Imperial Fairtrade Food Awards: The Results

First Place:Brigitte Jessica Janssen’s Gooey, Fibre And Mango infused Blackberry Muffins earned her the top prize: a £30 voucher for online shopping site ethicalsuperstore.com. Congratulations!

Ingredients 30g jumbo oats 2 eggs 185g self-raising flour 40g Fairtrade demara sugar 25g mix of pumpkin + sunflower seeds 25g Walnut Halves 1 tsp vanilla extract 1/2 tsp baking powder 50ml milk 150ml natural yoghurt 1 Fairtrade mango 1/2 Fairtrade lime 75g Blackberries Muffin cases (makes 16)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 Degrees Celsius
2. Squeeze out the juice of the lime into a bowl.
3. Break the walnuts into smaller pieces using a mortar.
4. Carve out as much of the mango flesh as possible and purée it using food processor.
5. Combine all the ingredients, except the berries, making sure that it is mixed well in a bowl.
6. Line a cupcake tray with muffin cases.
7. Chop the blackberries into halves.
8. Equally distribute the batter into the cases adding a few blackberries into the cases as this is done so that they are in the middle of the muffin.
9. Place the tray into the oven for 30 minutes, letting them cool in the tray once taken out. The muffins may be quite gooey, so they should be solidified in the fridge.

Second Place: Jordan Purvis and Alison Lee took the second spot with their Coffee and Walnut Cake! For a little more inspiration, the prize takes the form of book Leon: Ingredients and Recipes

Ingredients For the cake: 50g walnut pieces 225g Fairtrade light brown sugar 225g soft unsalted butter 200g plain flour 6 teaspoons Fairtrade instant espresso powder 1 teaspoon of Fairtrade cinnamon 2 1⁄2 teaspoons baking powder 1⁄2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda 4 eggs 2 x 15ml tablespoons milk For the espresso buttercream frosting: 350g Fairtrade icing sugar 175g soft unsalted butter 2 1⁄2 teaspoons instant espresso powder, dissolved in 15ml of boiling water Others: 25 g walnut halves, or enough to decorate 20 cm cake tin

Method Preheat the oven to 180 Degrees Celsius/ gas mark 4. Bash walnuts to a rubbly powder (leaving little bits and pieces will be fine) with a rolling pin and mix with the rest of the dry ingredients. Cream the butter and sugar together, and beat in the dry ingredients and eggs alternately. Finally, add in the milk slowly while constantly beating the mixture. The mixture should give a smooth consistency (add less or more milk depending on this). Pour the cake mixture into the baking tin and bake in the oven for roughly 30 minutes, or until the sponge has turned brown or feels springy to touch. A sharp knife can be used to pierce the cake layer to check whether the baking is done. After baking, leave the cake to cool on a wire rack. Start making the buttercream frosting by boiling some water in a small saucepan and adding the espresso powder. Sieve the icing sugar in a bowl and beat in the butter with a wooden spoon. Add in the hot coffee liquid mixture slowly and mix well. Once the cake has cooled down enough, spread the espresso buttercream frosting on top of the cake and decorate with walnuts and some cinnamon powder.

Third Place: The final main competition winner, Faye Thomsit, fired up the fruits and created a Foxy Fairtrade Sunshine Soufflé, winning a copy of Just Desserts: 50 sweet surprises using Fairtrade ingredients

Serves 2, suitable for vegetarians, coeliacs and those who are dairy intolerant.

_You will need: _ One Plate Two Ramekins (or an old Gü pot, good for reuse) A Saucepan or Microwavable bowl Oven set to 150 Degrees Celsius

Ingredients 1 Papaya/pawpaw cut into cubes 1 Mango cut into slices 1 Banana Fairtrade, sliced diagonally Dried ribbon cut coconut (optional) ½ Juiced Lime 1 tsp Traidcraft Wild Blossom Fair Trade Honey Oil 30g Tesco Finest Fairtrade Organic 70% Plain Chocolate 12g Tate & Lyle Fair trade Gran Sugar 1kg Free Range Egg separated (or one white, to ½ yolk if scaling up)

Method For the Soufflé grease the ramekin with oil, then finely grate the chocolate into the ramekin and roll it round the sides. Place 25g of dark chocolate in container in warm/simmering water (make sure the container does not touch the bottom of the saucepan, or the chocolate will burn), alternatively melt the chocolate in the microwave, using short bursts, checking and stirring regularly. Whisk the egg yolk to firm peak (bit stronger than soft), then whisk the yolk and the sugar together. Drizzle the melted chocolate into the yolk mixture. Add the whites bit by bit into the yolk and chocolate mixture; then fold the whites in gently, without losing any air. Spoon the mixture into the ramekin and cook for 25 minutes. Do not open the oven door during this time, as this will cause the Soufflé to collapse. Dressing the plate; Use the spare ramekin to mark the centre of the plate; then lay the papaya cubes round the ramekin in a circle. Next lay the mango slices out like rays of the sun, spreading from the papaya. Between each piece of mango, place a round of banana, then sprinkle on the coconut if desired. Place the honey and lime in the saucepan, 5 minutes before the soufflé is cooked, warming into a dressing, and drizzle over the fruit salad. Take the soufflé from the oven, place on plate, serve immediately.

Enjoy with a partner or a friend.

Runner-up: Nicholas Greenwood’s Fairtrade Coconut Cornflake Cakes

Makes approx. 6 large

Ingredients 100g cornflakes 5tbsp Fairtrade honey 60g unsalted butter 60g Fairtrade icing sugar 70g desiccated coconut 25g Fairtrade milk chocolate 25g Fairtrade white chocolate 25g Fairtrade dark chocolate 15g butter

Method

1. Melt the unsalted butter
2. Mix in honey
3. Sieve icing sugar into mixture
4. Add cornflakes and mix
5. Add desiccated coconut
6. Separate mixture into cupcake cases
7. Melt chocolates separately with 5g butter each
8. Add chocolate as a topping
9. Dust with a little coconut
10. Place in fridge for 1 hour to set

Runner-up: Stephanie Lim takes on a Maple Banana Loaf

Ingredients 2 Eggs 1 Egg Yolk 7 tbsp Unsalted Butter, melted 1 tsp Vanilla 1 2/3 c Flour 3/4 c Fairtrade Sugar 1/2 tsp Baking Soda 1/4 tsp Baking Powder 2 tbsp maple syrup ½ tsp cinnamon ¼ tsp nutmeg 2 ripe bananas Pinch of Salt

Method Pre-heat your oven to 350°F and prepare your loaf pan(s) by coating with butter. Set aside. In a medium bowl add the bananas, eggs, egg yolk, melted butter, and vanilla. Mash together until well mixed with a fork or potato masher. Set aside. In another medium size bowl add the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk together to mix. Pour the banana mixture over the flour mixture, and add the nuts to the mixtures. With a large spatula fold all the ingredients together until well incorporated and there is none of the dry mixture left. Pour into the prepared pans and for one large loaf, bake for 50-60 minutes until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack in the pans. Store in air-tight containers in slices or chunks (or whole loaves) in the refrigerator.