All’s fair when you show your support for fair trade

Fairtrade Fortnight’s principle aim is to highlight the exploitation suffered by farmers, workers and communities in producing goods that we readily consume such as chocolate, coffee, bananas and tea. Tunbridge Wells has been a Fairtrade town for over ten years now and Tonbridge has recently been granted its official status.

As a result we thought we’d share some of this year’s Fairtrade recipe and wine suggestions, along with some fascinating facts, so you too can do your best to support this worthy cause which sees farmers and producers in developing countries obtain a fair price for their goods.

Each Fairtrade Fortnight has a different theme and this year’s is entitled She Deserves a Living Income. It centres around the fact that the average female cocoa farmer earns just £1.82 a day. Fairtrade hopes to highlight during this year’s campaign some of the things that many of us take for granted such as education, housing and healthcare – all the key elements that earning a decent income can provide.

 

By purchasing Fairtrade assured products and supporting the many events taking place during Fairtrade Fortnight which have included a flashmob dance in Tonbridge and a Mayoral breakfast at Tunbridge Wells town hall you will help the farmers and producers struggling to earn a decent living.

 

Every year there are a number of celebrity chefs who lend their support and for 2019 they include Melissa Hemsley and also The Hairy Bikers whose delicious chocolate tart you’ll find below . . .

 

Chocolate & hazelnut cake (Torta Gianduia)

 

Gianduia is a specialty of the Piedmont region and it’s a mixture of ground hazelnuts and chocolate, now mostly seen as the popular spread called Nutella

 

Preparation Time: 25 minutes

Cooking Time: 40 minutes plus 30 minutes cooling

Serves 10

 

250g whole blanched hazelnuts

200g butter, cubed, plus extra for greasing

200g Fairtrade dark chocolate, broken into squares

6 RSPCA Assured medium eggs, separated

200g Fairtrade caster sugar, preferably golden

3 tbsp Frangelico hazelnut liqueur

or Amaretto (or fresh orange juice)

 

Topping

150g Nutella chocolate and hazelnut spread

 

Preheat the oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 5. Put the hazelnuts on a baking tray and roast them in the centre of the oven for 10 minutes, giving the pan a shake every 5 minutes, until they are golden brown. Watch them carefully so they don’t burn. Remove and leave them to cool for a few minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4.

 

Butter a 23cm spring-clip cake tin and line the base with baking parchment. Place 200g of the hazelnuts in a food processor and blend them until they are fairly finely ground. You need them to be fine enough to hold the other ingredients as the cake cooks but leave a few coarser pieces to add texture. If you blend the nuts to the consistency

of fine breadcrumbs, they should work a treat. Set the remaining nuts aside.

 

Put the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set it above a pan of gently simmering water. Stir occasionally and as soon as nearly all the chocolate has melted, remove the bowl from the pan and continue to let the chocolate melt in the residual heat. Stir in the ground hazelnuts and leave to cool for 5 minutes.

 

Beat the egg yolks and sugar together with an electric hand-whisk for at least 5 minutes until pale and creamy, then stir into the chocolate mixture until thoroughly combined. Wash and dry the beaters well. In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form – they are ready when you can turn the bowl upside down without the eggs sliding out. Do not over-whisk.

 

Working quickly, stir the Frangelico, Amaretto or orange juice into the chocolate mixture to soften. Add a couple of tablespoonfuls of the whisked egg white and stir until thoroughly combined, then gently fold in the remaining egg white. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake in the centre of the oven for 35-40 minutes or until the cake is well risen and feels firm.

 

Remove the cake from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 30 minutes. Undo the spring-clip and invert the cake on to a serving plate, then peel off the lining paper and leave it to cool completely. When the cake is cold, spread it with the Nutella and sprinkle with the hazelnuts you set aside – these can be whole or chopped as you prefer.

 

Recipe from ‘The Hairy Bikers’ Big Book of Baking’ by Si King and Dave Myers, published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson. Photography by Cristian Barnett

 

BANANA AND CHOCOLATE BREAD

This not only tastes divine it’s the perfect way to use up all your overly ripe Fairtrade bananas

 

 

Preparation 20 MINS

Cooking 45 MINS

Servings 8

 

INGREDIENTS

225g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Pinch of salt

4 very ripe Fairtrade bananas (mashed with a fork)

3 tbsp sour cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

150g butter, softened

100g Tate & Lyle Fairtrade Dark Soft Brown Sugar

50g Tate & Lyle Fairtrade Golden Caster Sugar

3 eggs (beaten)

75g Fairtrade dark chocolate chips

1 tbsp runny honey

 

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C/325°F/Gas Mark 3 and grease and line a loaf tin.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, ground cinnamon and salt together in a bowl, then set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the banana with the sour cream and vanilla extract.
4. Beat together the butter and Tate & Lyle Sugars with an electric whisk until light and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs, beating well between each addition. Finally add the flour mixture and mix thoroughly.
5. Fold in the banana and sour cream mixture, stir through the chocolate chips, then spoon the mixture into the tin.
6. Bake in the middle of the oven for 45 minutes.
7. Cool the cake in the tin for 10 minutes, then brush the top with honey. Leave for another 20 minutes, then carefully lift out and let cool completely on a wire rack before slicing and serving.

 

 

 

 

Did you know?

• Fairtrade is the most widelyrecognised ethical label in the world and one that has paved a more conscious way of shopping since it started more than 22 years ago.

 

• It currently works with 1.6 million farmers and workers across 74 developing countries, providing a safety net against volatile market prices and the Fairtrade Premium – often the only resource to improve their social, economic and environmental conditions.

 

• Last year’s campaign saw more than 6,000 Fairtrade events being held across the country, with UK’s main retailers supporting its call to action in store and online.

For more information about the Fairtrade campaign and how to get involved visit fairtrade.org.uk/fortnight.