Natural and Dutch process cocoa powder may be used interchange as long as there is no leavening in the recipe.
However, if a recipe calls for baking powder or baking soda, need to use the cocoa specified, otherwise, the texture and flavor of the pastry will suffer and the recipe may even fail.
The cocoa powder is made into a drink and can be added to milk, cakes and ice cream. The beans contain the stimulant alkaloid, theobromine (about 2.5 percent) and about 0.8 percent caffeine, but these quantities are reduced after processing.
General purpose manufacturing cocoa as used in doughs, biscuit creams or as the basis for coatings has a fat content of between 9 and 12%, may be rising a little higher.
Confections such as nougats, pastes and pralines also often use cocoa as a flavoring material.
The best way to heighten the flavor of cocoa powder is to blend it with boiling water before adding it to the recipe.
Cocoa differs from the other common beverages (coffee and tea) in that it has a marked nutritional composition, for example cocoa powder contains about 25 percent fat (saturated), 16 percent protein and 12 percent carbohydrate (about half are sugars).
Natural cocoa powder also known as non-alkalized cocoa powder is the classics American cocoa used of making chocolate cakes and brownies. Non-alkalized cocoa powder can be acidic and very assertive in flavor where alkalized is darker, milder in taste and more balanced.
Cocoa powder usage and consumption
