Cocoa Powder

Every recipe in this book is made with Valrhona cocoa powder. It is deep, dark, and delicious. Don’t get too caught up in the Dutched (cocoa powder treated with alkali) versus natural debate. Instead, pay more attention to the color and smell of the cocoa powder. Some mass-produced cocoas are almost gray—avoid them. If you can’t find Valrhona, look for a dark-colored cocoa. I never use sweetened cocoa in this book (or for that matter, any other time).