Have you ever tried making homemade Oreo cookies and couldn't quite get that exact Oreo cookie color? Or hankered for a slice of devil's food cake that was as deep and dark and chocolatey as you always think it should be? The answer, fellow bakers, is black cocoa powder.
This is an ultra-Dutch processed cocoa powder. All the acidity has been neutralized, rendering the cocoa powder completely mellow, non-bitter, and very black. Think of black cocoa powder almost as more of a coloring ingredient than a flavoring one—it will turn your baked goods as deeply black as you could ever hope for.
Because it's been so heavily Dutch processed, this cocoa powder presents some challenges when baking. It contains almost no fat, which can make baked goods dry and crumbly. You can either use half black cocoa and half regular Dutch-processed cocoa in your recipe, or you can up the fat a little bit.
Black cocoa also contains no acid, it won't react with baking soda. Be sure to use baking powder instead, substituting one teaspoon of powder for every 1/4 teaspoon of soda called for in the recipe.
Find It:
• Black Cocoa from King Arthur Flour, $9.95 for 12 oz
• Black Onyx Cocoa Powder from Savory Spice Shop, $1.50 - $18 for various sizesIf you're having trouble finding black cocoa powder, you can also try Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa. It's not quite as "Dutched" as black cocoa, but will get you closer to your goal than other cocoa powders.
Have you ever baked with black cocoa powder?
Related: Bitter Crunchy Chocolate Bits: Cacao Nibs
(Images: King Arthur Flour)
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I've had black cocoa around the house off an on for a year--I've baked with it sometimes, but I didn't realize it had such different properties...good to know. It turns batter almost blue.
I always use black cocoa in my baked goods. I use about 1/2 and 1/2 with regular or dutched cocoa. I love the flavor and it makes chocolate cake and brownies look really chocolatey.
I'd rather just pick up a container of Hershey's special dark cocoa powder. It makes my brownies black, you can find it in the grocery store for around $3.
I use the King Arthur brand and actually LOVE it in the buttercream frosting I make. It's so mellow + dark + deep it really lets the cocoa flavor sing vs. being overwhelmed by sweet confectioners' sugar.
Can you get this in Canada?
I usually use the Double dutch dark from KAF. It's a combo of dutched and black cocoa.
I'm going to have to try and track this down in the UK. I always see such beautifully dark chocolate cakes in American recipes and blogs but have never been able to acheive the same thing - now I know why! thanks very much.
huh. I have a small jar of onyx cocoa powder from savory spice shop in my spice drawer. but I'm sort of afraid to use it. it is extremely dark.