Tag Archives: fair trade chocolate

Summer Chocolate Poke Cake

May 23, 2014 - Posted by Casey Trogden to General Recipes

It’s been a while since we featured a recipe! Especially one with “cake” in the title.

This recipe has many variations, one of which you’ve probably seen before. The one my mom always made growing up features cool whip, chocolate cake mix, crumbled Heath bars, and sweetened condensed milk plus caramel sauce drizzled in holes in the cake (hence, the “poke” portion of the name).

I usually buy a boxed cake mix for this, but why not try making our own using fair trade ingredients? Here’s a basic chocolate cake recipe from our friends at Fair Trade USA:

Ingredients

1 cup Organic Fair Trade Unsweetened Cocoa
3 cups flour
2 cups Fair Trade Certified sugar
2-1/3 cups warm water
2 teaspoons baking soda
1-1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/4 cups melted butter
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 teaspoons Fair Trade Certified vanilla
14oz can sweetened condensed milk
12oz jar caramel topping
8oz container Light Cool Whip
4oz Heath Milk Chocolate Toffee Bits

Mix cocoa, flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Stir in water, melted butter, and vinegar. Beat until smooth. Butter a tube cake pan and dust with flour. Bake in oven at 350° degrees for one hour or until toothpick is removed dry.

Now comes the fun part! Let your cake cool slightly. Then grab a wooden spoon and poke holes all through the cake, going down about halfway through. Drizzle the sweetened condensed milk and caramel sauce on top, then set cake aside to cool completely. Spread the cool whip over evenly over the top of the cake, then sprinkle with Heath pieces. I’ve also had this with Butterfinger instead of Heath pieces, and it’s fantastic! Feel free to get creative here.

This cake would be perfect on a warm summer evening, sitting around the patio with friends. You can plate the whole thing on our gorgeous Talavera Ceramic Serving Plate, then dish it up in individual portions in these elegant Sea Strip Capiz Bowls. Just because a dinner party is outside doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be fancy!

XO,

Casey

Tasty Tuesday: Fair Trade Chocolate Covered Pretzels!

October 22, 2013 - Posted by Dawn Stary to Tasty Tuesday

Here’s an easy yet always delicious combination…salty and sweet! Fair trade chocolate covered pretzels are one of my most favorite treats. You can certainly buy great chocolate covered pretzels at the store but I like making them too. I really enjoy making sweet treats and this way I know that the chocolate that covers the pretzels is fair trade chocolate.

Salty and Sweet is the best!

Plus an added bonus is that homemade chocolate covered pretzels make a great gift. Just put them in a little cellophane bag (you can buy pretty ones at Michaels or online) put a ribbon on them and they make a simple, affordable gift for folks during the holidays or you can have them out as snacks at your holiday party.

How cute would fair trade chocolate covered pretzels look in one of these green and red bowls for a Christmas party?

Eva Hand Painted Bowls

Recipe:

Pretzels

Fair Trade Chocolate (dark, milk or white…it’s up to you)

Break chocolate bars into smaller pieces and melt in a double boiler. If you don’t have a double boiler, no worries. I fill a large pot about half way with water and let it boil then place a large glass boil that can sustain high heat on top and then add the chocolate to the bowl. Stir until fully melted. Remove glass bowl from the pot and place on a heat safe surface. You can either drop the pretzels in the chocolate to fully cover them or use a spoon to drizzle chocolate on to the pretzels.

Let them cool and then enjoy!!

Happy Fair Trade Halloween!

October 21, 2013 - Posted by Dawn Stary to General

Halloween is right around the corner and you are probably gearing up for the big day by planning parties, buy costumes and picking up some chocolate to pass out to trick-or-treaters!

This year may we suggest making this a Fair Trade Halloween! Fair trade chocolate is a nice way of supporting a good cause while celebrating a very fun and spooky holiday!

NaturalCandyStore.com sells Fair Trade Candies!

And why not hand your candy out in style this year?!? Consider our very fun (and from a distance very skeletal looking) bowl.

Haiti Metal Art – Coral Reef Bowl

Happy Halloween! Dawn

How Tuesday: Pairing Fair Trade Wine and Chocolate

October 8, 2013 - Posted by Dawn Stary to General How Tuesday

It’s October and October is Fair Trade Month! And for Fair Trade Month I have committed to trying more fair trade products than I usually do. I was trying to think about ways to have more fair trade in my life and then it occurred to me that I love wine and chocolate so why not think about pairing a couple of fair trade wine and fair trade chocolates together.

Full disclosure, I have had both of the wines and chocolates and have loved them all. I didn’t actually do the pairing; I was just sharing my musings and daydreams of doing a pairing with all of you!

The next question is how does one go about pairing the wine and chocolate. Since I love red wine and most people I know also seem to enjoy red wine I decided to consider pairing two fair trade red wines and two fair trade chocolates together. I received a little advice from the internet and then went from there.

I would suggest pairing Fairhills fair trade wine in Cabernet Sauvignon with Theo Chocolate’s fair trade chocolate salted almond 70% dark chocolate.

Next I thought about what might go well with a Pinot Noir, since I am a big fan of Pinot Noir, so I thought Stellar Organics’ fair trade wine Pinotage would go well with Divine Chocolate’s fair trade chocolate in milk chocolate.

These are just a few of my favorites. Let me know your favorite pairs and if you pair these tell me your opinion too!

Enjoy – Dawn

Tasty Tuesday: Fair Trade Chocolate Chip Rice Krispie Treat Cookies

September 17, 2013 - Posted by Dawn Stary to General Recipes Tasty Tuesday

These are amazing! I have tried a lot of different variations of fair trade chocolate chip cookies these past several months for Tasty Tuesday recipes so I feel I know a really great cookie when I eat one! As of right now, the Rice Krispies Treat Cookie featured in this posting and the Buttered Fair Trade Popcorn Chocolate Chip Cookies from a few months back are my favorites. The popcorn and the rice krispies add a little unusual texture and the taste is magnificent! This week’s recipe is very simple and was a big hit amongst my family (and incidentally, even three months later friends ask when I am making the popcorn cookies again).

Chocolate Chip Rice Krispies Treat Cookies
From the blog Spoon Fork Bacon
Makes about 3 dozen

Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour plus 2 Tablespoons
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups Rice Krispies cereal
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
1 cup mini marshmallows

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer cream together butter and sugars. Scrape down sides of the bowl and mix in egg and vanilla.
3. In another bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Add flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir together until just combined.
4. Fold in the cereal, chocolate chips and marshmallows until fully incorporated. Refridgerate 30 mintues to an hour.
5. Drop 1 1/2 Tablespoon sized dollops onto a baking sheet lined with parchment, about 1 inch apart from one another (the cookies will spread).
6. Bake for 11 to 14 minutes or until cookies have barely begun to brown.
7. Allow cookies to cool for at least 5 mintues before serving. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Fair Trade Gifts