The cake itself was a bit dense (which may be due to a little too long in the oven) but this didn’t stop us devouring more than two slices each! Next time I would check the cake after 40 minutes so as to ensure it had the perfect cooking time and isn’t left in that 5 minutes too long because in the end, every oven is different. The actual making of the cake was extremely straight forward, putting everything into the bowl at once saves a lot of time (as well as a lot on washing up!) so this added to the solid 3 ½ star rating we gave overall.
If you aren’t keen on cinnamon you could always substitute it for a teaspoon of vanilla extract/essence for the flavouring as this will no doubt be a great combo!
Ingredients
175g softened butter or hard marg softened (more economical)
175g golden caster sugar
3 eggs
200g self-raising flour
1tsp baking powder
2tsp ground cinnamon
4tbsp milk
4 rounded (or heaped for true lovers) of Nutella/own brand hazelnut spread
50g hazelnuts, roughly chopped
Method
1. Set the oven to 180C/gas 4/fan 160C. Butter/line a tin – I used a loose bottomed cake time about 10cm high or instead you could use a loaf shaped tin
2. Put all ingredients into a bowl (NOT the Nutella or chopped hazelnuts) and whisk until light and fluffy
3. Tip ¾ of the mixture into the tin and even out. Then spoon the Nutella on. I spread it out but it sank to the bottom whilst cooking – better to add it in small blobs.
4. Add the rest of the mixture to cover the Nutella. Sprinkle with the hazelnuts and put in the oven for about 1 hour (Good idea to check before the hour is up to make sure it isn’t burning!!) or until risen, brown and firm to touch.
What could be simpler? All that is left to do is pour a cup of tea or a glass of milk and it’s good to go!
Note: The Nutella can sink to the bottom whilst cooking but don’t worry, it still tastes good! Just make sure it’s added in small lumps so as not to be too heavy on the mixture.
