Blooming cocoa powder

Q: How do you ‘bloom’ cocoa powder and what are the benefits?

A: Blooming is the simple process of mixing cocoa powder with a hot liquid (like water, coffee, milk or cream) to form a smooth paste before adding it into your batter — instead of just stirring in the cocoa as a dry ingredient.

It’s a great technique to use when making brownies, chocolate cakes, or even buttercream, and it has five main benefits:

• It releases the natural flavour compounds in cocoa, intensifying and deepening the chocolate flavour.
• It reduces the cocoa’s bitterness, giving a rounder, fuller taste.
• It hydrates the cocoa, leading to a moister crumb texture
• It disperses the cocoa more evenly, preventing lumps and giving a smoother batter.
• It enhances the colour, giving your bake a deeper, richer tone.

Just remember, the liquid needs to be hot, but not boiling, otherwise it can scorch the cocoa.

You can adapt almost any recipe that uses cocoa powder to incorporate the blooming technique, as long it contains an appropriate liquid. Simply heat the liquid ingredient, mix it with the cocoa, let it cool, and then add it to your batter.