Chocolate, Cherry and Walnut Brownies

Brownies are always a welcome treat in our house and these Chocolate, Cherry and Walnut Brownies are seriously wicked! The recipe hails from Jo Pratt’s In the Mood for Food, and one I’ve had book-marked to bake for ages after reading great reviews. I was sorry for not having baked these sooner but I always say better late than never. These brownies deliver a rich, luscious, gooey, and chocolaty centre, studded through with walnuts and sour cherries. An absolute must bake!

Chocolate, Cherry and Walnut Brownies

Makes 9 to 12 good-sized brownies

Ingredients
200g unsalted butter
200g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), chopped
3 large eggs
300g granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
125g plain flour
A pinch of salt
100g dried cherries
100g walnut pieces

Preheat the oven to 180oC/fan 160oC/gas 4.

Grease and line an approximately 20 by 30cm rectangle baking tin, 3 to 4cm deep, with greaseproof or parchment paper. Melt the butter and chocolate either in a bowl over a pan of simmering water or gently in the microwave.

With an electric hand whisk, beat together the eggs, sugar, vanilla extract until they are lovely and thick and creamy. Mix in the melted chocolate and butter. Finally stir in the flour, salt, cherries and walnuts.

Pour into the baking tin and cook for about 25 minutes until the top is cracking and the centre is just set. Leave to cool in the tin for about 20 minutes before cutting into squares.

Serve warm or, if you can resist leaving them, cold.

Banana and Chocolate Chip Loaf

Lately I’ve treated myself to some new cookbooks from my Amazon wish list. One of which was Cook in Boots by Ravinder Bhogal, lots of lovely recipes that I can’t wait to try (one of them being the Oreo Cheesecake)! The first recipe I tried from the book had to be this Banana Chocolate Chip Loaf, not only because I had ripe bananas and all the other ingredients to hand but as you know I can’t resist trying out new banana loaf recipes. This loaf is dense with nuts, dark chocolate and sweet mushy bananas and another great banana loaf variation. Definitely a winner and worthy of being book-marked! If you want to treat yourself to a new cookbook, I definitely recommend you buy Cook in Boots.

Banana and Chocolate Chip Loaf

Serves 8

Ingredients
250g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 pinch of sea salt
150g dark chocolate chips
100g chopped walnuts
50g unsalted butter
225g caster sugar
2 large eggs
3 medium bananas, mashed
2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 180oC/fan 160oC/350oF/gas 4. Line a large loaf tin with greaseproof paper.
Mix the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, mix the chocolate chips with the walnuts and coat with 1 tablespoon of the flour mixture.

In a mixing bowl or food processor, cream the butter and then add the sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then pour in the mashed bananas and vanilla extract. You should now have a lovely, loose yellow batter. Finally, fold in the flour mixture and beat until you have a thick cake batter.

Pour one-third of the batter into the loaf tin, sprinkle with half the chocolate and walnut mixture and top with another third of the batter. Layer again with the remaining chocolate and walnut mix, then cover with the remaining batter. Run a knife through the depth of the batter in a zigzag pattern to disperse the chocolate and nuts.

Bake in the oven for 1 hour. Test it with a skewer to check it is cooked – if not, bake for a further 15 minutes. Let it cool completely before attempting to turn it out. Slice into thick slabs!

Blond Rocky Road

A while back I bought Gizzi’s Kitchen Magic by Gizzi Erskine after seeing her cook wonderful recipes on TV for This Morning and hearing wonderful things about her first cookbook. I’ve not been disappointed and her book delivers everything I was expecting and more. There are so many recipes that I can’t wait to try. One of the first to catch my eye and have me drooling was this recipe for Blond Rocky Road and I couldn’t wait any longer. I can’t begin to describe how absolutely divine this version of rocky road is, it’s creamy, crunchy, chewy, nutty and will have you wanting more. These are testing my resolve to lose weight but I won’t give in to these blond bombshells!

