Collect together your equipment (see Recipe Notes below) and ingredients.

Preheat oven to Fan Oven 160°C/180°C/350°F/Gas 4

Tip all the pecan nuts on to a baking tray and cook in the centre of the pre-heated oven for 10 minutes, giving them a stir after 5 minutes.

Transfer 50g into a food processor and blitz until they look like breadcrumbs. Be careful not to over-process or they may turn into pecan nut butter.

Mix the coffee with the boiling water and set aside to cool.

Line a 2lb loaf tin with baking parchment or a baking tin liner

Weigh the butter into a mixing bowl and ensure the butter is at room temperature and soft enough to beat. If not, soften it slightly in the microwave. (Be very careful not to melt it though – just do 5 seconds at a time if you are unsure.)

Add the sugar, salt, eggs, milk, cold coffee and ground pecan nuts to the butter. Put the mixing bowl on the scales, balance the sieve on the bowl and zero the scales.

Weigh the flour and baking powder directly onto the sieve. Lift the sieve above the bowl and shake the sieve. You may need to use a spoon to press any remaining lumps of flour or baking powder through.

Whisk thoroughly with an electric whisk until just combined. This should take around 40 seconds to 1 minute and no more.

Remove 12 complete pecan halves from the remaining nuts, to decorate the top of the cake, and roughly chop the remainder.

Fold in the chopped pecans and chocolate chunks.

Transfer to the prepared cake tin (see Recipe Notes) and use the 12 pecan halves to decorate the top of the cake.

Cook in the centre of the oven for 45 – 55 minutes or until the sponge is cooked. It is cooked when:

– the centre feels springy when lightly touched with your finger and no imprint remains

– a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean

Take out of the oven and leave for 5 minutes. Remove the cake from the tin onto a cooling rack. Leave to cool.