YumSugar

What to Do With Leftover Vanilla Bean

Katie Sweeney — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 11:54:16 PDT

Oftentimes a recipe will call for only part of a vanilla bean. Since vanilla beans can be somewhat expensive, don't discard the extra bean. There are lots of ways you could put it to good use:

Place the bean in an airtight container full of sugar. The vanilla will infuse the sugar and become vanilla sugar.
Make a vanilla syrup. Add the seeds and beans to equal parts boiling sugar and water. Let steep for an hour, then pour into a bottle. Once cool, use the vanilla syrup to flavor cocktails, coffee, and soda.
Place the bean in a small bottle and cover with 100 proof vodka, store in a cool dark place. In six months, you'll have vanilla extract.
Make vanilla vodka or rum, by adding the bean to a store-bought bottle and letting it steep for one week.
Scrape the seeds into a small bowl filled with salt and stir to combine. Use the vanilla salt to flavor ice cream and other desserts.

What's your favorite way of using leftover vanilla bean?

Savory Sight: Vanilla Bean Beignets With Chocolate Fudge Sauce

Yum Community — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 03:54:10 PST

Happy Fat Tuesday! Don't you wish this plate of beignets were real rather than just a picture? Dice215 shared the image in the Savory Sights group in the YumSugar Community.

Freshly made vanilla bean beignets with warm chocolate fudge sauce on the side.

For the recipe, check out her blog. If you have a delicious photo to share, upload it to the Savory Sights group in the community!

Has French Vanilla Fallen Out of Favor?

YumSugar — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 15:49:20 PDT

Today, word spread that ice cream chain Baskin-Robbins is retiring five of its flavors, among them Campfire S'mores, Apple Pie a La Mode, Caramel Praline Cheesecake, and Superfudge Truffle. But the most surprising news of all? The company also plans to retire French Vanilla, a longtime hit and one of its original 31 flavors created in 1945.

Not only has French Vanilla been a core flavor for the past 65 years, but vanilla is the most popular ice cream variety in America by a wide margin. Does the discontinuation of French Vanilla suggest fewer consumers have an appetite for the flavor?

In recent frozen dessert encounters, I've spotted vanilla bean ice cream much more frequently than its flaxen yellow French counterpart, which is strained to be free of flavorful vanilla bean seeds and made heavier and creamier with egg custard. What do you think: Will other ice cream companies follow suit? Does French vanilla ice cream seem like a dated flavor to you?

Source: Flickr User cowbite

Would You Rather Eat Vanilla or Chocolate Ice Cream?

partysugar — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 01:30:20 PDT

Source: Flickr Users whitneyinchicago and joyosity

Come Party With Me: Twist Off - Dessert

partysugar — Wed, 12 May 2010 10:15:28 PDT

For FabSugar and my Twister party, I'm going to get creative with the dessert. My first instinct was to serve something twisted, but then I thought it's more fun to offer a sweet inspired by the Twister mat.

Thus, I'm going to take this recipe for classic vanilla-on-vanilla cupcakes and make mini cupcakes. Then, I'll divide the vanilla buttercream into four bowls and tint each one a different color: red, blue, green, and yellow.

I'll arrange the mini cupcakes on a white platter in the same pattern that the dots are on a Twister board! To look at the basic vanilla cupcake recipe I'm using,

Vanilla Cupcakes
From Martha Stewart

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups cake flour, not self-rising
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
4 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Vanilla Buttercream
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
6 to 8 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Colored sprinkles for decorating, optional

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt; mix on low speed until combined. Add butter, mixing until just coated with flour.
In a large glass measuring cup, whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla. With mixer on medium speed, add wet ingredients in 3 parts, scraping down sides of bowl before each addition; beat until ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat.
Divide batter evenly among liners, filling about 2/3 full. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 17 to 20 minutes.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat process with remaining batter.
Make vanilla buttercream: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. With mixer on low speed, add 6 cups sugar, milk, and vanilla; mix until light and fluffy. If necessary, gradually add remaining 2 cups sugar to reach desired consistency.
Once cupcakes have cooled, use a small offset spatula to frost tops of each cupcake. Decorate with sprinkles, if desired. Serve at room temperature.

Makes about 30 cupcakes.

Print recipe with images | without images

What's Your Least Favorite Scent?

