It’s that time of year again when we are encouraged by the
Fairtrade Foundation to think about using some of the 4,500 Fairtrade products
that are available, thus supporting the many, many farmers and workers across
the world who grow the product or ingredient and, consequently, give them better
prices, decent working conditions and fair terms of trade.
With this in mind, I wanted to bake something using at least
three Fairtrade products and this Vanilla and White Chocolate Magic Cake is
just the ticket. Whether produced as an after-dinner dessert accompanied by fresh
berries, or served as a teatime treat, this rich bake , which magically
transforms into three distinct layers – a
vanilla cheesecake-type base, a creamy custardy middle layer and a light sponge
topping – is sure to please.
I used:
1 tsp Ndali Fairtrade Organic Vanilla Powder (or
use Ndali Vanilla Extract)
100g Green
& Black’s Fairtrade Organic White Chocolate
75g Tate
& Lyle Fairtrade Light Muscovado Cane Sugar
3 large
eggs, separated
75g butter
75g plain
flour
Pinch salt
370ml whole
milk at room temperature
Preheat the
oven to 150C, Gas 2, 140C fan. Grease and line a 10cm x 24cm approx. loaf tin.
Gently melt
the chocolate with the butter in the microwave and leave to cool slightly.
Using a
mixer, whisk the egg whites until stiff and set aside in another bowl.
Using the
same whisk and original bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until the
mixture pales significantly, then add the vanilla powder.
Gently stir
in the melted chocolate and butter into the egg and sugar mixture. Then add the
flour and salt. Beat for a few minutes. Pour in the milk little by little,
whisking continuously.
Now gently
incorporate the saved stiff egg whites into the batter.
Pour into the
greased and lined cake tin (it’s ok if it looks lumpy}, smooth the surface and
bake for 50/55 minutes – it should wobble slightly when it comes out of the
oven.
Cool in the
tin and then leave in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or preferably overnight
to set. Serve chilled.