Blond Rocky Road

Makes 24 squares

Ingredients
100ml double cream
1 tbsp instant espresso powder
125g unsalted butter, softened
300g white chocolate, broken into pieces
3 tbsp honey
200g shortbread
100g mini marshmallows
100g macadamia nuts, toasted
100g fudge, chopped into small cubes

Heat the double cream in a small, heavy-based pan over a low heat. Add the coffee powder and stir until dissolved, then put to one side. In another heavy-based pan, melt together the butter, white chocolate and honey over a gentle heat. Remove from the heat, then transfer one-third of the mixture to another, smaller bowl and set aside to cool. Pour the remainder, along with the coffee cream mixture, into a large mixing bowl.

Place the shortbread in a plastic freezer bag and bash with a rolling pin until you have small pieces. Tip the shortbread pieces, mini marshmallows, macadamia nuts and fudge into the mixing bowl with the other ingredients and mix together well.

Line a 24cm square brownie tin with clingfilm. Pour in the rocky road mixture and level off the surface. Pour on the reserved butter and white chocolate mixture and smooth the surface. Pop it into the fridge and leave to chill for at least 2 hours, or overnight. Lift the cling film up to take the biscuits out of the tin, and cut the rocky road into 24 squares to serve. They need to be kept chilled or they can become a bit sticky.

Banana and Honey Teabread

I don’t know if I‘m alone on this one but does anyone else get excited when their bananas go ripe? I love any excuse to try out new and different versions of banana bread. Yesterday afternoon after doing all my house chores I decided to spend an afternoon in my kitchen and do some baking for my boys. Plus hubby is working from home for the rest of this week and I know how much he loves having my home-baked goodies to have with his cups of tea and coffee. This Banana and Honey Teabread caught my eye with the great combo of ingredients and delivered a whole new banana bread experience. It’s super moist and lusciously light. Perfect for those tea breaks!

Banana and Honey Teabread

Ingredients
225g self-raising flour
¼ level teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
100g butter
225g bananas
100g caster sugar
Grated rind of 1 lemon
2 large eggs
6 tablespoons thick pale honey

For the topping
2 tablespoons honey
Nibbed sugar or crushed sugar cubes, for sprinkling (I used granulated sugar)

Preheat the oven to 160oC/fan 140oC/Gas 3. Lightly grease a 900g/2lb loaf tin then line the base with baking parchment.

Measure the flour and nutmeg into a large bowl and rub in the butter using your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Peel and mash the bananas and stir into the flour mixture, along with the sugar, lemon rind, eggs and honey. Beat well until evenly mixed, then turn into the prepared tin and level the surface.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 1 ¼ hours or until a fine skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cover the teabread loosely with foil during the end of the cooking time if it is browning too much. Leave to cool in the tin for a few minutes then turn out, peel off the parchment and finish cooling on a wire rack.

To make the topping, gently warm the honey in a small pan then brush over the top of the cold teabread. Sprinkle with the nibbed sugar.

Macaroni Cheese

Currently I’m following the Weight Watcher’s diet as I’ve gained weight over the last year, call it comfort eating to help with the loss of Ollie’s passing, followed by Christmas and more recently the stress of moving. I’ve done WW before and it works great for me and I’ve always lost the weight at a healthy pace, average 2lbs a week if not more and in the last 2 weeks I’ve lost 6lbs. Last week while browsing on Amazon, as you do, I decided to invest in a couple of WW recipe books. The books arrived and I was surprised at how many lovely recipes I could make and still lose weight (which is a must for me, as I get stuck into the same foods too easily and become bored and disheartned).

The following recipe for Macaroni Cheese I actually got from their website after craving pasta. I’m sometimes sceptical about low fat food, having no flavour etc but then I’m basing that on those ready-made meals that really taste like plastic. This macaroni cheese was truly delish and delivered so much flavour, that I would never have guessed that it was low fat and only 7 points per serving. Hubby enjoyed this pasta with me and he too said how nice it was and that he would never have guessed it was a WW recipe.

