Small Man loves vanilla sugar in his tea, so much so that he’s been known to ask for it when dining out…
“I’d like English Breakfast tea with vanilla sugar, please.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, we don’t have any vanilla sugar..”
“Nevermind then, I’ll just have a glass of water, thanks..”
It’s surprising that more cafés and restaurants don’t offer it, as vanilla sugar is dead easy to make. It can be expensive though, so if you’re planning to make a large quantity, it’s worth sourcing reasonably priced pods. We buy ours in bulk from Chefs’ Warehouse and divvy them out amongst friends – $75 buys 500g (100+) of fat vanilla beans.
The easiest way to make vanilla sugar is to bung the sugar and scraped-out vanilla seeds into a food processor and blitz them together. This usually results in a powdered sugar, perfect for dusting the tops of cakes and pies.
I made this batch in a slightly different way, and was really pleased with the results. If you’re making it for gifts, this quantity will make 10 x 200g bags.
- 2kg (4½lbs) white sugar
- 5 vanilla pods
1. Empty the sugar into a large mixing bowl.
2. Line a chopping board with a couple of sheets of parchment paper or foil (be warned, vanilla will stain chopping boards). Slit each vanilla pod in half, and using the back of your knife, carefully scrape out the seeds.
3. Add the seeds to the sugar, and rub in well with your impeccably clean fingertips, breaking up any fibrous tissue in the process. When the mixture is well combined, bury the empty pods into the sugar, cover the bowl with clingfilm and leave it overnight to infuse.
4. The next day, break up any clumps that have formed overnight, and remove the empty pods (Pete used ours to make vanilla syrup). At this stage, the sugar can be used as is, or it can be whizzed in small batches in the food processor to smooth out any remaining lumpy bits. It only needs a very short spin – just enough to refine the sugar a little without grinding it into a powder.
We’re running late this year with our Christmas gift making, but I’m feeling better now that we’ve made a start. I have ganache for truffle centres setting, fruit soaking in brandy, and a new cookie recipe to play with.
How are Christmas preparations going at your place?
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
I love this idea as a gift for Christmas, all wrapped up in a pretty cello bag with it’s red bow. Who wouldn’t love to get some of this for their tea. Btw, I loved your husband’s response… never mind then, I’ll just have water! Too funny!
Hahaha…not my husband, Smidge, my teenage son! He’s always been a bit of a pedant.. ;-)
Celia, you always have the best Christmas gift ideas! I just took out my book this afternoon to finalise cookie recipes and the like for Christmas baking. Custard cookies and shortbread are definitely on the “make” list so far, oh an no doubt date balls too.
:-) Mandy
Thanks Mandy! Shortbread will be on our list too! :)
I soooo wanted to make homemade gifts this Christmas – breads and biscuits and sweets and jams and apple cider vinegar. Hubby thought it was a bad idea because none of it would survive the Royal Mail. So instead, we’re buying stuff, boring stuff that grandchildren will soon forget all about … I feel a big strop comin’ on. I love receiving homemade gifts, and I just assumed that everyone else would too.
Misk, don’t be cross…everyone does love homemade gifts, with perhaps the exception of small children, so your hubby may be right on this one? And a lot of the things you mentioned are hard to mail. Are you baking and cooking for friends and family closer to home?
WOW! I have learned something new again. Thank you dear Celia,
http://photographyofnia.wordpress.com/2011/12/12/roses-are-red-are-red/
with my love, nia
Thanks Nia, you’re very kind.. :)
I’m coming along slowly , but surely!
Making vanilla, vanilla sugar, vanilla salt, felted soaps for family and baskets of cookies for the neighbours. Except for the grandchildren and some books, only handmade gifts are going out this year- I’m tired of shopping and buying and giving away STUFF that no one usually uses or remembers!
Heidi, homemade gifts are always wonderful, aren’t they? Can’t wait to see what comes out of your kitchen this Christmas. We’re a bit slow this year, but Pete has 18 jars of jam made, which is always a good start! :)
I think hampers this year will be a jar of jam, a bag of vanilla sugar, a few cookies and something chocolate.. :)
What a wonderful gift.
Thank you! I had to bag it up straight away, or my son and I will use it all up before Christmas! :)
a lovely gift idea.
One of my favourite sugars is Safron Sugar, (but it’s so rarely seen) and is perfect in persian tea :)
Claire, I’ve never heard of saffron sugar! I’ll have to look it up, thank you – I have a heap of saffron in the cupboard…
Celia, I love this. My mother told me that Europeans always had vanilla sugar and you can buy it here now, but I don’t think it would be as exquisite as freshly made. Thank you for sharing recipe and supplier! I have made peach and passionfruit jam, divine edible gifts, will make more. My fantastic truffles are on to list of things to do, as well as gingerbread (do you have a receipt that keeps for longer than three days, please?). I also want to to my hand at Hungarian honey ginger kalacs, similar to gingerbread, only nicer. We finish work as at 21 Dec, so more time then to play. Seaon’s Eatings to all xox
Lizzy, I only started making vanilla sugar because of my Hungarian neighbour June. She was always paying a fortune for small bags of it, but she insisted that it was essential to some of her baked treats. Your jam sounds wonderful! I’m afraid I don’t make a lot of gingerbread – the three day shelf life is tricky for Christmas giving. Sounds like you’re having a wonderful December! :)
What a lovely idea. I have a permanent jar of vanilla sugar that I just bung any used pods of vanilla I might have used and just keep topping up with sugar. But your method sounds perfect for gift making, which I would never have thought of doing.
