Cocoa powder is cocoa liquor which has been pressed to remove most of the cocoa butter, and then ground into a fine powder. Sometimes the cocoa liquor is treated with an alkali solution which neutralized the natural acids in it. This is called “Dutch process cocoa powder” after its inventor, a Dutch chemist called Van Houten. “Dutching” makes the cocoa powder smother, darker and milder but with amazing flavor.
In the Cocopotamus chocolate kitchen, we use a Dutch process cocoa powder in all but one of our flavors of handmade dark chocolate fudge truffles. (Holy Cow, our milk chocolate fudge, skips the cocoa powder.) Our cocoa powder is a special “fort brut” extra dark cocoa powder with incredible depth of flavor.