Natural cacao, as its name says, has not been "dutch" processed which is the term used when adding an alkali to the chocolate. IF your recipe calls for DUTCH processed cocoa and you are substituting for natural, make sure you are using correct leavening. Cocoas with alkali need an acid (baking soda or powder) to correctly react. If only using natural, make sure to adjust your leavening! Hope this helps! I love brownies!

I've done a 1 for 1 substitution several times with no other alterations to the recipe and it's always worked out fine!

I do switch between cacao, cocoa and chocolate blocks with 90%+ cacao for brownies. No problems at all. For cake, I prefer melted chocolate blocks compared to cacao or cocoa. Particularly for lava cake, I use only dark chocolate blocks with 90%+ cacao.

Yea agreed with others- most places I've found it its just trying to sound fancier that cocoa, but its just natural processed cocoa powder.

I use it all the time in brownies with perfect results.

Good to know, I've come across a few recipes lately calling for cacao powder and was hesitant to buy yet another ingredient since I am an infrequent baker. From the comments, it sounds like the reverse is also true -- that I can use the unsweetened cocoa powder (not dutch-processed) I already have to replace the cacao powder.

Here is a great explanation from the comments on another site. Based on the post, I would summarize as follows:

1) cocoa powder and cacao powder are the same thing.

2) people selling cacao powder as "raw" are claiming it has not been heated over 118 degrees (not a legal definition, but the raw community definition... 112 degrees for very strict raw foodies). This has NOTHING to do with dutching or alkali... that's a separate issue. The comment below suggests it is nearly impossible to produce "raw" cocoa/cocao and, if accomplished, may have bacterial growth.

3) cocoa/cocao (interchangeable terms) are "natural" if NOT "Dutched" by using alkali. However, several brands of certified organic cocoa powder use alkali. So the use of alkali processing is apparently allowed in the National Organics Standards Program (NOSP).

4) Alkali processing is said to reduce the beneficial antioxidant properties of cocoa. (As mentioned, “raw” and non-alkali/Dutch are NOT the same thing. I am looking into Rapunzel brand which is certified organic and non-alkali but it is heat processed. Navitas claims to be organic, “no chemical/solvent” (alkali) and “raw” (low heat) so I will try them since both heat AND alkali destroy antioxidants. I actually called Navitas and the person I spoke with was helpful. She addressed the comment below (from Cocoa Lady) and talked about the “raw” processing. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18710243

5) I see comments about baking soda/powder and leavening but I don't know if it really matters. Some say yes, some say no. I have not experimented.

Hope this helps!
Mary Ellen

[comment from Chef Talk below]

http://www.cheftalk.com/t/19794/whats-difference-between-cacao-powder-and-cocoa-powder

by Cocoa Lady

I disagree with GoodcatchM [see previous comment on attached link]
..and here is my reasoning and experience of 15 years in the cocoa business, and as a chemical engineer.

Cocoa powder and cacao powder is the same.
What is considered "raw" cacao is suppose to be a cocoa powder that has been in a process that never exceeded 110 degrees Fahrenheit...which is already an almost impossible scenario, since cocoa beans are grown in the Equator, and you may exceed that temperature while drying in the patio under the sun covered with black linens (to heat it up and allow the fermentation of the bean)....and yes, you need to dry them, otherwise they will rotten in a few days, and the shell will be too difficult to peel off.

Back to cocoa powder....
ALL cocoa powder comes from the cocoa bean, which without the shell is called cocoa nib (a.k.a. cacao nib). The first step is grinding of the nib (which again, when you grind something to such small particle size you will create a lot of friction with -that's right - heat!). That will give you the cocoa/cacao paste (a.k.a. cacao mass or liquor), which has about 50 to 56% fat (cocoa butter) in it...and ALL cocoa powders have to go through that stage.

Next stage is to take some of that butter away, which the raw community claims can be done through "cold pressing". For any that don't understand that term, cold pressing is done with oils like olive oil to preserve the oil almost intact by cooling the press plates while applying pressure (pressure generates heat, therefore it needs to be cooled). But here is a reminder, olive oil is liquid in room temperature, cocoa butter is SOLID, and it STARTS melting at about 100 degrees Fahrenheit ... so, you cannot control and cool it to a point where it will be still in a solid phase, because it cannot be pressed and "flow" out.

Last operation is to grind the solids left in the press, again - heat...and there is your cocoa powder or cacao powder... you tell me if you call it "raw", a term not defined by the FDA for cocoa, and that can be used by anyone just to sell the cocoa to a much higher price. Maybe that is why bigger, more serious companies don't have this product, since they do not want to be liable for false advertising...

Regarding "Raw" cocoa nibs or cocoa beans...yes, that is possible, and the only concern is the high bacteriological plate count... but how much you want to train your immune system is up to each individual. And yes, the less manipulated the cocoa, the more polyphenols and healthy chemicals you will obtain from it.

There is also a difference between alkalized or ducthed powders, and the natural ones (which do not contain any potassium carbonate), being the second ones the ones containing more of the healthy properties (antioxidants). But that is totally different than claiming a "raw" cocoa powder.

So, that is my explanation, and again, I respect anyone's opinion on what they want to eat or how they want to consume it. I just disagree with misleading the general public just to make juicy profits.

@Mary Ellen https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/482308_10200346156070726_1533962372_n.jpg