I was in Australia recently, and while on a grocery shopping trip with my mum in Coles I spotted a can of dutch processed cocoa powder. This was an extremely significant find for me, because until that moment I had never been able to find dutch processed cocoa in any supermarket in London, not even Wholefoods. All the recipes I'd tried using natural cocoa powder always turned out a light brown (refer to the Sydney Girls' High brown) even though a lot of the time the picture was a really dark chocolatey brown, and it wasn't only disappointing in looks but in taste also. A number of cocoa recipes later, I suspected the difference in colour was down to my use of natural cocoa powder instead of dutch processed and eventually I started to avoid chocolate cake recipes using cocoa knowing that my cake would never really turn out as chocolatey as I desired.
I wish I'd come back to London with at least 3 cans of dutch processed instead of the measly 1 can I bought, because after trying this recipe I knew that I would only ever use dutch processed from now on, and not natural - they are definitely not interchangeable. The flavour is so much richer and more intense than natural cocoa powder. Dutch processed cocoa powder is for dark chocolate lovers, and will never fail to satisfy a craving for chocolate cake.
Verdict: A most excellent use of dutch processed cocoa powder
Score: 10/10
1/2 cup (1 stick or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened 1 cup (6 7/8 ounces) firmly packed light brown sugar 1/2 cup (4 ounces) granulated sugar 1 large egg, at room temperature 1 cup buttermilk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 1/2 cups (6 3/4 ounces) all-purpose flour 3/4 cup (2 5/8 ounces) Dutch cocoa powder (see above for a natural cocoa adjustment) 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt Preheat the oven to 325°F. Butter and lightly flour a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan, or spray it with a butter-flour spray. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugars and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and beat well, then the buttermilk and vanilla. Don’t worry if the batter looks a little uneven. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt together right into your wet ingredients. Stir together with a spoon until well-blended but do not overmix. Scrape down the batter in the bowl, making sure the ingredients are well blended. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool in pan on a rack for about 10 to 15 minutes, at which point you can cool it the rest of the way out of the pan.
I wish I'd come back to London with at least 3 cans of dutch processed instead of the measly 1 can I bought, because after trying this recipe I knew that I would only ever use dutch processed from now on, and not natural - they are definitely not interchangeable. The flavour is so much richer and more intense than natural cocoa powder. Dutch processed cocoa powder is for dark chocolate lovers, and will never fail to satisfy a craving for chocolate cake.
Verdict: A most excellent use of dutch processed cocoa powder
Score: 10/10
1/2 cup (1 stick or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened 1 cup (6 7/8 ounces) firmly packed light brown sugar 1/2 cup (4 ounces) granulated sugar 1 large egg, at room temperature 1 cup buttermilk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 1/2 cups (6 3/4 ounces) all-purpose flour 3/4 cup (2 5/8 ounces) Dutch cocoa powder (see above for a natural cocoa adjustment) 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt Preheat the oven to 325°F. Butter and lightly flour a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan, or spray it with a butter-flour spray. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugars and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and beat well, then the buttermilk and vanilla. Don’t worry if the batter looks a little uneven. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt together right into your wet ingredients. Stir together with a spoon until well-blended but do not overmix. Scrape down the batter in the bowl, making sure the ingredients are well blended. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool in pan on a rack for about 10 to 15 minutes, at which point you can cool it the rest of the way out of the pan.
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