Another Chocolate Cake

I have certainly been in cake overdrive this week. My daughter requested a cake to take into work. I decided on the Chocolate cake from Nigel Slater's Appetite. It is a lovely cake and very dependable. He has ground hazlenuts in the recipe which I did not include just in case the happy munchers had nut allergies. It is basically a pound cake recipe. Although he leaves the cake plain I added a ganache topping splattered with white chocolate for decoration. I am happy to report that not a crumb was left and it was greatly enjoyed.

250g/9oz butter
250g /9oz demerara or dark brown sugar
4 large eggs
3 tbspns espresso coffee
250g /9oz plain flour
2 heaped tspns baking powder
200g /7oz coarsely ground hazelnuts
250g/9oz chopped fine dark chocolate (It should look like gravel)

Line a 23 cm tin and preheat oven to 180C/350F/gas4
Beat the butter and sugar till fluffy and pale.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating lightly between each addition. Don't worry if it curdles a bit. Stir in the coffee.
Sift in the flour and baking powder and fold in.
Fold in most of the hazelnuts and chocolate, keeping a little back for the top of the cake.
The mixture should be quite firm.
Pour into tin and smooth the top, scattering over the rest of the nuts and chocolate.
Bake for 1 hour and 20 mins or until springy, leaving an inserted skewer clean.
Leave for half an hour or so before cutting.
Best served warm

Ganache
100mls Double cream
100 gms dark chocolate

Place the cream and broken pieces of chocolate into a saucepan.
Bring to the boil, remove from the heat and beat until thick and smooth.