Fair Trade Chocolate Cake Recipe

Ever wonder where your ingredients come from and how they were made? We've teamed up with our friend and Ottawa-based home baker expert Olivia Lam to explore how to sweeten your menu while operating in a fair trade supply chain.

Olivia dreamed up this delicious Mocha Chocolate Cake recipe that makes one 2-layer 8-inch cake. She used chocolate from Hummingbird, a bean-to-bar chocolate maker based in Almonte, Ontario, and coffee from Cloudforest, a direct-trade and ecological coffee roaster based in Hull, Quebec. Cloudforest sources beans from the magical region of Intag, Ecuador, a remote, mountainous, semi-tropical climate perfect for growing beans. Olivia also used Pokoloko hand towels in her kitchen throughout the process, for function and style. Take a look at her delicious, ethical recipe below.

Ingredients for Cake

• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

• ¾ cup unsweetened Cocoa powder

• 1 ½ cup granulated sugar

• 2 tsp baking soda

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp salt

• ½ cup canola or vegetable oil

• 2 large eggs at room temperature

• ¾ cup sour cream at room temperature

• ½ cup buttermilk at room temperature (or ½ Tbsp. lemon juice and regular milk to fill ½ cup)

• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract

• ½ cup freshly brewed Cloudforest coffee (or coffee of choice)

 Ingredients for Mocha Buttercream

• 1 lb unsalted butter at room temperature

• 1.5 – 2 cups of icing sugar (taste test for sweetness and adjust as needed)

• 1 Tbsp unsweetened Cocoa powder

• 1 Tbsp instant espresso powder

• 1 Tbsp pure Vanilla extract

 

 

Ingredients for Chocolate Ganache

• ½ cup finely chopped Hummingbird Un-tempered baking chocolate

• ¼ cup heavy cream

 Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and line two 8-inch (8 x 3 inch) round cake pans with parchment paper. Parchment paper helps the cakes release easily from the pan. You can also use 9 x 3 inch cake pans.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Using a handheld mixer or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, mix the oil, eggs, and sour cream together on medium speed until combined. Add the buttermilk (or substitute) and vanilla and combine until blended.

Add in the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, add the freshly brewed coffee and mix until the batter I completely blended. Divide batter evenly between pans. Bake for 20 -25 minutes until a cake tester or tooth pick comes out clean.

Remove cakes from oven and cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Then remove and cool on a wire rack.

 

Mocha Buttercream

In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the butter until smooth with a paddle attachment.

While the butter is mixing, sift the icing sugar, salt, cocoa and espresso powder in a separate bowl.

Slowly mix the sugar mixture into the butter. Add in the vanilla extract and keep mixing. When everything is well mixed, your buttercream is ready to go.

Chocolate Ganache

In a small saucepan, heat the cream until it reaches a simmer.

Place the chopped chocolate into a glass bowl. When the cream is ready, pour over chocolate and slowly mix until you get a creamy consistency. Allow to cool before layering on top of cake.

 Assembling the Cake

1. On a revolving cake stand, place one layer of your chocolate cake. Using a spreading spatula, add a 1cm layer of mocha buttercream and spread it evenly over the cake layer.
2. Place the second cake layer on top of the buttercream layer. Spread another layer of buttercream evenly across the surface of the second cake layer.
3. Fill in the gap between the cake layers with buttercream. Using the buttercream, spread it over the sides of the cake. You can smooth it out with a spreading spatula or a decorating comb/icing smoother.
4. Smooth a layer of chocolate ganache over the top of your cake. Option to have ganache drips down the side of your cake.
5. Finally, if you have leftover buttercream, use a piping bag and tip to decorate the top of your cake with dollops of buttercream. I have created swirls around the rim of the cake.
6. Enjoy your cake straight away or store in an airtight container for 3-4 days.