Macaroni Cheese

Points: 7

Serves: 4

Ingredients
200g pasta, uncooked, (macaroni)
225ml skimmed milk
2 level tablespoon flour
1 level tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper, freshly ground, black
100g cheddar cheese
3 tablespoon parmesan cheese, grated

Instructions
Preheat oven to Gas Mark 4/350°F/175°C. Cook macaroni according to package instructions. Drain and keep warm.
In a large non-stick saucepan, combine milk, flour, mustard, salt and pepper. Cook, whisking constantly, until sauce thickens and comes to a boil, 3 to 4 minutes. Add cheddar in batches, stirring until cheese is melted after each addition before adding more. Stir in macaroni.
Transfer mixture to a shallow 1-quart casserole dish and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Bake until golden, about 20 minutes. Increase oven temperature to grill and cook for 3 minutes more. Cool slightly before serving.

More WW recipes to follow.

Cranberry and White Chocolate Flapjacks

Hi everyone, I’m back! The house move was tough and exhausting but we are settled and enjoying our new home. I love my big open plan kitchen/dining room, which has become the hub of the home and I'm totally loving my new Aga Rangemaster cooker. I hope you all had a lovely Easter and enjoyed lots of baking. I had a lovely time baking in my new kitchen and baked Chocolate Fudge Easter Cupcakes and Nigella Lawson's Simnel Cake and Honey Chocolate Cake, both from her book Feast. But I completely forgot to take pics, opps my bad!

Last week I remembered these flapjacks which are another favourite in our home and it was also the first ever recipe we baked at Sweet and Simple Bakes. My boys are addicted to these flapjacks, they are quick to prepare and once baked you have an oaty, fruity, chewy and delish bar. Not to forget the added bonus of the white chocolate, perfect combination with cranberries. These are great to add to pack lunches, for mornings when you’re rushing out the door, or to accompany a cuppa. I have made these so many times and they fly out of the tin, but they do store well.

Cranberry and White Chocolate Flapjacks

Makes 12

Ingredients
250g butter
100g demerara sugar
200g golden syrup
250g rolled oats
75g plain flour
100g dried cranberries ( other dried fruits can also be used, blueberries, apricots, etc)
100g white chocolate, chopped (dark or milk chocolate can be used)

Method
Preheat the oven to 170C/Gas 3. Line a 23cm square tin with baking paper (please do not use greaseproof).Melt the butter, sugar and golden syrup in a large pan over a low heat (stirring occasionally), until the butter and sugar have completely melted. Add the rolled oats, flour and cranberries to the pan, and stir together well. Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared tin. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until golden brown. Leave to cool for a few minutes, then mark into 12 squares – but don’t cut all the way through. Allow to cool in the tin completely. Melt the white chocolate and drizzle over each bar.

Banana and Apple Cinnamon Muffins

I can’t believe I am moving next week and I’m still baking away. All my baking tins have been packed away in boxes but I made sure I left out 1 muffin tin and an extra mixing bowl. I think baking has been a therapeutic way for me in dealing with the stress of the move looming. The cake tin is yet again empty; those Chocolate Guinness cupcakes were too good to last. So I decided to make use of some bananas and apples in my fruit bowl and make up these quick and easy muffins. This is originally a recipe for banana muffins that I have done many times before. However this time I thought I’d throw some chopped apple into the mix. The apple works perfectly with this recipe, providing you with a moist sponge with nuggets of succulent juicy apple throughout. Perfect for snacking at any time of the day! At the bottom of this post I've added a pic I took lastnight of my gorgeous cat Madison, here he is laying on his blanket on his back and what I can only imagine is dreaming of being supercat, his tooooo cute!

Banana and Apple Cinnamon Muffins

Ingredients
3 very ripe bananas
125ml vegetable oil
2 eggs
250g plain flour
100g caster sugar
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon cinnamon
2 eating apples, cored, peeled and cubed

Preheat the oven to 200ºC/180ºC fan oven/gas mark 6 and line a 12-bun muffin tin with muffin papers.

Mash the bananas and set aside for a moment. Pour the oil into a jug and beat in the eggs. Put the flour, sugar, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder and cinnamon into a large bowl and mix in the beaten-egg-and-oil mixture, followed by the mashed bananas. Fold in the chopped apples and then place equal quantities in the prepared muffin tin and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.

