Rowntree's Cocoa Powder For Baking - Instant Hot Chocolate Drink, 250 g (Pack of 6)

Product Information

Users describe it as being the creamiest of all Ghirardelli powder cocoa types, very well suited for decadent chocolate desserts. Ghirardelli chocolate is recommended by Chef Rakhee Vaswani for a Ghirardelli Chocolate and Oregon hazelnut brownies recipe, as it has an intense flavor and rich taste. The Cacao tree is native to Central America and only grows close to the Equator. Mayans domesticated the Cacao tree 5,000 years ago and considered the plant a gift from the gods. To them and other pre-Columbian civilizations, cocoa was both a ritualistic drink and a currency. After Europeans discovered cocoa and chocolate, their appetite led to an increase in the number of cocoa plantations, both in Central and South America, but also in Asia.

These classic sweets are a great choice for treat time. And with no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives, you can feel happy to enjoy these as a fun treat.Cocoa powder, known as “food of the Gods” in the Maya civilization of Central America, is a well-known dessert ingredient and superfood. Obtained from the seeds of the Theobroma cacao tree, also known as “the chocolate tree”, cocoa powder is a solid that results from grinding the seeds after the cocoa butter is extracted.

There are countless brands of cocoa powder and choosing one depends on several factors, such as budget, nutritional recommendations, type of dessert, and, of course, professional chef recommendations. The powder is rich in flavonol antioxidants, substances that turn it into a superfood, but are partially lost when the cocoa powder is processed.For example, Pastry Chef Michael Kitun from Naples Sailing and Yacht Club in Florida recommends using Dutch-processed cocoa for a flourless chocolate cake, which remains moist after baking. Nowadays, the largest cocoa producer is the Ivory Coast, followed by Ghana, and Indonesia. Obtaining cocoa powder is a long and complex process, as it requires several stages: harvesting the pods, fermenting the pulp (also known as “sweating”), fermenting and drying the beans, then roasting them.