in a real breakthrough when a Dutch chemist named Coenraad van Houten invented a screw press that squeezed out about two-thirds of the cocoa butter and left "chocolate powder"—or, as it has been known ever since, cocoa—the basis of a drink with almost all the familiar savor of chocolate but none of the overrichness. Next he ended the use of coloring agents used to deepen the color of chocolate by inventing the process, called "dutching" in his honor, still in use today. Cocoa is now treated with alkali to neutralize its acidity, mellow its color and flavor and render it more soluble in liquids.

Click here to read the entire article.

Click here for more information on dutch cocoa vs regular cocoa.

I personally prefer Pernigotti cocoa and it is Dutch processed.

[angrychef]

So if making a chocolate cake with dutched cocoa, would you say less baking soda is used since the cocoa is already neutralized? How would you make the chocolate cake darker(blacker)when using dutch cocoa? I've always been confused by this issue.

[thebighat]

I would think about scaling back, or even eliminating the baking powder, and maybe bumping up the baking soda a little. It may be heresy, at least Marcy Goldman says it is, but I find myself taking out the baking powder when a cake has a lot of honey, brown sugar, coffee, cocoa, or any other acidic ingredient. I was making honey cakes that absolutely frothed until I removed the baking powder. And the same with multiple sheet pans of devils food cake. The baking soda alone is enough to leaven. And it will turn the cocoa darker. It's not the same chemical normally used to dutch cocoa.

[momoreg]

Very cool experiment. Logic says that you wouldn't need any soda if the cocoa is dutched, but it's worth doing a side by side comparison. I'll try it out one day this week, and report back.

[angrychef]

yes, it would be a very interesting experiment! I remember making a beet cake a couple months back and remember when the cake had baking powder and baking soda it was a deep brown color(sort of muddy color) and when I used all soda the cake came out more chocolatey dark, it really deepened in darkness, which was exactly what I was looking for. But the recipe used unsweetened chocolate and beets, both the acidic ingredients neutralizing the soda.

Cook's Illustrated has an interesting article about Devil's Food cakes in the April 2000 issue. (Their cake is fabulous BTW, the best I've ever made.) They used both Dutched cocoa and unsweetened chocolate -- melted in hot water. They also report that using baking powder produced a ligher in colour, fudgey, brownie-like cake. They determined that 1 teaspoon of soda (for 3 - 8 inch cakes) worked best. More soda made the cake fall in the middle, less didn't provide enough lift.

[angrychef]

I did read the article and thought it was very interesting, but I'm sorry, that cake was really bad. I remember it wasn't a problem with taste, it was texture. Too pudding-like and dense.