Chocolate and Vanilla

Often called baking chocolate or chocolate liquor, unsweetened chocolate is made from roasted cocoa beans and contains about 50 percent solids from the beans and 50 percent cocoa butter.

Also called dark chocolates, these are made from unsweetened chocolate that is ground with sugar and then further refined. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn’t set a standard of identity for dark chocolate except that “bittersweet” and “semisweet” chocolate must contain at least 35 percent cacao—and it doesn’t differentiate between the two terms. Since bittersweet and semisweet chocolates are about 50 percent sugar (brands ranged from 35 to 57 percent sugar in our tests), they have less chocolate flavor than unsweetened, which has no added sugar. The chocolate flavor they do have, however, is less bitter and more complex, features appreciated by many bakers. Bittersweet chocolate adds depth to the chocolate cupcakes in this class.

Milk chocolate is often used in frostings but rarely in cakes. It must contain at least 10 percent chocolate liquor, which consists of cocoa butter and cocoa solids and 12 percent milk solids; the remainder is sweeteners and flavorings. Usually, sugar is the number one ingredient. In the frosting for the yellow layer cake in this class we use creamy milk chocolate, partnered with deep, dark cocoa powder, for the best balance of flavor.

This concentrated form of chocolate is used in both cakes and frostings. Cocoa powder is made from unsweetened chocolate. Much of the fat is removed by pressing, leaving behind the solids. These leftover solids are then fluffed up and packaged. Dutch-processed cocoa is less acidic than regular cocoa, and many people feel that this results in a stronger, more interesting chocolate flavor. We often use cocoa powder in combination with bittersweet or milk chocolate, like we do in the frosting for the yellow cake, and the chocolate cupcakes in this class.

We use pure vanilla extract in the test kitchen. That said, we have found that you can’t really taste the difference between pure and imitation extracts in baked goods like cakes and cookies. That’s because the amount used is so small and much of the flavor of the extract bakes off in the oven. We often use vanilla in chocolate desserts because it actually makes them taste more chocolatey. We also use vanilla in the filling of the cheesecake in this class.