Chocolate contains heart-healthy flavanols that can help increase blood flow, lower your risk of developing blood clots and lower your blood pressure, according the Shirley Perryman, a registered dietician with Colorado State University. The darker the chocolate, the greater the quantity of flavanols. One ounce of dark chocolate a day will give you maximum benefits. More will only add unnecessary fat and calories to your diet. Moderation is also the key when indulging in chocolate baked goods.
Types
You have many choices when it comes to adding chocolate to baked goods. Baking chocolate may be labeled bitter or unsweetened chocolate. It has no added sugar and as the name implies, tastes bitter. Some recipes may call for semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate. This chocolate has some sugar added. Many chocolate chips are bittersweet; this type is also available in bars. Sweet chocolate for baking includes German's sweet chocolate, used for German chocolate cake. Milk chocolate contains more sugar, less chocolate liqueur and milk. It's the sweetest, mildest flavored chocolate. Finally, white chocolate contains cocoa butter and sugar but no actual chocolate.
Cocoa
You can also bake with cocoa. Cocoa contains no cocoa butter, so has no added fat, making it a good choice for lower-fat baked goods. Natural cocoa contains a high level of flavanols, but in processed, or "Dutch" cocoa, some of the flavanols are removed, along with the bitterness.
Baking With Solid Chocolate
You'll need to melt chocolate bars, chips or squares of baking chocolate before you add them to most recipes. Chocolate scorches easily, so melt it over boiling water on the stove, or microwave for 10 to 15 seconds at a time in a glass dish in the microwave. Stir after each microwave session and remove from the microwave when the chocolate is just melted. Blend the chocolate with other wet ingredients, then add dry ingredients.
Baking With Cocoa
Sometimes you'll mix the cocoa with flour when baking with cocoa. Stir the cocoa into the flour, or sift flour and cocoa together. Other recipes call for mixing the cocoa with boiling water until the cocoa powder dissolves. The approach depends on the recipe. You can also substitute cocoa for baking chocolate in recipes, using 3 tbsp. of cocoa plus 1 tbsp. vegetable oil for each ounce of baking chocolate.
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