Adapted from
Ovenly: Sweet and Salty Recipes from New York’s Most Creative Bakery by Agatha Kulaga and Erin Patinkin
In addition to the black cocoa powder, the original recipe calls for “natural” cocoa powder, which is cocoa powder that hasn’t been alkalized. If you’re not sure, look at the ingredients; if there is no alkalizing ingredient added (such as potassium bromate or carbonate), it’s likely to be natural cocoa powder. Supermarket brands in the United States are usually natural cocoa, although bean-to-bar makers
ScharffenBerger and
Askinosie, make natural cocoa powder as well.
I’ve not seen natural (non-alkalized) cocoa powder in Europe, but since there is no leavening in the recipe, I am pretty certain you could make it with Dutch process cocoa powder. (But like I said, I’m not wont to recommend something without trying it first. But I’m reasonably sure that would work.) For more about cocoa powder, check out my
Cocoa Powder FAQs.
In that vein, since black cocoa is not likely something you’ll come across outside of the U.S. (and it’s not so easy to find in the U.S. either – I’ve listed some sources at the end of the recipe), you could try the recipe out using 1 1/4 cups (125g) total of cocoa powder, the darkest you can find. Valrhona is a very good brand of
dark cocoa powder.