Cinnamon and Nutella Cake

This is a lovely cake to take with a flask of hot chocolate on a cold winter's day walk. My children usually only eat the Nutella bit which sinks to the bottom of this gloriously moist cake, but I am usually around to hoover up all the lovely cinnamony sponge. I have taken one of these cakes into work and they all enjoyed it very much. (However, nurses would enjoy shit with sugar on it at the end of a long day).

Ingredients

• 175g softened butter
• 175g golden caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 200g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 4 tbsp milk
• 6 rounded tbsp Nutella or own-brand chocolate hazelnut spread
• 50g hazelnuts, roughly chopped

Method

Prep 15-20 mins Cook 1 hr 1 hr 10 mins

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4/ fan 160C. Butter and line the base of a 20cm round cake tin.
2. Put the butter, sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder, cinnamon and milk into a bowl. Beat with a wooden spoon for 2-3 minutes, or with an electric hand mixer for 1-2 minutes, until light and fluffy.
3. Tip three quarters of the mixture into the tin, spread it level, then spoon the Nutella on in four blobs. Top with the remaining mixture, swirl a few times with a skewer, then smooth to cover the Nutella.
4. Sprinkle with the nuts. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, until risen, nicely browned, feels firm to touch and springs back when lightly pressed (cover with foil if it starts to brown too quickly). Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out, peel off the paper and cool on a wire rack. Wrap tightly in double thick foil to keep fresh for up to a week. (You'll be lucky if it lasts 2 days!)