Substitute for Unsweetened Baking Chocolate - Best Alternatives
100% cacao with no added sugar. Intensely bitter, used where you control the sweetness. Melts into brownies and ganache.
Substitutes
Cocoa Powder — 3 tbsp cocoa + 1 tbsp butter per 1 oz chocolate. Classic substitution ratio. Mix cocoa powder with melted butter. Works in brownies and cakes.
Dark Chocolate Chips — 1 oz baking chocolate = 1 oz dark chips (reduce sugar by 1 tbsp). Dark chocolate chips (60-70% cacao) provide a convenient substitute for unsweetened baking chocolate when sugar is reduced. Per McGee (On Food and Cooking), both contain cocoa butter and cocoa solids — unsweetened at 100% cacao, dark chips at 60-70%. The sugar in chips means reducing recipe sugar by about 1 tbsp per ounce. Chips hold their shape when baked due to added stabilizers.
Cacao Nibs — 3 tbsp cacao nibs ground per 1 oz baker's chocolate. Cacao nibs ground fine mimic unsweetened chocolate. Less smooth — best in textured baked goods.