Was it the Dutch processed cocoa?

[rogue_baker]

Hi, this is my first post.

Yesterday, I made brownies using Alton Brown's Cocoa Brownie recipe, which I always go by. I used Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder instead of regular because it was what I had. I used it to make brownies before and they were good if not a little fudgier. I didn't adjust the recipe as far as ingredients, but I decided refrigerate the batter in the pan for several hours before baking. Then I incorporated the technique of baking them for 15 minutes, taking them out to cool for 15 minutes, then baking for 30 minutes before calling it.

The middle never baked all the way through and was still gooey after cooling for 20 minutes. We still went at them and they were delicious with raspberry ice cream (which I also made and it was perfect).

I wrapped up the rest of the uncut brownie and refrigerated it. This morning, it's practically a solid bar of chocolate in the middle (and really really yummy).

After looking again at the container of Hershey's cocoa, it does say it's Dutch processed. Should I have adjusted the fat content for that?

Thanks! (Please no snarky or rude comments)

 

[Mona]

It sounds like the Dutch-processed cocoa might be the culprit. This type of cocoa is less acidic and can affect how the brownies bake, especially if your recipe relies on baking soda, which needs acidity to work properly. The brownies might not rise or bake evenly as a result. To avoid this in the future, you can either use regular cocoa powder or check if your recipe needs an adjustment in the leavening agents. Glad to hear they were still delicious with the raspberry ice cream!