What is Black Cocoa Powder?
Can black cocoa powder be substituted for unsweetened cocoa powder in recipes?
What is black cocoa powder? It’s an ultra-Dutched type of cocoa powder, meaning it’s been washed with an alkali to strip the acids, mellowing the flavor and darkening the color. In general, the darker the cocoa, the lighter the taste. Black cocoa powder, AKA black onyx cocoa, is what’s used in Oreos. And because it’s so heavily Dutched, it also contains almost no fat, which can make baked goods dry and crumbly. Thus, it’s typically used as a “coloring” agent, not a flavoring one, and usually in combination with another cocoa powder (natural unsweetened or “regular” Dutch-processed).
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