Learn about two different options for cocoa to use in your chocolate waffles and what kind of results to expect from each one so you know which cocoa powder you want to turn to.
Experimenting with Cocoa Powder
When I was writing a blog post for a recipe for Chocolate Peppermint waffles for Christmas time, I was pondering a lot about cocoa powder. I had read what other people said about which cocoa powder is the best for baking or with things like waffles. But I had not done any side by side comparisons myself yet. Needless to say no one in the family thought it was a bad idea!
For the experiment, we made 4 waffle batters. 2 with each type of cocoa powder. We cooked them in a full size waffle maker and a mini waffle maker, so we could see if there were any differences and if they were more noticeable in a larger waffle.
I went in expecting to see different results but what I did not expect is that our family would be split 3 for the natural cocoa powder waffles and 3 for the Dutch processed cocoa powder.
Natural Cocoa Powder vs. Dutch Processed
Let’s talk cocoa powder. Cocoa powder is the dry cocoa solids from cocoa beans that has been turned into a powder. It contains some cocoa butter as well. The minimum amount it must contain is 10%.
When you are shopping for cocoa powder you will find you are usually have 2 different choices, straight up cocoa powder that we are going to call natural cocoa powder and alkalized cocoa powder or Dutch-processed cocoa.
You need to look at the ingredient list sometimes to be sure of which one you have. Sometimes cocoa powder will be labelled baking cocoa. If the ingredient list just cocoa then you have natural cocoa powder. If the ingredient list says “alkalized cocoa” then you have Dutch-processed. You may even find cocoa powder that is a mix of both and in that case the ingredient list will say “a blend of natural cocoa and alkalized cocoa powder”.
Let’s take a closer look now at each type:
🍫 Chocolate the Bunny is our mascot for everything chocolate. Check out his page to learn more about chocolate in waffles and the adventures he goes on with my son.
Natural cocoa powder has not been treated. It has a light brown color similar to light brown sugar. It is acidic with a pH level around 5-6 which is about the same as black coffee.
Dutch-processed cocoa is a darker in color, almost a reddish brown. It looks more like a rich chocolate. It has been treated to reduce the acid. It’s pH is around 7, so it’s consider neutral. You may also notice that it’s less clumpy than natural.
The Appearance of the Waffles
The important thing here is how does what type of cocoa powder you use affect making waffles? I used the same exact recipe to make both of the waffles above. The only difference is the cocoa powder I use. The one with Dutch processed is darker in color, and the color is also more uniform. If you look at the waffle made with natural cocoa powder, it looks kind of blotchy. This was even more apparent when I used a larger waffle maker as you can see in the photo below.
See how strange that waffle looks. It doesn’t look as appealing at all compared to the Dutch processed cocoa waffle.
The Taste & The Texture
While looks do play a factor as we eat with our eyes, what is most important is the taste and texture of the waffle. As far as flavor goes, I felt the Dutch processed waffle had a more chocolate-forward flavor like enjoying a good dark chocolate bar. The texture of the waffle was better as well. It was a little bit lighter. I do have to note I was using a Dutch processed cocoa with a higher fat content so that is going to be a factor as well.
As I said at the top, some of my kids preferred the natural cocoa waffles instead. For them it was solely the flavor. So for our family there isn’t a “right answer” to which cocoa powder is better.
However, going forward on this blog, I plan to use Dutch processed cocoa because I think it makes for a better looking waffle.
You can use whatever cocoa powder you have in the recipe below, just know your results will vary some in flavor, texture, and color, but they will still be yummy waffles!
What to Put on the Cocoa Waffles
Our recipe for cocoa waffles isn’t super sweet, so you can add a simple icing and not have them be overwhelmingly sweet. To make what you see in the photo above we mixed together powdered sugar and water until it was the right consistency. You could add in some vanilla extract or peppermint extract as well (this is what I did for our Chocolate Peppermint waffles).
🧇 How many waffles does it make? Using a Dash Mini Waffle maker I got 8 mini waffles out of this recipe. Using a large waffle maker I got 2 waffles out of this recipe. You can easily double or triple everything to make more waffles.
Cocoa Waffles
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 large egg
- 4 tbsp butter melted
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl combine: the flour, cocoa powder sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix well.
- Melt the butter in the microwave and allow a few minutes to cool.
- Measure out 1 cup of milk into a measuring cup with space to add 1 cracked egg. Mix well to combine. Once the butter has cooled a bit, add it as well.
- Make a well in the center of the dried ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients.
- Mix it all together until it is just combined and there is no dry flour. Don't worry about it being lumpy, the lumps will cook out. You don't want to overmix the batter.
- Allow the batter to sit out while the waffle maker heats up. The batter will thicken some as the flour hydrates. I would let the batter sit for about 5 minutes at least.
- Once the waffle maker is hot. Brush butter on both top and bottom of the waffle maker then add your batter. Cook until waffle can be easily removed without sticking and it appears completely set. Repeat this until you have cooked all the waffles.
Notes
More Waffles with Chocolate
Here are a couple other recipes from the blog that feature chocolate in them.
Chocolate Peppermint Mini Waffles with Icing
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