Cocoa Powder

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