Dutch-Process Cocoa Powder substitute

Substitutes for Dutch-Process Cocoa Powder with ratios

1. 2Melted unsweetened chocolate

   Different texture

   Use 1 oz unsweetened chocolate for every 3 tbsp Dutch cocoa, minus 1 tbsp of the recipe's fat

   Unsweetened baking chocolate is cocoa solids plus cocoa butter, so it delivers the same chocolate with a lot of fat attached.

   What changes

   You take that fat out of the recipe elsewhere.

   Best for

   brownies, dense cakes, puddings, sauces, frosting

   Gives a richer, fudgier, moister result than any cocoa powder, which is often an improvement in brownies and a problem in a light sponge, where the extra fat weighs the crumb down. Unsweetened chocolate is mildly acidic like natural cocoa, so the same leavening caution applies.

2. 3Black cocoa powder blended with natural cocoa

   Close match

   1 part black cocoa to 3 parts natural cocoa, same total weight

   Black cocoa is Dutch cocoa taken much further, so heavily alkalized that it is nearly ashy, very dark and very low in fat.

   What changes

   On its own it overshoots; blended, it lands close to Dutch.

   Best for

   dark chocolate cakes, cookies, anything where colour matters

   This is the best option if you want the deep near-black colour Dutch cocoa is prized for. Do not use black cocoa alone at full replacement, because it is drier and much more bitter, and it will make cookies crumbly and cakes taste faintly burnt.

3. 4Raw cacao powder

   Different taste

   Use the same amount by weight, with the same baking soda note as natural cocoa

   Raw or cold-pressed cacao powder is unalkalized, so it behaves like natural cocoa: acidic, lighter in colour, and considerably more astringent and fruity.

   What changes

   Best for

   smoothies, no-bake desserts, brownies, raw treats

   Noticeably sharper and more bitter than Dutch cocoa, with a tannic edge that shows up in anything not heavily sweetened. It is also acidic, so treat it exactly like natural cocoa for leavening. Fine in a brownie, obvious in a plain chocolate cake.

4. 5Carob powder

   Different taste

   Use the same amount by weight

   Ground roasted carob pod.

   What changes

   It is not acidic, which conveniently means it behaves like Dutch cocoa in a recipe leavened with baking powder, and it is naturally sweeter.

   Best for

   caffeine-free baking, cakes for children, hot drinks

   It does not taste like chocolate. Carob is malty and raisin-like with a roasted sweetness, and there is no way around that, so use it when you want a caffeine-free bake rather than when you want chocolate. Because it is already sweet, cut the recipe's sugar by about a tablespoon per quarter cup.

5. 6There is no substitute for it: hot cocoa mix

   Taste and texture differ

   not recommended

   Hot cocoa mix is mostly sugar and often milk powder with only a small fraction of actual cocoa, so measuring it cup for cup gives you a fraction of the chocolate flavour and a mountain of extra sugar.

   What changes

   Best for

   knowing what not to grab

   If it is truly all you have, use three times as much mix as the cocoa called for, cut the recipe's sugar by roughly half, and expect a pale, sweet, milky bake. The far better move is to wait until you can buy real cocoa.