Having recently purchased the book Planet Cake by Paris Cutler, I could not wait to try out the vanilla cupcake recipe in it. I was intrigued by the addition of lemon zest and madeira to the mix. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any madeira in so it was Asda sweet sherry all the way for me! I also added about a teaspoon of glycerine which, as a humectant, keeps cake moist. Other than that I followed the instructions to the letter. The end result was very tasty, very moist and light, though my chief taster (OH) couldn’t quite pinpoint the flavour. Maybe a little more vanilla extract would have increased the impact, whilst keeping the depth of flavour provided by the lemon and madeira/sherry. Having tried the Hummingbird vanilla cupcake recipe, I should say that the Planet Cake recipe is not quite as ‘airy’ as that. There is a bit more substance to it. I’m looking forward to trying the icing methods advocated by Planet Cake next.
janehuntley 