Yes, natural cocoa will be fine in this recipe with no adjustments required. Go for the pudding!

if you were using a recipe that included leavening you’d need to reduce acidity in the natural cocoa.

^Agree in this case. It might be different if the recipe called for baking powder with the DP cocoa powder. In that case I would replace the baking powder with maybe half as much baking soda to tame the acidity in the natural cocoa.

Thanks! I'm going shopping Wednesday and I'll pick up another can of coconut milk and make the recipe soon afterwards.

I’m curious, what is this called?

It's called Tibok-Tibok and I got it from some cooking magazine I get, but I've long since forgotten which one. I've had the recipe for awhile.

Please let us know how it turns out.

I will. I'm hoping to make it this weekend if a few friends can come share it.

My post disappeared as I was posting it the day you started the thread, so this may be too late to be useful. There are times when the chemistry is the factor, as was said above, but the designation of Dutch process for what is essentially a pudding, and doesn't require the neutralization of the acid for the chemistry, is probably a way of asking for deep, dark and rich without naming such brands as Droste, Valrhona, Guittard, etc. Even dutched Ghirardelli. It's not that the outcome will be bad with Hershey's. It's just the difference between drug store kind of gray chocolate ice cream and the dark, fudgy premium ice cream shop kind.

Ah, I see. I'm going to Kroger tomorrow, so I'll see what they have. I doubt I can get any of the above chocolates there, but I'll try.

Using Dutch process cocoa instead of regular cocoa is more of an issue when you are baking something that has flour in it, such as a cake or cookies. As stated above, when baking with regular cocoa, you can substitute baking soda for some of the baking powder and get a similar result with the batter or dough rising.

When you replace some of the baking powder with baking soda, it is better to reduce the salt by the same amount of baking soda that you are using, as the reaction of the baking soda with acid will create a salty taste.

I would omit the salt in your recipe altogether, as I do not like salt with chocolate or coconut, unless the recipe has flour in it. For me, salt competes with sugar and makes candy or pudding taste less sweet. That is how it affects flavor for me, and I cannot say how it affects flavors for others, however. I find salt on chocolate very distasteful, and I think that if you do like salty chocolate that you could add salt crystals on top.

Lars, you should be at my house this week! i made a Nigella choc cake recipe and as i was combining ingredients my thoughts were:

1) wow, 1.5 cups of brown sugar seems like a lot

2) (as i tasted the batter) did i do right using bittersweet chocolate?—at least some unsweetened might have added more chocolate punch and balanced that brown sugar better

3) (as i slid the cake into the oven) did this recipe truly not call for any salt? because the flavor is just flat

then, too late, i read the recipe comments that suggested remedies for these flaws.

I do like salt and i do like using it in sweets. please come eat the cake that i find disappointing.