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| Chocolate Blancmange tartlets with figs and honey made with 'Dutched' cocoa powder |
Our friend Susan introduced me to ‘Dutched’ cocoa powder
when she was telling me about the “Blackout Cake” that she wanted to bake. I
was willingly roped into the search for a supply-source for this darker cocoa as
something I enjoy is finding new products. I extended my search to include Pretoria
and in the process discovered a baker’s heaven but alas, my request was met
with blank stares from the staff.
Susan did eventually find a supplier and I was the lucky
recipient of a bag of the Dutched cocoa. As with all new products that I have
never used before, I first had to go and read up about it. This especially
after Susan explained the difference between normal and Dutched cocoa. In my
research I discovered the chemistry of the related baking ingredients.
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| 'Dutched' cocoa powder on the left and natural cocoa powder on the right |
Dutch process cocoa powder or alkalised cocoa powder is
washed with a potassium carbonate solution that neutralises the cocoa's acidity
to a pH of 7. Cocoa powders can vary in colour from light reddish brown to a
richer dark brown but the Dutch process makes the powder noticeably darker.
Dutch process cocoa has a smoother more mellow flavour
that's often associated with earthy, woodsy notes. The heavily Dutched
"black" cocoa powders bring the cocoa powder to an alkaline level of
8 and this is the kind of bittersweet cocoa you'll find in ‘Oreo cookies’.
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| 'Dutched' cocoa powder |
Since Dutch process cocoa isn't acidic, it doesn't react
with alkaline leaveners like baking soda to produce carbon dioxide. That's why
recipes that use Dutch process cocoa are usually leavened by baking powder,
which has a neutral pH.
If a recipe relies on chemical leaveners like baking powder
and soda (as opposed biological ones like yeast), as is the case with most
cakes, biscuits, and quick breads, it's written in such a way that the natural
acids and bases in the ingredients balance each other out so that the dough can
rise. In buttermilk biscuits, for example, alkaline baking soda is there to
neutralise the acidity in buttermilk, which lets the baking powder in the
recipe take care of the rise.
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| Natural cocoa powder |
If a cake or biscuit recipe only calls for baking soda, it
likely uses acidic natural cocoa. If it only uses baking powder, it'll probably
ask for Dutch process cocoa instead. If a recipe calls for both baking powder
and baking soda, you'll need to follow the recipe to get the proper balance of
acid and alkaline. Recipes that use baking powder will likely rise regardless
of tweaking, but not as well; it's best to stick to the cocoa that a recipe
calls for.
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| 'Dutched' chocolate Blancmange tartlets with figs and honey |
For dessert sauces, stirred custards, ice-cream, pudding,
and the like, the question more comes down to personal taste. Dutch process
cocoa has a more intense "chocolaty" flavour while natural cocoa
looks lighter in colour and tastes slightly astringent. But since you're not
dealing with any chemical leaveners, your choice of cocoa won't have much
impact on the dessert's texture. Source: http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/08/difference-dutch-process-natural-cocoa-powder-substitute.html
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| 'Dutched' chocolate Blancmange with figs and honey |
Chocolate being my one weakness, with a penchant for dark chocolate, I was very interested to taste the Dutched chocolate fare. To my absolute delight, I found the flavour much improved with that slight sourness one often encounters in dark chocolate absent. This is a 'must-try' for chocoholics. Thanks for this lovely post.
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