There comes a time when you just feel like preparing something sweet to boost up your mood like a brownie, a cake, a cookie or anything that needs frosting and then you discover that you have run out of the most crucial ingredient like cocoa powder. However, the fact that your most valuable ingredient is missing shouldn’t hinder you from making your favourite sweet dessert as you can always find substitutes. Here are some of the few substitutes of cocoa powder in frosting that you can use, you will notice that some of the substitutes highlighted in this article are things that you always stock up in your pantry so it will be easier for you since you don’t have to go through the hustle of visiting the grocery store.
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Substitute cocoa powder in frosting with carob powder
NB: this is the commonly used substitute of cocoa powder in frosting this is because it has the same colour as cocoa powder and at first glance it is often mistaken for cocoa powder although the flavours are different.
When you are out of cocoa powder and you want to make frosting you can substitute it with carob powder. It is derived from the pods of the carob tree which are dried and then roasted to form carob powder. Carob powder is a very common substitute for cocoa powder because it has the same colour as cocoa powder and flavour wise the taste is almost similar to cocoa powder, although it lacks that bitterness found in cocoa powder. However, because carob powder is naturally sweet, when substituting it for cocoa powder in frosting it is important to reduce the amount of sugar in the frosting so that it won’t be too sweet.
Substitute cocoa powder in frosting with unsweetened baking chocolate
NB: it is also referred to as bitter chocolate or cooking chocolate depending on which country you are in.
Cocoa powder in frosting can be substituted with unsweetened baking chocolate also known as bitter chocolate. This is because they are both derived from the cocoa bean so in terms of flavour profile they taste almost the same. However, this is a tricky substitute to use when substituting cocoa powder in frosting this is because unsweetened baking chocolate contains a larger amount of cocoa butter as compared to cocoa powder. Meaning that unsweetened baking chocolate contains more fat as compared to cocoa powder so when making your frosting and placing unsweetened baking chocolate instead of cocoa powder you have to reduce the amount of butter. The measurements for substituting cocoa powder in frosting with unsweetened baking chocolate are that for every 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder required by the recipe you need to add 1 ounce of unsweetened baking chocolate. Furthermore, the unsweetened baking chocolate needs to be first melted in a saucepan over low heat before it can be added to the other ingredients or alternatively you can melt it in a glass bowl of a pot that has simmering water.
Substitute cocoa powder in frosting using Dutch-processed cocoa
Dutch-processed cocoa is another decent substitute for cocoa powder in frosting this is because it contains cocoa solids just like cocoa powder. It has a neutral pH level because it is treated with alkali to make the pH neutral and because of this fact the Dutch-processed cocoa is not acidic as compared to cocoa powder so it has a mild taste to it. Therefore, when using it is important to use it in combination with an acidic ingredient like white vinegar, lemon juice or cream of tartar so that it can attain a little bit of that acidity found in cocoa powder. So when substituting it, for every 3 tablespoons of Dutch-processed cocoa you need to add 1/8 of a teaspoon of any of the stated acidic ingredients so that it can really add a nice flavour to the frosting.
Substitute cocoa powder in frosting using semi-sweetened chocolate chips
When you do not have cocoa powder in your house you can substitute it with semi-sweetened chocolate chips especially when making frosting. When using semi-sweetened chocolate chips as a substitute for cocoa powder you first have to melt them either in a saucepan on a stove that is switched on to low heat or in a glass bowl over a pot of simmering hot water. Semi-sweetened chocolate chips have sugar as compared to cocoa powder and they also contain cocoa butter. Therefore when substituting cocoa powder in frosting with semi-sweetened chocolate chips you have to reduce the amount of butter in the frosting and also sugar so that the semi-sweetened chocolate chips can act as a good substitute. When using semi-sweetened chocolate chips to substitute cocoa powder in frosting you can use ½ a cup of semi- sweetened chocolate chips for every 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder required by the recipe.
Conclusion
Cocoa powder is an essential ingredient especially when baking and because of that it is amongst of the first baking ingredients to finish in the kitchen. You might notice this when you actually want to make another dessert and this could actually lower your morale for baking since it can be hard to make a dessert that doesn’t have cocoa powder. The article highlighted a few substitutes that you can use to replace cocoa powder when making a frosting. Some of the substitutes highlighted include carob powder and this is the most commonly used substitute of cocoa powder. This is because it has the same colour as cocoa powder and in terms of flavour it is a decent substitute although it is sweeter than cocoa powder. The other substitutes noted in the article include unsweetened baking chocolate, Dutch processed cocoa and also semi sweetened chocolate chips. It is worth noting again that most of the ingredients that can substitute cocoa powder in frosting contain butter and sugar therefore when making frosting it is important to reduce the amount of butter and sugar in the recipe so that they can actually act as good substitutes.
