There exists okay cocoa powder, good cocoa powder and oh my goodness-I’ll-give-you-my-first-born-for-a-bag-of-that-Organic Santa Barbara Chocolate Rainforest Red Cocoa Powder. When it comes to chocolate, I can’t help but be overly dramatic. Not only does my love for it run deep, but my love for chocolate that meets my family’s food allergy need is cause for applause.
Loving on Texas Sheet Cake
I’ve been baking Texas Sheet cake for years now. I love this cake since it is a fast and easy bake, you can serve it right from the pan while it travels warm like a dream. I’ve been successful in baking it egg, dairy, peanut and tree nut free, but the one ingredient that transcends any allergen baking is using a fine quality cocoa powder.
Blissful Online Cocoa Powder Shopping
Over the holidays I ordered a bag of the divine bulk Organic Rainforest Red Cocoa Powder from Santa Barbara Chocolate. I sampled some of their other products for my Allergic Living Magazine product reviews. Always on the prowl for a new cocoa, especially ones with rich flavor and texture. I decided to order up a bulk sized bag of gorgeous looking cocoa. It was worth every single penny and more! I first used it to make my favorite egg-dairy-nut free chocolate applesauce cupcakes on Thanksgiving. The raves rolled in as if I baked up a new culinary delight.
I decided to try it out on Texas Sheet cake. Luck fleeing me, I misplaced the cookbook boasting my recipe to use. I turned to Martha Stewart and found a very similar Texas Sheet Cake recipe online and followed her recipe. To jazz things up a bit, I shaved some allergen safe chocolate on top using my potato peeler. It was that simple. A basic cake turned into something magical thanks to the stunning Rainforest Red Cocoa powder. By the next day, only the plate with crumbs sat in my cake holder.
Santa Barbara Chocolate’s high quality chocolate starts off with their farmers, a commitment to quality and sustainability. It’s truly inspiring to see a company upholding their ethnics in the products they sell. Not only take a few moments to check out their about page, read this guest post, “What to Look for When Choosing a High Quality Dark Chocolate”, on Mark’s Daily Apple website.
I’m placing another order for some other items since the weather is still cool and they are offering an affordable flat rate shipping of $9.00 or free shipping on orders over $50. I’m a bargain shopper who can’t pass this up. The cocoa is sold in three, eleven and fifty-five pound bulk bags – yes, this is for serious bakers or those who will happily split a bag with friends (something I personally do often with other products too).
The moral of this chocolate story is that allergen savvy baking embraces culinary decadence with gusto and incorporating quality ingredients have everyday recipes exploding into greatness. I will continue to use other brands in my baking unless I am in the mood for a serious epicurean moment! Then, I whip out my secret weapon.
Happy Food Allergen Savvy Baking!!!
NOTE: as always, call the manufacturer to determine if a product mentioned here is a safe purchase choice for you.
Disclaimer: Santa Barbara Chocolate sent me different chocolate samples for my work as the Product Review Editor for Allergic Living Magazine. I purchased my three pound bag of the Rainforest Red Cocoa Powder for my own cocoa exploration. As mentioned above, call the company to determine if the product and the manufacturing procedures meet your needs. I baked the above recipe using egg and dairy since my son has outgrown those allergens, but I normally bake vegan just since we enjoy vegan baking so much. Santa Barbara Chocolate did not pay me write this post or gush over them. My love for their product is simply flowing today.
One of the hardest things I find about managing both life threatening food allergies and asthma is talking to others. I hate to be the one that might be perceived as demanding, pushing or for asking too much. What I now know, fourteen years later, is that honest, clear information presented with kindness works!..