Cacao Powder

I bought a big bag of Cacao powder and cannot figure out how to use it. Is it possible to substitute Cacao powder for the chocolate? If so, how much and do I need to make any other adjustments. Thank you

Heidi
  • Posted by: Heidi
  • April 16, 2019
  • 1371 views
  • 8 Comments
Extra-Fudgy Flourless Chocolate Cake
Recipe question for: Extra-Fudgy Flourless Chocolate Cake

8 Comments

Miss_Karen
Miss_Karen April 29, 2019
Make pumpernickel bread. That uses cocoa powder :)
 
Heidi
Heidi April 30, 2019
Never thought of that :)
 
Wendy
Wendy April 17, 2019
You can substitute cocoa powder for some of the flour in many recipes. I do this in sugar cookies, shortbreads banana or pumpkin loaf, gingerbread, muffins... basically anytime I want to change things up a bit.
I use 1/4 c cocoa powder in sugar cookies, 2 T in gingerbread.
 
Heidi
Heidi April 30, 2019
Always in need of a new cookie. Will try. Thank you.
 
Emma L.
Emma L. April 16, 2019
Hi Heidi! Cocoa powder and chocolate aren't reliable substitutes for each other, so I wouldn't recommend making that swap in this recipe. But! There are a ton of great recipes with cocoa powder on our site. Here are a few to get started:

https://food52.com/recipes/21007-alice-medrich-s-best-cocoa-brownies
https://food52.com/recipes/75935-magical-molten-chocolate-cake
https://food52.com/recipes/78032-greek-yogurt-chocolate-pudding
https://food52.com/recipes/2835-chocolate-bundt-cake
 
Nancy
Nancy April 17, 2019
Agree with Emma.
Sometimes when I've used cocoa powder instead of chocolate, I get a loss of intense chocolate flavor intended by the recipe. Feels like "meh" and a waste of good ingredients.
In a pinch, for every ounce of chocolate in a recipe, you could use 3 Tbsp cocoa, 1 tbsp butter or oil and if sweet chocolate, 3-4 tsp sugar.
If you like hot cocoa, another way to use up the cocoa powder is to mix your own cocoa blend (some with all cocoa, some with cocoa and chocolate).
For home use and/or gifts, tastes so much better than store-bought mixes heavy with sugar and laced with preservatives.
Look for recipes by Pierre Herme (Paris confectioner) and Wittamer's Belgian Hot Chocolate.
egullet.com (recipe #771)
davidlebovitz.com/2009/01/Belgian-hot-chocolate/
 
Heidi
Heidi April 30, 2019
Great suggestions. Will try a few of these.
 
Heidi
Heidi April 30, 2019
Yikes, sounds more complicated than I had anticipated. Glad you told me it is not a one to one ratio. I wish we were heading into winter. Will remember your suggestion for hot cocoa come fall. Thank you.
 
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