Chocolate Castles as wel

I have been baking for more years than I care to reveal but have just learned something about cocoa. Being a true Paula Deen follower and a admitted chocoholic, I thought I knew more than I ever wanted to know about cocoa. It just goes to show you that there is always something to learn in the world of chocolate. Our daughter, Christi had just brought me a couple of new magazines from Orlando a few weeks ago. One of the magazines is Amazing Cakes & Cupcakes and I have had a ball finding new recipes that I had not seen.

In the back of the recipes I found  a section called, “What’s The Difference?, where it gives info between unsalted butter vs salted, etc. The cocoa vs Dutch Processed caught my eye immediately. The author says that the two are not interchangeable. Here are the facts:

“Dutch-Processed Cocoa Powder-is made from cocoa beans that have gone through a treatment process to neutralize acidity. This process darkens the color of the powder and leaves it with a milder flavor/ It should be used in recipes that call for baking powder because they have both been neutralized.

Natural Cocoa Powder-is made from beans that have not gone through the acid-stripping process. It has a lighter color but a more intense flavor. It should be used in recipes that call for baking soda because the cocoa powder helps balance out the acidity in the baking soda.

Dutch-processed Cocoa Powder and Natural Cocoa Powder should never be substituted because the acidity levels in each need to be balanced out with the proper leavening agent-baking powder or baking soda. Use the ingredients called for in the recipe.”