Choc, we used to do that too, but we found we were going through vanilla sugar faster than it was infusing! :)
I put the “empty” pods in a jar with some brandy, and end up with beautiful vanilla extract. but I use 10 pods to a kilo of sugar – around this time of year they are often “for sale” in Denmark.. vanilla sugar is the vanilla “we” use in cakes, its only a few years ago vanilla extract landed in our shops.. and vanilla sugar is very often of a very bad quality ..
Lisbet, thanks for stopping by! Your vanilla sugar must be beautifully fragrant! We make our own vanilla extract too, only with whole pods, and we let it brew for a very long time – I have a bottle now that’s several years old.. :)
Why don’t more cafes have vanilla sugar? Your Small Man has superb tastes…although I can’t imagine your boys being KFC and coke kids :-)
I did some vanilla in vodka a few months back (like yours) and also had a tiddly bit of maple syrup left in a bottle which got bunged in as well- the smell! I still haven’t used any, but I do like to wander past and just smell it now and then.
(ps. It’s a happy muscavado household as got some in Milton.)
Brydie, he’s such a funny kid sometimes. Homemade vanilla extract is sooo good, it’s hard to go back once you’ve started making your own. The maple syrup sounds like an intriguing addition!
I have done nothing about Christmas yet. Christmas without young children is a bit dreary anyway and there are none in our family. Now that I am home I will have to get stuck into something. Love the vanilla sugar- thanks.
Hooray darling, you’re home! Welcome back! :)
Things are moving very slowly here, thanks Celia. I’ve made & frozen the shortbread dough and that’s about it so far. Oh dear.
That’s a great start though, Amanda! I’ve just dipped truffles, but they’re a bit messy looking this year…ah well… :)
We got some Gewurtzhaus Ginger Chocolate Sugar as a gift, and I’ve quietly become addicted to a teaspoon of it in my coffee of a Sunday Morning.
So I sympathise with Small Man.
It’s amazing how quickly our taste buds get spoilt, isn’t it? :)
Have fun with your Christmas prep xx
Thanks love. It’s building up steam now, all the jam is done! :)
Your vanilla sugar looks beautiful. Love the packaging. Yes, vanilla beans are too expensive. I once went to Tahiti and vanilla beans are grown there. They were so cheap to buy, soft and plump.
Charlie, if you’re happy to buy them in bulk, there are some really reasonable options. Our beans cost us just 75c each, and so each bag of vanilla sugar for gifts worked out at about 60c each! :)
Is it bad that it makes me feel better that you’ve only just started? I’m rather behind too. Probably because I keep finding new recipes I want to try and can’t make up my mind!
Vanilla sugar would make a love gift. How cute that small man requests it when out. I bet he’s had some strange responses from young waiters.
My kids always get strange looks in restaurants, Claire! When Big Boy was three, he would sit in cafes and ask for “a baguette with fresh ricotta and prosciutto, please..” ;-)
What a great present :) I do love vanilla sugar
Thanks Nic! Dead easy to make too, I’ve just made a giant jar for my neighbour June!
Beautiful gift idea, thanks :)
You’re welcome, Cindy, hope it’s useful! :)
Yummo! I have a big pot of sugar with half a dozen beans in it that I top up all the time. I have so got to talk my hubby into buying me a bunch of them, after all they’re cheaper than a bunch of long stem roses, smell nicer, and I can eat them too!
Hi love, hope you’re feeling better! Roses cost a fortune, and I’m sure the vanilla scent will outlast it by miles.. ;-)
I made some vanilla and basil flower sugar for a gift this year – and usually I make lavender sugar as well, but the black frost killed my lavender bush :( I keep my vanilla pods in my fructose – with a bit of cinnamon from Zanzibar and so all my dishes using fructose are scented with these two aromas, even the savoury ones :)
Tandy, what romantic sounding cinnamon! And the vanilla and basil flower sounds intriguing too…
We put up lights and a tree. I just sent out a Toymaker newsletter to 27,000 people, so I’m feeling quite accomplished. :-)
We often do infused olive oil for presents but I think Vanilla Sugar would top that!
Maz.
Got your newsletter, it looks great! And gave away a copy of your Christmas book yesterday, the 3 year old was happily entertained for the whole of dinner! :)
Hee hee hee! That’s so cool. :-) (beems)
Maz
The vanilla sugar is a lovely gift idea. Things are very slow here. There’s always something happening to distract me. I have to start my baking; don’t have any Christmas cookies yet. The children and I did make a gingerbread house, but it’s partly eaten already. I have a few more home-made gifts to make. Most of the rest I got at the Farmer’s Market, so someone else made them. (I don’t especially like knitting!) Enjoy your preparations! Hopefully it doesn’t get too hot, so your chocolate sets properly!
Manuela, it’s hard baking to early for Christmas, because the kids eat everything – we have the same problem here! :)
Picking up speed now – fruit cake truffles made late last night! Hope you’re having fun! :)
I think Small Man would like my favourite Vanilla Red tea! My Small man demands it in the morning with his tartine!
Hehe..aren’t those sons of ours fussy? It’s quite lovely.. :)
Those bags will make a beautiful treat I’m sure. A cheaper, albeit long-term way we used to do it was to simply add used vanilla pods to an airtight container of sugar rather than throwing them out. Cheers, Craig
Craig, we used to do that too! :) These days though, Pete turns our used vanilla pods into vanilla syrup…
I won’t tell you how I made mine…so embarrased…thanks for the lesson.
Oh, what sophisticated children we are raising! I love vanilla sugar, infact I made some a couple of weeks ago; followed by a fruity christmas cake. The tree is done, cookies will be made tonight…..and then we go off on holiday on Friday!
I like the ide of vanilla syrup. I often make vanilla powder, by drying out vanilla pods (leaving them out in the open/heating in the microwave), then I blitz them and envelope myself in warming scents!