Sometimes it's hard to be good. And when we decide not to be good, the things that many of us turn to are coffee and chocolate, terrific on their own and together a food combination made in culinary heaven.

Salve your conscience by using Fairtrade products – the quality and range has improved dramatically over the past few years. Here's a very simple and not-too-rich chocolate-biscuit recipe that children will manage without difficulty, a caramel-square recipe that is the best I've ever used and a sophisticated adult pudding.

Each recipe: serves 10-20 costs: between 18c and €1.10 per serving preparation time: less than 45 minutes

Childsplay chocolate biscuits Costs: €3.60

(from Olly Smith for Cafédirect)

Makes 50-60

60g granulated Fairtrade sugar

240g butter

240g self-raising flour

90g Cafédirect's Cocodirect drinking chocolate powder

Cream the butter and sugar together and then add the flour and Cocodirect powder. Form the mixture into little balls the size of walnuts. Place on a baking tray and flatten with a wet fork leaving ridges. Cook at 165º for 20-25 minutes (keeping an eye on them so that they don't over-brown). These quantities will make approx 50-60 biscuits, so if you want to make less just halve the measurements or simply form the mixture into larger-sized balls.

Chocolate caramel squares Costs: €7.98

(from The Cooks Academy Cookbook)

Makes 20

220g butter, cubed, room temperature

100g Fairtrade caster sugar

350g plain flour, sifted

1 tbsp milk, if necessary

175g dark 55% Fairtrade chocolate

Caramel:

110g butter

75g Fairtrade granulated sugar

1 x 397g tin condensed milk

1 tbsp golden syrup

Preheat oven to 170ºC/ gas 3. For the shortbread base, cream butter and sugar using an electric mixer or whisk. Add flour and continue beating until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add a small amount of milk only if necessary to bind the dough. Press the dough to a 1cm thickness into a greased baking tray. Bake for 25 minutes, or until pale golden. For the caramel, melt butter and sugar in a saucepan, stirring. When sugar has dissolved fully, add condensed milk and golden syrup. Increase heat and bring to the boil. Keep stirring for 20 minutes until mixture turns a golden colour. (Reduce heat if sugar starts to catch on the base.) When the shortbread is cooked, allow it to cool, then spread the caramel evenly over the top. Set aside to cool fully. Melt chocolate in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Pour over the caramel and refrigerate for at least an hour, until the chocolate hardens. Cut into 4cm x 4cm squares.

Bitter chocolate, coffee and cardamom truffle cake Costs: €11

(from Moro, The Cookbook)

Serves 8-10

340g dark 70% Fairtrade chocolate, broken up

400ml milk

6g Fairtrade instant coffee granules

2 tbsp Fairtrade caster sugar

800ml double cream

65g roasted almonds, roughly chopped

Line a 20cm cake tin with clingfilm. Place the chocolate in a bowl to melt over simmering water. Meanwhile, reduce the milk with the cardamom by one third until dark creamy yellow. Strain. Add the coffee to the hot milk and some sugar to balance out the bitterness. Whip the cream until it just begins to thicken. It is very important to stop whipping the second the cream begins to thicken otherwise you may ruin the final texture of the cake. You will also notice the cream thicken when the warm chocolate is added. Gently fold first the melted chocolate and then the milk/coffee mixtures into the cream. Cover the base of the tin with the almonds, spoon the chocolate mixture on top and chill for about an hour until firm and set. Serve with yoghurt or crème fraiche.