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French Chocolate in Canada: Cocoa % and Brands

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Chopped dark chocolate fills a glass bowl beside a kitchen knife.

For chocolat noir pâtissier, buy a dark baking chocolate of 50–60% cocoa, like Baker's semi-sweet (56%). For chocolat noir 70%, a 70% bar such as Lindt Excellence. Go by the percentage, not the word on the box.

The short answer

  • Chocolat noir pâtissier (environ 52%)→Dark baking chocolate, 50–60%

    Close to the French baking bar, so cakes and mousses come out as written.

    Baker's semi-sweet (56%) in the baking aisle.

  • Chocolat noir 70%→70% dark chocolate bar

    Same percentage, same result. Chop it before melting.

    Lindt Excellence 70% is sold in most supermarkets.

  • Chocolat de couverture→Couverture callets

    Made for melting and tempering; ideal for truffles, mendiants and bûches.

    Callebaut 811 (54.5%), 2.5 kg bags online and at Costco Business Centre.

  • Cacao en poudre non sucré→Dutch-processed cocoa powder

    Darker and milder, like French cocoa. Use natural cocoa if the recipe relies on baking soda.

    Camino Dutch-processed cocoa.

When a French recipe says chocolat noir pâtissier, buy a dark baking chocolate of about 50–60% cocoa: Baker's semi-sweet, at 56%, is in most baking aisles. When it says chocolat noir 70%, buy a 70% bar such as Lindt Excellence.

What is French baking chocolate?

The classic French supermarket bar, Nestlé Dessert, is about 52% cocoa: dark, but not bitter. Most family recipes for gâteau au chocolat and mousse au chocolat are balanced for something like it. Swap in an 85% bar and the cake turns dry and bitter; swap in milk chocolate and the mousse won't set as firmly.

Why "semi-sweet" and "bittersweet" don't tell you much

In Canada, chocolate labelled dark, semi-sweet or bittersweet only has to contain at least 35% cocoa solids. One brand's bittersweet can be another's semi-sweet. Look for the percentage on the front or in the ingredients, and pick the number the recipe asks for.

Bars, chips or callets?

  • Bars: the safe choice for mousse, ganache, truffles and hot chocolate. Chop them finely so they melt evenly.
  • Chips: made to hold their shape in cookies, so many melt thick and grainy. Keep them for cookies.
  • Callets: small discs of couverture chocolate, made for melting. Callebaut's 811 callets are 54.5%, very close to French pâtissier chocolate, and come in 2.5 kg bags online and at Costco Business Centre. Worth it if you bake a lot in December.

What about cocoa powder?

Cacao en poudre non sucré is unsweetened cocoa powder, sold in every Canadian baking aisle. Van Houten, the classic French tin, is Dutch-processed: treated to make it darker and less acidic. Camino, a Canadian fair-trade co-operative brand, sells a Dutch-processed cocoa if you want the same colour and flavour.

It matters in one case: Dutch-processed cocoa isn't acidic, so it won't activate baking soda. If a recipe uses baking soda and natural cocoa, don't swap.

Chocolat en poudre is something else: sweetened drinking chocolate, like Canadian hot chocolate mix. Don't bake with it.

Is French chocolate sold here?

Some is, in specialty shops and online, but you don't need it. A 55% baking bar or a good 70% bar does the same work. Spend the difference on butter: see the butter guide.

To try it out, make the gâteau au chocolat, then the thick hot chocolate when the weather turns.

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