Just Give Them Cake

For those of you who listen to the radio show and those who know me, you will agree that I have bucket loads of very naughty humour. It is one of the reasons I love the men on my show because they will always get into the swing of things. Last weeks show featured Ray Carter from South West Trading (he is so seriously hot), Paris Cutler from Planet Cake in Balmain, she looks like a model and the coolest guy ever Sven Almenning the owner of Eau de Vie (a serious bar, well known in Industry circles). We had a total blast everyone was on form and it was a laugh a minute.

In fact we had such a good time I received this email from a lovely listener. “Dear Natasha, I am sure my husband has already emailed as he was very amused by your show. We were travelling to Wombarra on Sunday and tuned in for the first time. We loved your warmth and energy. Great show. Julie”

Well more about Ray Carter later in the week but Paris Cutler is my kind of girl, she got right into the Johnny Walker whisky tasting and her gorgeous blonde looks hid a wicked sense of humour and a tough successful business woman.

Planet Cake is all over the planet. The expert team have created cakes for stars like Celine Dion, Nicole Kidman, Rihanna, Masterchef and the list goes on. Paris has launched cookbooks her latest being Planet Cake Cupcakes and she can claim the largest Cake Decorating School in Australia.

Without doubt this is impressive but I was more enamoured when Paris arrived with three cupcakes for me each with red icing and the FoodinFocus logo proudly displayed. I was sold. More importantly they actually tasted fantastic, vanilla cupcake recipe below.

You can order cakes and cupcakes for any occasion however these are not your usual cakes and you need some serious ‘dough’ to be able to afford them. Anything from $600 to $2500, it just depends on how big, how wide and how high!

For more information on Planet Cake click here www.planetcake.com.au

Recipe for Planet Cakes Vanilla Cupcakes

Makes 12

Preparation time: 15 Minutes (+ Cooling)

Cooking time: 25-30 Minutes

Ingredients

175g (6oz) Butter, at room temperature

165g (5 ¾ oz ¾ cup) caster (Superfine) sugar

½ teaspoon natural vanilla extract

2 eggs, at room temperature

110g (3 ¾ oz ¾ cup) Self-raising flour

150g (5 ½ oz 1 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour

160ml (5 ½ fl oz 2/3 cup) buttermilk

Method

1.     Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas 4). Line the holes of a 12-hole 80ml (2 ½ fl oz 1/3 cup) muffin tin with paper cases.

2.    Beat the butter, sugar and vanilla in a medium bowl using an electric mixer until light and fluffy.

3.    Beat the eggs into the butter mixture one at a time. Add half the sifted flours and half the buttermilk, and mix in the remaining flours and buttermilk.

4.    Divide the mixture evenly smooth the tops (this will help the cupcakes to rise evenly).

5.    Bake for 25-30 minutes or until lightly golden and cooked when tested with a skewer. Allow cupcakes to stand for 5 minutes in tin before transferring to a wire rack to cool.