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Fairtrade Chocolate Cake

By Jane Asher

For the chocolate cake mixture:
150g/6 oz butter
150g/6 oz caster sugar, plus another 50g/2 oz for meringue
7 eggs, separated
175g/7 oz dark Fairtrade chocolate, melted
125g/5 oz self-raising flour, sifted
For the buttercream:
100g/4 oz butter, softened
175g/7 oz icing sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon of Fairtrade ground coffee, or 1½ teaspoons of Fairtrade instant coffee

Preheat oven to 190°C / 375°F/ Gas Mark 5.

Grease and line the base of a deep 23cm/9 inch round cake tin.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in egg yolks one at a time, and then stir in the melted Maya Gold chocolate.

Whisk egg whites until stiff, then fold in sugar to make meringue.

Alternately fold in flour and meringue to the chocolate mix.

Transfer mix to tin and bake for 45-55 minutes, or until the cake is firm to touch and a skewer can be withdrawn cleanly.

Leave to cool in the tin, then transfer to a cooling rack until cold.

Split cake in half and fill with Fairtrade coffee buttercream.

For the buttercream

Infuse the ground coffee in a tablespoon of boiled water, then strain; or dissolve the instant coffee in half a teaspoon of boiling water.

Beat the butter until light and fluffy.

Add the icing sugar to the mix a little at the time, beating well in between.

Gradually beat in the coffee.