Who is this relevant to?

Home bakers looking for Fairtrade cocoa

You want to be able to see on the packaging whether a Fairtrade claim applies to the chocolate you’ve chosen. Buying speculaas separately does not automatically give it the same status.

Fans of Dutch doughnuts with speculaas pieces

You’re mainly after the flavour of speculaas in the dough. My Food Blog’s recipe uses pieces of speculaas and speculaas spices; chocolate is a separate variation.

Bakers who need to consider allergens

You need to know which ingredients and warnings are listed on both the speculaas and any chocolate you use. Check the current packaging of each product.

What should you look for when choosing?

First decide whether you want speculaas, chocolate or both flavours in your Dutch doughnuts. Then check the Fairtrade claim and allergen information for each product you choose.

Speculaas without chocolate

Best for: Dutch doughnuts where pieces of speculaas and speculaas spices provide the intended flavour, as in My Food Blog’s recipe.

Bear in mind: if you require the speculaas itself to be Fairtrade, the claim must appear on that specific biscuit product.

Separate speculaas and Fairtrade chocolate

Best for: anyone who wants both speculaas and chocolate flavours and wants to assess the chocolate’s Fairtrade claim separately.

Bear in mind: a claim for the chocolate says nothing about the Fairtrade status of speculaas bought separately.

Chocolate with speculaas crumbs

Best for: anyone looking for both flavours in one product. Jumbo lists 10% biscuit crumbs in Verkade Speculaas Milk Chocolate.

Bear in mind: Jumbo’s Fairtrade claim relates to cocoa sourcing through mass balance, not to the speculaas or all the ingredients. Also check whether this product suits your chosen recipe.

For people in the Netherlands who want to make speculaas Dutch doughnuts at home, with or without chocolate, three different needs may influence their choice of ingredients:

What to consider What to check Who it matters to
Fairtrade claim Check whether the current claim applies to the whole product or specifically to the cocoa, and whether it mentions mass balance. I want to choose chocolate whose Fairtrade claim I can check for that exact bar. For around 42% of consumers, being able to verify this matters most.
Speculaas flavour Decide whether you want to add pieces of speculaas to the dough, and follow the quantities in your chosen recipe. If I want a recognisable speculaas Dutch doughnut, biscuit pieces and spices matter more than chocolate flavour. This flavour comes first for around 33% of consumers.
Allergens Read the ingredients, allergen information and any warnings on both current product labels. If I’m baking for someone who needs to avoid certain ingredients, the label determines which products I can use. For around 25% of consumers, this check comes first.

Common mistakes

  • Assuming Fairtrade cocoa means Fairtrade speculaas

    A claim about the cocoa in chocolate does not mean that a separate biscuit product has the same certification. Jumbo also says that the Fairtrade cocoa in Verkade Speculaas Milk Chocolate is sourced using mass balance.

    Check the current packaging of each product to see exactly what the claim covers.

  • Thinking chocolate is an essential ingredient

    My Food Blog describes a speculaas variation made with pieces of speculaas and spices, as well as a separate variation with dark chocolate. So buying chocolate on its own won’t give you the intended speculaas variation.

    First decide which flavour you want to make. Only add chocolate to the speculaas version if you want that combination and your recipe is suitable for it.

  • Guessing allergens from the product name

    Ingredients and warnings vary between different types of speculaas and chocolate. The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority stresses that allergens must be clearly listed on the label.

    Read the packaging of all your chosen ingredients before buying and again before using them, especially if you’re baking for someone with an allergy.

Brands to consider

Lotus Biscoff

A biscuit option if you’re looking for an ingredient you can crumble; Lotus Bakeries describes Biscoff biscuits as crunchy.

  • Lotus Bakeries also presents Biscoff as an ingredient for use in cooking.
  • Check for a Fairtrade claim on the specific biscuit product; its positioning as a cooking ingredient tells you nothing about this.

Albert Heijn

Offers examples of speculaas and chocolate that you can assess as separate ingredients.

  • Albert Heijn describes AH Bakkers speculaas as crunchy and flavoured with speculaas spices. The retailer says the ingredients in its AH Organic Extra Dark Chocolate bar are Fairtrade traded and verified.
  • The claim on the chocolate bar does not automatically apply to AH Bakkers speculaas; check both packages separately.

Lidl Way To Go

A chocolate range for anyone looking for an explicit, product-specific Fairtrade claim.

  • Lidl says its Way To Go products are fully Fairtrade certified. For its chocolate, Lidl specifies traceable cocoa from the Kuapa Kokoo co-operative.
  • This information does not apply to speculaas and does not confirm whether a particular bar will work in your Dutch doughnut recipe.

Choceur

An example of separate dark chocolate to pair with the speculaas of your choice.

  • ALDI describes Choceur Dark Chocolate 200 g as Fairtrade chocolate.
  • A Fairtrade claim for this bar says nothing about the certification of speculaas bought separately.

Verkade

A combined milk chocolate and speculaas option if you want both flavours in one product.

  • Jumbo lists 10% biscuit crumbs in Verkade Speculaas Milk Chocolate and says its Fairtrade cocoa is sourced using mass balance.
  • The cocoa claim does not make the whole bar or the speculaas Fairtrade. Also check the current allergen information.

Related Joybuy products

Related products coming soon.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need Fairtrade chocolate for speculaas Dutch doughnuts?

No, chocolate isn’t an essential ingredient in the speculaas variation in My Food Blog’s recipe. That version uses pieces of speculaas and speculaas spices; dark chocolate is part of a separate variation. You could add Fairtrade chocolate if you’d like to combine both flavours.

How can I tell what a Fairtrade claim applies to?

Read the exact wording on the current packaging of the product you’ve chosen. Lidl says its Way To Go products are fully Fairtrade certified; Albert Heijn states that the required quantity of Fairtrade ingredients has been traded and verified for its organic extra dark chocolate bar. A claim for chocolate does not automatically apply to speculaas bought separately.

Which allergens should I check in speculaas and chocolate?

Check the ingredients, allergen information and any warnings on both current packages. Wheat is relevant for the AH Bakkers speculaas mentioned above, which also lists almond as a possible allergen. The Verkade Speculaas Milk Chocolate mentioned above lists milk, wheat and soya, as well as warnings about nuts. Don’t assume that other varieties have the same ingredients.