Line and spray a loaf tin – the one we used was quite deep – 190mms x 120mms x 90mms deep. As I said above, Frances replaced the pears in the original recipe with fresh figs
8-10 small/medium fresh figs, cut up
250g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
125g butter, softened
225g light muscovado sugar
100g dark cooking chocolate, chopped into small pieces
75g toasted hazelnuts, chopped
2 eggs
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Sift the flour and baking powder together so they are well mixed. Cream the butter and sugar together using an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
Using a fork, lightly beat the eggs in a small bowl then add to the butter and sugar mixture, a little at a time. If the mixture curdles introduce a spoonful or two of the flour. Mix in the flour and baking powder. Fold in the figs, chocolate and hazelnuts then spoon into the tin.
Bake for about 50 minutes till risen and lightly firm to the touch. Because we used a deep tin we had to cook the cake for another 15-20 minutes. Every 5 minutes we tested it with a metal skewer and judged the cake ready when the skewer came out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.