Hershey's Chocolate Cake W/o Hersheys Cocoa?
Decorating By tripletmom Updated 22 Jul 2005 , 5:44pm by Sugar
Hi everyone!
I would like to make Hershey's"Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake however we do not have Hershey's cocoa here in Canada.
Does anyone know if it matters what kind of cocoa is used? I have Fryes cocoa on hand....will it make a difference? What should I use instead?
Thanks!
Tripletmom
I would think as long as it's baking chocolate that it would be fine...of course never having used any brand cocoa except Hershey's for this recipe, I can not say how it will taste....but in baking , it's all about trial and error, so if I were you, I'd try it out.
Yes, Fry's cocoa will do just fine.
That's what I make it with too, since we don't have Hershey's here.
It's one of my favourite cakes too! 
I made it with the Fry's cocoa and I must admit I was a little nervous. Once I added the boiling water it was very soupy and bubbly...I wan't so sure it was going to work!
It didn't rise a lot but it did smell great. I don't think I let it cook long enough though as it stuck to the bottom of the pan when I turned it out. It seems pretty dense compared to a package cake. Is this how it's supposed to be? Crumbs are tasting pretty good though!
I made it with the Fry's cocoa and I must admit I was a little nervous. Once I added the boiling water it was very soupy and bubbly...I wan't so sure it was going to work!
It didn't rise a lot but it did smell great. I don't think I let it cook long enough though as it stuck to the bottom of the pan when I turned it out. It seems pretty dense compared to a package cake. Is this how it's supposed to be? Crumbs are tasting pretty good though!
Once you add the boiling water, the recipe says the batter will be very thin.
I always line the bottom of my pans with parchment paper. That way I never have a problem with my cakes sticking to the pan or breaking when I flip them out. I always had that problem, so now I just use the paper.
I don't find this cake to be dense. In fact, I think it has the same texture like a boxed mix. That's why I love this recipe. My family and customers would flip if I used a boxed mix for them, but this recipe is simple, it looks and tastes like a boxed cake (if not better) and it is from scratch!!
And it tastes so good with chocolate buttercream!
That's just my experience with this cake. Hope that helps!
Purple Petunia
I made this cake the other day and baked at 325 and the top split in three places, has anyone else had this happen. I love the recipe, but don't know if I want to try it again, and I used an off brand cocoa. There is an amish store near where I live and I get my cocoa there and a lot of my flavorings, they are very very reasonable on there stuff.
Cocoa can vary a lot. Generally speaking a better quality cocoa, or any chocolate for that matter, tastes significantly better. Call me a chocolate snob, but to me Hersheys is not chocolate. 
This you might find interesting.
http://www.joyofbaking.com/cocoa.html
Americas Test Kitchen also tested different brands in a blind taste test. You have to be a suscriber to the website. I get the magazine, so I'm going to see if I can log on for you and get the information. If not just page through their cookbook at a bookstore next time you're there. There is a lot of good stuff in there!
For those of you that use a better quality cocoa what brand do you get (in the US) and where do you find it???
At the grocery store there is not much beyond Hershey's and generic.
and although I happen to be a hershey's lover LOL I would love to try a more expensive brand to see what the difference is in the cakes.
Thanks!!
Well I looked and you have to pay to get access to the website. Shoot! So next time I'm at the bookstore I'll page through the cookbook and find the information on cocoa.
From what I remember some of the most expensive ones were the least favorites. They do blind taste tests on people and find what the best rated ones are. They also will try different recipes with different cocoas unitl they find the best. Kind of like Consumer Reports.
My favorite chcolate is the stuff imported directly from Europe or organic that I find at my health food store. I prefer the dark kind with at least 70% cocoa. It's the best! So perhaps I'll search there for some organic, free trade cocoa as well.
Okay, so I went to B&N and looked throught the books. I couldn't find anything on cocoa! 
I found the chocolate cake section and they did say you have to use Dutch Processed. There was a picture of a can of Hersheys Dutch Processed Cocoa (not the regular kind) This was in the 2004 book.
So I'm thinking to just try that, or perhaps couch up the $3.95 to have access to the website for a month.
I wonder what Martha uses?
I wonder if anyone is reading my ramblings on cocoa powder? 
I used the Fry's cocoa and everything turned out fine. It made a very moist, very chocolaty (sp?) cake.
As far as the type of cocoa goes I believe that the Dutch processed cocoa is less alkaline than standard cocoa so that is why some recipes call for it.
Hey, as long as it looks AND tastes like chocolate, it's all good to me!
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%