Instant espresso powder substitutions?
Many recipes for chocolate baked goods call for instant espresso powder. I rarely bake, but I always have coffee in the house. What might I use as a rule of thumb for substituting for instant espresso powder?
I know I could substitute regular coffee for any liquids, but that could add too much liquid to some recipes. Would double or triple strength brewed (or French Press) coffee work? Is the flavor significantly different in the instant powder than in brewed coffee? Or is it simply the quick dissolve and the lack of liquid that makes the powder appealing in baking?
Best Answer
I've struggled with this issue as well because I live in a moist climate and instant espresso powder cakes up on me between uses.
Generally recipes which use instant espresso power are trying to add a kick of bitter and roasted flavors to deepen chocolate flavors and make them richer. You can try substituting instant coffee 1:1, but the flavor of the baked good will certainly suffer a loss of richness. Increasing the amount of instant coffee, however, would likely add more bitter or acidic flavors -- and caffeine -- to the cookie or cake than you want. Also, instant coffee takes longer to dissolve, so it needs to be added straight to a liquid.
There's no real way to substitute liquid coffee in most recipes, such as chocolate cookie or brownie recipes, because the recipe has no water in it in the first place. In the rare recipes where there is water, you could substitute strong-brewed coffee for an equal quantity of water+espresso powder, and this would likely work fairly well.
So, summing up: there's no really good substitute for instant espresso powder in recipes which call for it that I've found with some significant experimentation. Hopefully someone else has had better ideas than me.
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Quick Answer about "Instant espresso powder substitutions?"
Instant coffee is one of the best bets for replacing espresso powder in chocolate desserts or spice rubs. The two have a lot of similarities, but unlike espresso powder, instant coffee is less concentrated and therefore will add less richness to your recipe.What can I use in place of instant espresso powder?
Espresso Powder SubstituteInstant coffee powder: Using an equal amount of instant coffee powder ($5, Walmart) or granules will work fine in your recipes. Brewed coffee: Use strong brewed coffee that's been chilled to replace a small portion of liquid in the recipe.What is similar to espresso powder?
Top 5 Espresso Powder Substitutes:- Instant Coffee.
- Natural Cocoa Powder.
- Brewed Coffee.
- Brewed Espresso.
- Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder.
Is instant coffee same as espresso powder?
Espresso powder is not the same as instant coffee. Espresso powder is made from darkly roasted coffee beans that have been ground, brewed, dried, and then ground to a very fine powder. It's much more concentrated than instant coffee, which means you only need a teaspoon or so in your chocolate recipe to do the trick.Can you replace espresso powder with ground coffee?
You can substitute regular instant coffee, preferably a dark roast. When cooking or baking, instant coffee will yield the same results, but it may lack the rich, roasted flavor of espresso. In a real pinch, you can substitute very finely ground coffee or espresso, but use less since these grounds haven't been brewed.How to make \
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