Ingredients

• 175g/6oz unsalted butter
• softened
• 175g/6oz sugar (half light muscovado
• half golden caster)
• 75g/2½oz hazelnuts
• 2 free-range eggs
• 175g/6oz self-raising flour
• 2 very ripe bananas (about 250g/9oz total weight)
• drop vanilla extract
• 175g/6oz good-quality dark or milk chocolate chips
• a little demerara sugar

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3. Line the base and sides of a 20cm x 12cm/8in x 5in loaf tin with baking parchment.
• Beat the butter and sugars until light and coffee-coloured. This is best achieved in a food mixer.
• Toast the hazelnuts
• rub them in a tea towel to remove their skins
• then grind quite finely.
• Slowly add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture
• then mix in the toasted ground hazelnuts and self-raising flour.
• Peel the bananas and chop them the small pieces. Gently fold the vanilla extract
• the bananas and the chocolate chips into the cake mixture
• turning gently and taking care not to overmix.
• Scoop the cake batter into the prepared loaf tin. Dust with a little demerara sugar. Bake for between 1 hour and 1 hour 10 minutes
• covering the cake with foil if the top starts to darken too quickly.