How to Substitute Chocolate for Cocoa Powder
Your best bet when using chocolate instead of cocoa powder is going to be unsweetened chocolate ($4, Target) since all other chocolates will have sugar and hence take more adjusting to work in your recipe. In general, a 1-ounce piece of unsweetened chocolate can replace 3 Tbsp. cocoa. Though because your chocolate piece will have oil in it, you might want to try leaving out some of the oil; take out 1 Tbsp. of called-for oil for each ounce of chocolate substituted. What if you only have milk chocolate or sweetened chocolate on hand? The chocolate liquor we mentioned in the science lesson earlier is what goes into the chocolate bars and chips you buy at the store along with sugar (and dry milk for milk chocolate). Unfortunately, sweetened chocolate is not a reliable exchange for unsweetened chocolate in your recipes.
Cocoa Powder to Chocolate Conversion
Here’s a quick breakdown of useful measurements when substituting cocoa powder for chocolate:
Substitute for semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (1 oz.): 1 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder plus 2 tsp. sugar and 2 tsp. shortening is equivalent to 1 ounce of semisweet chocolate OR 3 Tbsp. cocoa powder plus 1 Tbsp. oil or shorteningSubstitute for unsweetened chocolate (1 oz.): 3 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder plus 1 Tbsp. cooking oil or shortening, meltedSubstitute for chocolate, sweet baking (4 oz.): ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder plus ⅓ cup sugar and 3 Tbsp. shortening
If you need to get your brownie fix stat and aren’t a fan of math, you could always make our delicious fudgy brownies recipe, which already calls for unsweetened chocolate rather than cocoa powder. You could also get creative with your boxed brownie mix for a quick sweet treat.
