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If you’ve baked a chocolate or mocha flavored cake or dessert, the recipe likely calls for espresso powder or instant espresso. This is an easy way to improve the taste of chocolate (coffee and chocolate help each other achieve their best taste) without making a fresh pot of coffee every time you crave a cake.
You may also see espresso powder, which is needed in dry seasoning mixes for meat – especially those intended for the grill. What’s going on with this wonder ingredient anyway? Is it just a small glass of ground espresso? And what do you do if a recipe calls for it but you don’t have one? Everything you need to know about espresso powder is here – what it actually is, how to use it, and what to use when you don’t have one on hand!
Espresso powder is very intensely dark and concentrated instant coffee. It’s not just well-ground espresso coffee beans. It is actually coffee crystals that quickly dissolve in liquid. While you can technically dissolve it in drinking water, powdered espresso really isn’t ideal for your morning latte. It is mainly used by bakers to flavor chefs, cakes, and more. More recently, it has been found in coffee-seasoning mixes or other meaty recipes. It also differs from plain old instant coffee in that it is much more concentrated. After all, espresso is a form of coffee – not another type. Espresso flour is dark-roasted coffee that is ground very finely for espresso extraction.
How do you use espresso powder?
Instant espresso has a better, darker taste than your average store-bought instant coffee. Just a teaspoon gives your chocolate recipes a darker, richer flavor. it won’t make you taste like coffee, but it will improve your taste. Using more than a teaspoon will bring out the coffee flavors.
What is a good substitute for espresso powder?
But what if you don’t have it and don’t have time to chase it? It is perfectly acceptable to use instant coffee instead. Use about 50% more espresso powder than the amount listed in the recipe, but taste it as you go. Instant coffee usually has a harder taste than instant espresso; it can taste thin or sour if too much is used.