Nigel Slater's Banana Cake

Want to know how to use up overripe bananas? Nigel Slater’s banana bread recipe is just the ticket.

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

Preparation method

1. 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.
   
2. Beat the butter and sugars until light and coffee-coloured. This is best achieved in a food mixer.
   
3. Toast the hazelnuts, rub them in a tea towel to remove their skins, then grind quite finely.
   
4. Slowly add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture, then mix in the toasted ground hazelnuts and self-raising flour.
   
5. 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.
   
6. 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.