Chocolate Chip and Hazelnut Loaf Cake

This little loaf cake was baked for my son to take home with him after a visit - I didn't even get to see what it looked like inside, let alone taste it, but chocolate and hazelnut is a tried and tested combination, so I can't imagine anything going wrong. I would have liked to taste it as I used Willie's Chef's Drops  - 71% sambirano  (Madagascan) chocolate - which tasted quite bitter on their own. I can imagine them making a cake taste quite special. I'll have to make a cake for us using the drops, soon.

I used the all-in-one mixing method, usually used for sponge cakes, but increasing the amount of flour and adding a little milk to give a dropping consistency. This makes a cake which is slightly sturdier than a sponge, although still moist, with a close crumb texture.

This is what you do - in a large bowl, beat together 100g softened butter, 100g caster sugar, 2 large eggs, 150g SR flour, 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder. Add a little milk or water if necessary to give a dropping consistency, then fold in 50g chopped toasted hazelnuts and 50g dark chocolate chips, or chopped chocolate. Transfer the batter to a small (1lb/450g) loaf tin, level the top and bake at 180C for about 50 minutes, until a test probe comes out clean.