Cottage Pie with Guinness

I hope you all had a great St Paddy’s Day and went easy on the black stuff. Unfortunately for me the Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes proved too much temptation and I caved in but it was utterly worth it (back to the diet today)! To continue the celebrations and Guinness theme I made this recipe for dinner, Cottage Pie with Guinness. I came across this recipe by Gordan Ramsey on Google and I’m not usually a fan of his recipes but this sounded delicious, plus adding Guinness to the pie intrigued me. It turned out to be amazing, it tasted just like you would want a cottage pie to taste, full of flavour! I did adapt the recipe and added carrots and celery, only because I thought it lacked the vegetables required. My son had his friend over for dinner and there wasn’t a scrap left on none of our plates. Hubby was pleased to see there was left-over’s for him to take to work for his lunch today. This recipe for Cottage Pie is definitely a keeper and one I would recommend you try!

Cottage Pie with Guinness

Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
900g lean minced beef
Sea salt and black pepper
1 medium onions, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and diced

2 celery sticks, diced

A few thyme sprigs, leaves only
2 tbsp tomato puree
330ml bottle of Guinness
5 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
300ml chicken stock
1kg floury potatoes, such as Maris Piper or King Edward, peeled and roughly cubed
50g butter
2 tbsp finely grated cheddar cheese, plus extra for grating
1 large egg yolk


Place a large frying pan over a high heat and add a thin layer of olive oil. Season the mince with salt and pepper and fry, stirring, in two or three batches, until nicely browned. Once cooked, tip the mince into a sieve or colander to drain off the fat.

Place another large pan over a medium-high heat and add a little olive oil. When hot, fry the onions, carrots, celery, garlic and thyme, for 8-10 minutes until soft and golden. Add the browned mince, and tomato puree. Stir constantly for 4-5 minutes.

Add the Guinness and Worcestershire sauce and boil until the liquid has reduced by half. Pour in the stock and return to the boil.

Turn the heat down and simmer for 20-25 minutes, by which time the mixture should be thick and glossy. Continue to simmer for another 5-10 minutes if it doesn’t seem quite thick enough. Remove from the heat.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4. Meanwhile, add the potatoes to a pan of salted water, bring to the boil and cook until tender. Drain and return to the hot pan for 15 seconds or so, to dry out, then take off the heat. Pass the potatoes through a potato ricer back into the pan or mash smoothly. Mix through the butter, cheese and egg yolk. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Spoon the mince mixture into the bottom of a 2 litre pie dish. Spoon the mashed potato on top and rough up the surface with a fork. Grate over some extra cheese and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes until bubbling and golden brown.

Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes

I could never celebrate St Patrick’s Day without this heavenly Chocolate Guinness Cake recipe but this year I decided to make cupcakes instead. I’ve been making this recipe for years now and it’s definitely one I will bake for many more years to come. In our house this is in our top 10 list of favourite cakes and one my boys and I love eating! These dark cupcakes have a dense, moist sponge that oozes the flavour of the chocolate and subtle undertones resonating from the Guinness. The frothy topped pint of Guinness is replicated here with the creamy exuberance of cream cheese frosting. My hubby is taking some into the office today to share with his co-workers, that should keep them happy and fatter than me (yep I’m back on Weight Watchers, so none for me, boo hoo). Wishing everyone a Happy St Patrick’s Day!!

Happy St Patrick's Day!!

Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes

Makes 24

Ingredients
For the cupcakes
250ml Guinness
250g unsalted butter, cut into pieces
75g cocoa
400g caster sugar
142ml sour cream
2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
275g plain flour
2 ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

For the topping
300g Philadelphia cream cheese
150g icing sugar
125ml double or whipping cream

Preheat the oven to gas mark 4/180˚C/fan oven 160˚C. Line 2 muffin tins with muffin paper cases.

Start by pouring the Guinness into a large, wide saucepan and add the butter; heat until the butter's melted, at which time you should whisk in the cocoa and sugar. Beat the sour cream with eggs and vanilla and then pour in the pan of brown, buttery, beer and finally whisk in the flour and bicarbonate of soda.

