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My father is a retired chef so he is kind of picky with the quality of his ingredients. In most cases it causes no problem, but there is a single exception. The cocoa powder he buys is extremely rich, powerful and bitter as hell.

It is so much that any recipe I found on the internet which contains cocoa powder becomes a total gamble as I don't have the his gift of measuring by eye. I cannot put the same amount of cocoa from the recipes henceforth I am asking, how do you deal with the amount of very bitter and strong cocoa powder you put into your recipes, compared to normal supermarket stuff?

user110084
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Orkun Koçyiğit
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  • Can you state the brand (if any) that he purchases? – Catija Nov 15 '15 at 17:49
  • We are not from USA so I am not sure it would be very helpful – Orkun Koçyiğit Nov 15 '15 at 18:50
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    Not sure why not. It certainly can't **hurt**. – Catija Nov 15 '15 at 18:51
  • It is called Elit Chocolate. – Orkun Koçyiğit Nov 15 '15 at 18:58
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    Their website has recipes... you might consider looking at how much they use in similar recipes using their own cocoa powder. Like this one: http://www.elit-chocolate.com/recipies/nuans-bitter-cikolatali-browni-keki/ – Catija Nov 15 '15 at 19:15
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    Unsweetened cocoa is very bitter no matter what brand you buy, are you comparing it to sweetened drinking cocoa by any chance? – GdD Nov 16 '15 at 11:44
  • Nope, I am comparing to more popular brands such as Doctor Oetker. Thanks for recipe advice, I will try it this weekend and try to post results. – Orkun Koçyiğit Nov 16 '15 at 17:36
  • Does your father still bake? You could monitor one of his "by eye" recipes and try to get the weight of cocoa powder he uses, along with the total weight of the other dry ingredients. Then you'll have a ratio you might be able to apply to other recipes. – ElmerCat Dec 16 '15 at 00:14
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    I'm familiar with Elit (which is actual cocoa solids) but I'm not sure of what you're comparing it to. If it is hot cocoa powder, chocolate powder or cocoa solids (they're 3 VERY different things). – Juliana Karasawa Souza Feb 04 '17 at 14:47
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    Or maybe, dutch processed vs ordinary is being compared by accident? – rackandboneman May 11 '17 at 15:54

1 Answers1

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I am going to risk pinning the problem on the measuring method. Cacao powder density can vary. The only way to measure powdery ingredients is by weight, not volume. Even for the same batch of powder, every cup could be loaded differently. Weigh what your father is using.

user110084
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