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Fairtrade Fortnight begins today. This year Fairtrade’s main campaign is about Making Breakfast Count, as Martin Luther King Jr wisely said,





Before you finish eating breakfast in the morning, you’ve depended on more than half the world.





We are taking part and sitting down to breakfast to stand up for farmers, buy we’re also making sure that we always buy Fairtrade products when available and will also share one of favourite Fairtrade recipes with you today, Fairtrade Chocolate and Banana Cake. It is also dairy free so suitable for vegans.





What is Fairtrade?





Fairtrade is the power to change the World. By making one simple choice, you can give farmers a better deal. This means they can make their own decisions, control their futures and lead the dignified life everyone deserves. When you buy Fairtrade to feed your family, it means the farmer can afford to feed their own family too.





#YouEatTheyEat













Where can I buy Fairtrade?





The good news is as well as at Fairtrade Shops, Fairtrade items can also be bought at your local supermarket. I popped to our local Tesco to pick up our Fairtrade food items. It’s easy to switch to Fairtrade- just look out for the Fairtrade Logo (this is one of my kids jobs during our food shop).













Fairtrade Chocolate and Banana Cake













Ingredients





For the cake





225g/8oz self raising flour

2 tsp baking powder

60g/2oz Fairtrade cocoa powder

3 Fairtrade bananas

150ml soya milk

200g/7oz Fairtrade caster sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence

120g/4oz vegan margarine/spread

50g (half a bar) Fairtrade Dark Cooking Chocolate, chopped





Topping (optional)





175g/6oz vegan margarine

120g/4oz icing sugar

1 tbsp Fairtrade cocoa powder





Chopped Bananas to decorate (optional)

Icing Sugar to decorate





Method





Preheat oven to 180c/Gas Mark 4. Line a rectangular cake tin.













Sift the self raising flour, baking powder and Fairtrade cocoa powder into the bowl.





(I used Green and Black’s Fairtrade Cocoa powder which was found in the hot drinks aisle by the cocoa, Cadburys also sell Fairtrade Bournville Cocoa. Check in both the Home Baking and Hot Drinks Aisle for more choice.)













Melt the margarine.









Mash or blend together the soya milk, vanilla essence, Fairtrade caster sugar, Fairtrade bananas and melted margarine (I used the blender as my bananas were fresh).





(We used Traidcraft Caster Sugar. Tate and Lyle also sell Fairtrade Caster sugar).













Chop the Fairtrade dark chocolate (I used Green and Black) into chocolate “chips”.









Pour your “wet” ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together well.





Add the Fairtrade Chocolate Chips and mix well.









Once combined, pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin.





Place tin in the oven. Check cake after 30 minutes. After this time test with a skewer, if it comes out clean the cake is ready, if not pop it back until it is fully baked.









While the cake cooks, make up some butter icing to serve with your cake.





Cream together the Fairtrade icing sugar, Fairtrade cocoa and vegan margarine until it makes a chocolate buttercream.





Serve the Fairtrade Chocolate and Banana Cake with buttercream and sliced banana ( do not store like this as the banana will not keep). Dust with icing sugar and enjoy with a Fairtrade coffee or hot chocolate.









Sign up to the Big Fairtrade Breakfast here and make your breakfast count. How will you be marking 2016’s Fairtrade Fortnight?