Pour the batter into the muffin cases ¾ of the way up and bake for 18 to 20 minutes. Leave to cool in the tins for 20 minutes and then cool completely on a cooling rack.

When the cupcakes are cold get on with the icing. Lightly whip the cream cheese until smooth, sieve over the icing sugar and then beat them both together. Add the cream and beat again until it makes a spreadable consistency.

Ice the top of the black cupcakes so that it resembles the frothy top of the famous pint. Sprinkle with shamrock sprinkles or green glitter or sugar (optional).

Lemon and Elderflower Cupcakes

It’s Mother’s Day in the UK today and I want to wish all my fellow yummy mummies a very Happy Mother’s Day! I awoke to the perfect start with breakfast in bed made by my gorgeous son, a card and Gizzi’s Kitchen Magic Cookbook, whoop whoop. I'm in ♥ with this book and I even got a message on my Twitter from the lovely Gizzi herself wishing me a Happy Mother's Day, how cool is that? My boys are cooking a Roast Beef dinner with all the trimmings and I’ve been told I’m not to lift a finger today but I could not help myself and ended up in the kitchen doing what I enjoy most, baking. I had the perfect cupcake recipe in mind to celebrate Mother’s Day and also the arrival of spring, Lemon and Elderflower Cupcakes. These luscious, lemony delights have a super light fluffy texture and topped with the elderflower icing these are truly yummylicious.

Happy Mother's Day!

Lemon and Elderflower Cupcakes

Makes 12

Ingredients
200g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
225g granulated sugar
45g ground almonds
Finely grated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
2 large eggs
90ml sunflower oil
250ml low-fat Greek Yoghurt (I used non-fat)
½ tbsp lemon essence

For the icing
225g icing sugar
1 tsp elderflower cordial
4 tsp water

Preheat the oven to 180oC/fan 160oC/gas 4. Line a 12-hole non-stick muffin tin with paper muffin cases.

Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Sprinkle over the sugar and ground almonds, followed by the grated lemon zest, and mix everything together.

In a separate bowl, lightly beat the eggs with the oil and Greek yoghurt. Add the lemon essence.

Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir with a wooden spoon. Mix until everything is combined and there are no clumps of dry ingredients.

Spoon the mixture into the paper cases so that they are three-quarters full. Bake the cakes in the centre of the preheated oven for about 20 minutes until they are firm and springy to the touch. Remove from the oven and place the cakes on a wire rack to cool.

To make the icing, sift the icing sugar into a medium-sized bowl. Add the elderflower cordial and water a little at a time to achieve a thick, creamy consistency.

When the cakes are cool, spoon a tablespoon of icing onto each one. Serve plain or decorate with little sugar flowers or thin shavings of lemon rind.

The gorgeous golden cupcakes cooling before being decorated.

Thai Red Salmon Curry

I'm moving house in a week and have been busy packing. I can't wait for this to be over, moving is a nightmare but I'm excited and looking forward to be moving into my new home. The last thing I want to be doing at this moment is spending too much time cooking, so quick easy meals are a must. Yesterday whilst leaving Waitrose I spotted one of their free recipe cards for Thai Red Salmon Curry. It not only looked delicious but it was just the kind of quick meal I am able to do right now. I cooked this for hubby and I and it was the perfect end to a busy day. This curry is mild, yet has depth of flavour that comes from the combination of all the wonderful ingredients. I will definitely be making this again!

Thai Red Salmon Curry

Serves 2

Ingredients
100g Le Puy Green Lentils
1 tbsp sunflower oil
100g green beans, topped, tailed and halved
1 red pepper, deseeded and sliced
2 Salmon Fillets, skinned and cubed
100g jar Thai Red Curry Paste
½ x 400ml can Coconut Milk
½ x 20g pack fresh coriander, chopped
½ x bunch salad onions, thinly sliced

Rinse the lentils and place in a medium-sized pan, generously covered with water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15–20 minutes until just tender. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a heavy-based pan and add the beans and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes, then add the salmon and stir together for 1 minute.

