Homemade vanilla sugar is so easy to make and great for your tea or coffee or in your baking too. Using vanilla beans or extract, you can have your own vanilla bean sugar in minutes.
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Equipment
food processor
Preserving jar
Instructions
OPTION 1: Dried beans / vanilla bean powderWhile you can skip the step of drying the beans, this method is my preferred option. The resulting vanilla sugar is more intense in flavour, doesn't clump and has a longer shelf life.
Preheat the oven to 80C / 175F. Place the whole vanilla bean onto a baking tray and bake for 1 ½ hours. Let it cool after coming out of the oven for 10 minutes.
Place the bean into a mini food processor or spice grinder (the latter works best) and grind to a fine powder.
Mix through the sugar (or blend through using a food processor for the most even distribution).
OPTION 2: Regular whole vanilla beans (not dried)
Cut the bean into a 5-6 pieces. Place on top of the sugar in a food processor.
Process until the bean has turned to very small pieces / flecks. Please note, larger pieces will remain chewy so blend as finely as you can.
Vanilla bean sugar should be stored in a jar with tight fitting lid or airtight container in a cool, dry spot. It's flavour will mature around 2 weeks but can be used immediately.
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Notes
Type of sugar: White granulated or caster sugar (superfine sugar) are best. Brown sugar will add another layer of flavour from the molasses it contains and, while the vanilla may not taste so strong, it will give you somewhat of a butterscotch flavoured sugar.
Sugar quantity: I use 1 ½ cups of sugar for a strong vanilla sugar but you can add another ½ cup (to make it up to 2 cups) to make it stretch further and lighten the vanilla flavour a little.
Classic vanilla sugar uses just the beans, scraped from the pod, mixed into sugar, then the empty pod is stuck in to infuse extra flavour over time. My method of using the whole vanilla bean ground up, whether dried or not, gives a more intense vanilla flavour and nothing goes to waste.
Scale the recipe as needed - 1 bean for every 1 ½ - 2 cups of sugar.
Nutrition shown is per 100g/3.5oz/½ cup.
Calories: 389kcal
Author: Marie Roffey
Course: Condiment, Dessert
Cuisine: European
Have you tried this recipe?Don't forget to leave a rating and comment below and let me know how it was! I love hearing from you. Nutrition information is approximate and derived from an online calculator. The brands you use may cause variations.