preheat the oven to 350. Drop the hazelnuts into enough boiling water to immerse them completely & cook briskly, uncovered, for 2 min. Drain nuts in a sieve &, with a small, sharp knife, peel them while they are still hot. Spread nuts in a baking dish & toast them in the middle of the oven for about 10 min. stirring them from time to time so they color delicately on all sides. Chop hazelnuts coarsely & set them aside. (do not turn off the oven) Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt & sift them onto a plate or a sheet of wax paper. Place the raisins in a bowl, add about quarter cup of the flour mixture & toss gently but thoroughly togeher. Use teaspoon of butter to coat bottom & sides of a 9x5x3 loaf pan. If maple sugar is moist, grate it on the finest side of a stand-up hand grater. If it is dry, grate it with a nut grinder. (about 1.5 cups of grated maple sugar.) In a deep bowl, cream half cup of softened butter & maple sugar together, beating & mashing them against the sides of the bowl with a large spoon until they are light & fluffy. (or use an electric mixer) Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Then beat in about two third cup of the flour mixture &, when it is completely incorporated, about half cup of the apple puree. Repeat two more times until all of flour mixture and apple puree have been added, then stir in the hazelnuts and raisins. Pour the batter into buttered pan, spreading it & smoothing the top with a spatula, & bake in the middle of the oven for 1.5 hours, or until the top is golden brown & a toothpick or cake tester inserted in ----