Stir in the curry paste and cook for 1 minute. Add the coconut milk and simmer gently for 4–5 minutes until the salmon is cooked through. Add the drained lentils, then scatter with the sliced salad onions and coriander. Serve with steamed rice

Peanut Butter Dips

I love it when the postman knocks, normally means an amazon package or some other goodie has arrived! This morning I was the lucky recipient of my latest amazon binge, Eat Me! The Stupendous, Self-Raising World of Cupcakes & Bakes according to Cookie Girl. I knew I would love this kitsch girly book, the recipes are irresistible and I want to bake them all. I couldn’t wait to get started and loved the sound of these Peanut Butter Dips so decided to bake them straight away. These cookies are seriously moreish with the slight saltiness of the crumbly peanut butter and the combination of sweet chocolate but would be just as amazing without the chocolate. The success of this first one has me excited to bake more recipes from the book.

Cookies before being dipped in chocolate!

Peanut Butter Dips

Makes 20

Ingredients
110g unsalted butter, room temperature
225g Demerara sugar
1 medium egg
4 tbsp crunchy peanut butter
200g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
110g plain chocolate, for dipping

Preheat the oven to 180oC/fan 160oC/gas 4. You will need a large baking sheet.

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg, stir in the peanut butter and then the flour and baking powder.

Roll the mixture into balls the size of large walnuts and place them 5cm/2in apart on a baking sheet. Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven. The cookies will look like they are not cooked, but don’t worry – they will carry on cooking as they cool.

While the cookies are in the oven, melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water or in the microwave for 90 seconds. Using a palette knife, spread one side of the cookies with chocolate and place them on a wire rack to set.

Recipe from Eat Me! The Stupendous Self-Raising World of Cupcakes & Bakes According to Cookie Girl

Nutella Pound Cake

You can probably relate to this but you know when you come across a recipe and think, oh my gosh that sounds amazing, that’s exactly what I thought when I saw this recipe for Nutella Pound Cake. Could anything sound better? Especially for those of us who adore Nutella and like myself are guilty of eating it out of the jar with a spoon. The eager and excited baker in me couldn’t wait to make this cake and went into town just to buy the key ingredient, Nutella.

Unfortnately my much excitement was soon diminished when after adding the layers of batter and Nutella I realised there was way too much mixture for the size pan the recipe gives but it was too late to remedy. Of course as expected the mixture over-flowed. My next incident came when it was time to turn out the cake and half was left in the pan. Luckily I was able to rescue the half from the pan in one piece and do some first aid patch work. Unbelievably I read online about others having similar problem with this recipe and someone had posted about using grease-proof paper to bandage her cake while it cooled and it amazingly reattached the two halves. At this stage I was willing to give anything a go to salvage my cake and guess what? It worked!!

I won’t be defeated and I will be making this cake again but next time I will use my bigger loaf tin and also line the loaf pan. After its traumatic start this moist buttery cake swirled with luscious Nutella really delivered everything I imagined it would and more. The pics don't do the flavour or cake justice but we all have the odd baking disaster, you bake and learn!

Nutella Pound Cake

Ingredients
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 ¼ cups sugar
One 13-ounce jar Nutella

Preheat the oven to 325°. Lightly grease and flour a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan, tapping out any excess flour. In a glass measuring cup, lightly beat the eggs with the vanilla. In a medium bowl, whisk the 1 1/2 cups of flour with the baking powder and salt.

In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer, beat the butter with the sugar at medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. With the mixer at medium-low speed, gradually beat in the egg mixture until fully incorporated. Add the flour mixture in 3 batches, beating at low speed between additions until just incorporated. Continue to beat for 30 seconds longer.

Spread one-third of the batter in the prepared pan, then spread half of the Nutella on top. Repeat with another third of the batter and the remaining Nutella. Top with the remaining batter. Lightly swirl the Nutella into the batter with a butter knife. Do not overmix.

Bake the cake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Invert the cake onto a wire rack, turn it right side up and let cool completely, about 2 hours. Cut the cake into slices and serve.

Recipe from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman