Nikki Duffy
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Once mature cacao pods have been split, the seeds and pulp inside fermented, dried, roasted and ground, and the cocoa fat or ‘butter’ removed, you are left with cocoa powder. This is the soul of chocolate – the repository for all that rich, fruity, complex flavour, unclouded at this point by sugar and containing very little fat. Cocoa powder is bitter but, combined with other ingredients, it delivers intense chocolatey flavour.
A tub of cocoa powder is a really useful storecupboard ingredient because it can be used with other staples – sugar, flour, butter, eggs – to make ultra-chocolatey things that can be just as luscious as those made with actual chocolate – old-fashioned brownies, for instance, are often cocoa based. In a plain sponge recipe, simply replace a couple of tablespoonfuls of the flour with cocoa to turn it into a chocolate cake.
For a super-quick, thick, hot chocolate sauce for 2–3 people, put 25g (3 tbsp) cocoa powder, 50g caster sugar and 100ml water in a small pan. Bring to the boil, whisking to combine, then simmer for 2 minutes, whisking occasionally so it doesn’t stick. Stir in a pinch of salt if you like. A little cocoa can work magic in savoury dishes too, such as chillies, moles and meat rubs, adding smoky, deep flavour without sweetness.
Most of the cocoa powder in the UK is ‘dutched’. This means it has been treated with alkaline potassium carbonate to neutralise its natural acidity. Dutched cocoa is darker, more mellow and more obviously chocolatey than untreated ‘natural’ cocoa. Natural cocoa, which is more fruity and has higher acidity, is the norm in the US. The two types behave differently in recipes where raising agents are involved. Natural cocoa reacts with alkaline ingredients such as bicarbonate of soda to create a rise; dutched cocoa does not. You can swap the cocoas in recipes such as sauces and ice creams (though the flavour will be different) but it’s not a good idea in baking.
For cooking, always use an unsweetened cocoa powder. Once sugar and other ingredients are added, it becomes drinking chocolate. Cocoa is subject to the same ethical trade and supply issues as chocolate, so choose a Fairtrade brand.
UPSIDE-DOWN CHOCOLATE PLUM PUDDING
This luscious chocolate pud is also very good made with peeled, quartered, cored pears in place of the plums – or even sliced bananas. Serve it with cream or ice cream. Serves 6–8
100g wholemeal spelt flour (or plain white flour)
35g cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
150g butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
125g soft light brown or light muscovado sugar
2 medium eggs
About 3 tbsp milk
FOR THE PLUM LAYER
About 400g ripe or almost-ripe plums
25g butter
50g soft light brown or light muscovado sugar
Preheat the oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4. Butter a baking dish, about 2-litre capacity – a 20cm square one is ideal. Line the base with a square of buttered baking parchment.
For the plum layer, halve the plums and remove the stones. Arrange the plums, cut side up, in the base of the dish. Distribute the butter between them, putting a nugget of butter in the hollow of each plum half, then sprinkle over the sugar in a generous layer.
Thoroughly combine the flour, cocoa and baking powder and set aside. Beat the butter and sugar together for several minutes until very pale, light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, adding a spoonful of the flour mix with each. Then fold in the remaining flour mix. Fold in enough milk to give a firm dropping consistency.
Carefully dollop this mixture over the sugary plums to cover them and gently spread it out; it needn’t reach the edges of the dish. Bake for about 50 minutes until the sponge is firm on top and the pudding doesn’t wobble if you tap the dish. The tip of a small, sharp knife inserted into the middle should come out with just a little moist cake batter attached (the finished pud should still be slightly gooey around the fruit).
Leave to stand for 10 minutes or so, then run a knife around the edge of the dish, carefully invert the pudding on to a plate and peel away the parchment. Serve warm.