Cocoa Butter Equivalent or CBE is perhaps the most exciting and versatile product in the group of cocoa butter alternatives. It’s a non-hydrogenated fat that is a combination of fractions of non-lauric Palm oil and Shea butter. Shea butter is a fat extracted from the nut of the African Shea tree.

This fat is very similar to Cocoa Butter and the fatty acid molecules that constitute it have a high percentage of C16 and C18 chains but it’s offered at a much lower price than cocoa butter. There is no trans isomer concern since this fat is not hydrogenated.

It must be noted that the taste of this fat will not emulate that of cocoa butter but it is completely and at any ratio compatible with cocoa butter. It’s not as easy to utilize CBE as our other alternatives such as CBS or CBR since it is a tempering fat and care must be employed to have crystallization formed in a uniform array and in a controlled manner to achieve the desired product. When used correctly and depending on the quality of CBE, it’s considered a great tool to decrease the production cost.