37 Cocoa Powder Recipes for Chocolate Lovers | Bon Appétit

You probably won’t be surprised to find deep, dark chocolate cakes, brownies, and truffles in this collection of our best cocoa powder recipes. But chicken and shrimp flavored with chocolate? Those recipes might make you do a double take. What about savory roasted sweet potatoes? “Cocoa powder on its own is not sweet,” says senior food editor Jesse Szewczyk. It has a bitter edge, actually, and “when paired with saltier elements, it adds a distinct earthy depth and tames the natural sweetness present in vegetables.” Adding even a teaspoon can instantly change how a dish tastes.

Szewczyk’s go-to brand is Guittard Cocoa Rouge, an extra-rich Dutch-process cocoa powder: “Thanks to a high cocoa butter content, it’s robust, flavorful, and it boasts an enticing, saturated hue.” But there are recipes below for “regular” (a.k.a. natural) cocoa powder, too, and even that Hershey’s you’ve got stashed in your cupboard will do just fine. What’s the difference? Dutch-process cocoa has been alkalized, making it darker and less acidic. The two products react differently to leaveners, so they can’t always be swapped one for the other. (Read more in Epicurioius’s guide to cocoa powder.)

Ready to see all the things cocoa can do? Scroll on.

We’ll start with a savory cocoa powder recipe, since we made such a big deal about it. Here, tender chicken thighs blackened with a combination of Old Bay and cocoa are brightened with juicy stone fruit.

You’ll see chocolate recipes calling for varying levels of cacao—the percentage listed on a label indicates how much of the chocolate’s weight comes from cacao beans—which impacts flavor and texture. For this recipe, your chocolate should not exceed 61% cacao so the frosting stays smooth.

We took some artistic liberty with this chocoflan recipe and added cream cheese and condensed milk to the custard. We also used oil in the cake, not unsalted butter, to keep its texture tender even when fridge-cold.

This saucy seafood dish borrows from the earthy, spicy flavors of Mexican mole to create a one-pan recipe that comes together in just 30 minutes (and we mean the total time is 30 minutes, including prep).

Here’s the cookie to bake when you want to impress at the cookie swap, but you’re not about to spend hours bobbing out reindeer and piping royal icing. And if you don’t want to do any baking, try these no-bake chocolate and peanut butter cookies.

Sweetened with dates and boosted with coffee, this fruity smoothie gets its creamy texture from puréeing the dates before adding the frozen fruit—and its healthy dose of potassium from cocoa powder.

When you search “best brownies,” we think this brownie recipe should appear at the top of your results page. (Heard that, Google?) They’re chewy, crackly topped, chocolate-loaded, and require only a bit more work than a boxed brownie mix.

You only need five ingredients, most important the semisweet chocolate chips, and a microwave to make the fudge sauce for this fuss-free recipe that doubles down on the chocolate.

Here’s a picture-perfect recipe that has you skip store-bought all-purpose flour alternatives and make your own gluten-free flour blend. Believe us, the results are totally worth it.

This diner-style classic is a crowd-pleaser for a reason: Flaky crust, creamy chocolate pudding, gargantuan mound of whipped cream, and an extra dusting of cocoa powder because she’s got to look good too.

Yes, it really is important to use room temperature unsalted butter when making this cake (yes, it’s cake) to allow for proper aeration and even mixing. If the butter is too cold or too hot, your cake won’t be light and fluffy—and you want it to be light and fluffy, don’t you?

One batch of cocoa-and-espresso-powder-flavored crunchies—that’s what we call the crunchy niblets you see here—is used three ways in this cake recipe. You’ll have to click to discover them. (And you’ll have to make extra so you don’t snack on them all during assembly.)

This cocoa powder recipe is playful, fantastical, and not too sweet: The cocoa powder acts as a foil, taming the candied character of the root vegetable.

We used Dutch-process cocoa here because it has a richer chocolate flavor than the natural cocoa powder often used in classic concha recipes. For an added boost, dip pieces of the pastry into a cup of hot cocoa.

Cocoa powder and espresso powder join forces in this grown-up take on fudge pops. Want to make them without coffee? Swap in extra cocoa.

