Dutched cocoa is a method invented in the Netherlands in the late 1800s. It’s a form of processing raw cacao with baking powder to take off the bitter flavors and make the chocolate more velvety. It was a game-changer for Tobler, Nestle and Cadbury (from the book The Chocolate Wars by the heiress of Cadbury).

Some people prefer cacao to dutch because they like the darker flavor, that it is closer to the source, or else they cannot tell the difference! Do what your heart tells you ❤️

The baking time felt a bit unclear. 15 min, then on the refrigerator for fudgy style, but is it 20 min total baking time for cake like brownies or 20 additional minutes? I had made several changes to the recipe (brown sugar in place of granulated, added instant coffee crystals and a touch of vanilla extract. Less sweet with a slightly bitter ending.) so I relied on a toothpick test plus the brownies pulled away from the side of the pan, which for me was 26 minutes baking time.

Hi Simone! Most likely, a fast metabolism is only part of it… Katie might eat around 3000 on a daily basis, but it’s pretty consistent, whereas many people will eat much less day to day, but then they go out and consume large amounts of calories from restaurant meals and alcohol on weekends, so it probably evens out in the end. Katie also walks a ton and runs a little bit, which elevates caloric needs. Some of it also probably has to do with adrenaline. Katie is trying to learn how to relax more – Studies show people with slower metabolisms are often actually healthier because a fast metabolism is more taxing on the body. (We are not doctors or nutritionists; just summarizing some articles we’ve read.)