Most red velvet cakes have only a smidgen of cocoa powder for color. But we went big for these red velvet cookies, maximizing their chocolate flavor and ruby sheen.

Our favorite part of this chocolate cake is the pudding squished between the layers. Or maybe it’s the truffle-like ganache frosting. The chocolate crumb coating? Look, we just love this cake, okay?

With a small amount of cocoa in the pastry crust and a larger portion in the almond filling slathered beneath the fruit, this cocoa dessert recipe is poised to star in all your holiday buffets forevermore.

This eggless Filipino pudding gets its bold chocolate flavor from a combination of cocoa powder and bittersweet chocolate. Bound by coconut milk and topped with toasted coconut flakes, it’s an easy chocolate dessert for all seasons.

These holiday-spiced Italian cocoa cookies are flavored with citrus zest, speckled with almonds, and glazed with bittersweet chocolate

Cocoa is treated just like a spice in this recipe, added to a rub with ground star anise, coriander, cumin, allspice, sesame, chiles, and more to rub on ribs before braising.

For many, hot chocolate is the go-to beverage when a craving for a drinkable dessert hits. Consider, though, this cross between masala chai (with all its ginger, cinnamon, and cardamom notes) and rich hot cocoa.

Are you ready to master the art of soufflé making? This supersized, gluten-free chocolate version gets a flavor boost from nutty brown butter and a little hit of rum.

Somewhere between truffles and energy bites, these yummy treats will satisfy a sweet-tooth craving in seconds—and they also make for great host gifts. Another homemade gift that will help you use up the last tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder (as well as your final drops of vanilla extract): cocoa almonds.

Here’s your “last-minute, emergency, totally forgot, what about dessert?” dessert to bookmark right now because when you need it, you’re gonna need it.

This recipe is versatile: You can swap the benne seeds with sesame seeds, the maple sugar with light brown sugar or coconut sugar, and the catfish with any skinless white-fleshed fish fillet. The nonnegotiable? Unsweetened cocoa powder.

Grab your maple syrup and waffle iron; it’s time for breakfast. And with this new day, a lesson: This recipe calls for both baking powder and baking soda (and if you click on that highlighted text, you’ll finally understand the difference).

Classic tiramisu just isn’t the same without a heavy coating of cocoa powder dusted across the top. Ditto these espresso-and-cinnamon-flavored cookies that are double-rolled in powdered sugar before getting a blanket of cocoa.

Made mostly from a handful of fridge and pantry staples, this cocoa brownie-like dessert is cleverly designed to be gluten-, dairy-, and mixer-free, making it ideal for anyone and anywhere.

Consider these chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting your go-to for birthday parties, potlucks, baby showers, backyard BBQs, and any other time a cupcake craving hits.

Cocoa powder adds a velvety finish to this braise and balances the stew with some of that bitterness we mentioned above.

Pumpkin loves cocoa, cinnamon, and cayenne in this lightly spiced cake from Yossy Arefi. The earthy, warm spice combination is often found in Mexican chocolate and gives this loaf a decidedly cozy vibe.

Blooming cocoa powder in hot water before whipping it into cake batter does two important things: (1) The heat rouses nuanced flavors, and (2) it eliminates the need to sift your cocoa, a messy and annoying step. You’re welcome.

It’s time to let you in on a secret: Cocoa powder is the best path to fudgy homemade brownies; it helps them stay softer than melted chocolate brownies, which can feel dry or crumbly. In this recipe, a tangy swirl of cream cheese offers respite, as if you’re having a palate-cleansing bite of cheesecake.

Because freezing dulls flavors, we added a dose of cocoa powder to this ice cream base to enhance the melted chocolate in the custard. If you love a mix-in, try chopped-up Thin Mints or Andes.

Anxious bakers, make your life easier by lining your loaf pan with overhangs of parchment paper, which act as makeshift handles to lift your confection.

What would a roundup of cocoa powder recipes be without some pudding? Both cocoa powder and chopped chocolate go into the pot for this cocoa powder recipe, getting whisked until it all becomes rich, spoonable, creamy melted chocolate.