BellaSugar — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 04:00:00 PST

I was talking to CasaSugar today and found out that she isn't the biggest fan of vanilla-scented things, which got a bunch of us into a conversation about different common scents we're not so fond of inhaling.

It turns out PartySugar doesn't like incense and I cannot condone that waxy fake chocolate scent (organic and real chocolate notes, though, I love.) It seems like all of us have at least one Achilles' heel when it comes to smells. So now I want to know if there's a common scent you can't stand, and if you have one, what is it?

Come Party With Me: Winter Weekend - Dessert

partysugar — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 10:15:04 PST

This Friday a group of my closest friends will join me at my vacation house in the mountains. It's going to be a whirlwind weekend filled with amazing eats, snowboarding, and a birthday celebration. My girlfriend Katie is turning 29 and I'm making her cake.

When I asked her what kind of cake she wanted (and explained that the sky's the limit!), she simply replied, "I want a vanilla cake. Is that boring?" Hardly. A basic vanilla cake with whipped frosting is elegant and classic. To make it extra special, I'll place 29 candles on it. Want to see the recipe I'm using? Keep reading.

Come Party With Me: Christmas Brunch - Dessert

partysugar — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 13:00:28 PST

A special Christmas brunch should end with a stunning dessert. Instead of serving something that requires last-minute attention, plate slices of a cranberry vanilla coffeecake that can be made on Christmas Eve.

It will fill the house with an enticing aroma and get your family excited for the breakfast. Although vanilla beans are expensive, it's a necessary splurge for this flavorful and moist cake.

A layer of zesty cranberry filling is the pleasant surprise that makes this cake festive and celebratory. To get the recipe,

Cranberry Vanilla Coffeecake
From Gourmet

Ingredients

1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 cups fresh or thawed frozen cranberries (6 ounces)
2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened, divided
2 large eggs
1/2 cup whole milk
confectioners sugar, for garnish

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle. Generously butter a 9- by 2-inch round cake pan. Line bottom with a round of parchment paper and butter parchment.
Scrape seeds from vanilla bean into a food processor with tip of a paring knife (reserve pod for another use if desired). Add sugar and pulse to combine. Transfer to a bowl.
Pulse cranberries with 1/2 cup vanilla sugar in processor until finely chopped (do not purée).
Whisk together 2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt.
Beat together 1 stick butter and 1 cup vanilla sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy.
Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down side and bottom of bowl. Reduce speed to low and mix in flour mixture and milk alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour, until just combined.
Spread half of batter in pan, then spoon cranberries over it, leaving a 1/2-inch border around edge. Top with remaining batter and smooth top.
Blend remaining 1/4 cup vanilla sugar with remaining tablespoon each of butter and flour using your fingertips. Crumble over top of cake.
Bake until a wooden pick inserted into cake (not into cranberry filling) comes out clean and side begins to pull away from pan, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool in pan 30 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely, crumb side up.

Serves 8.

Print recipe with images | without images

The Basics: Vanilla Ice Cream

partysugar — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 07:50:37 PDT

There's nothing like fresh-churned homemade ice cream. It's cool, but melts in your mouth, creamy and smooth, and when compared to a grocery store variety, has a richer, cleaner, more pure taste. To make ice cream you need an ice cream maker and a little skill, but most of all, it requires patience. Many recipes are egg-based, and one of the steps involves tempering a ribbon-like egg yolk and sugar mixture with warm milk. If you aren't patient, the eggs will scramble. Patience also comes in handy while you're waiting for the ice cream to freeze! When mastering the basic procedure, start with vanilla ice cream. It's a flavor that can be enjoyed in every season, is loved by all, and pairs with a variety of desserts. Once you know how to make vanilla, it's easy to experiment with more complex flavors - you can stir in strawberry puree, or chunks of chocolate, or small pieces of Oreo cookies. To learn how it's done, keep reading.

Come Party With Me: Independence Day - Dessert

partysugar — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 11:30:39 PDT

While one could easily serve red, white, and blue parfaits at a 4th of July party, I prefer to give guests a more all-American dessert - in the form of a crowd-pleasing cupcake. When I saw these adorably patriotic cupcakes in the current issue of Martha Stewart Living, I knew they would be on the menu at my Independence Day celebration.

The vanilla cake batter is dotted with fresh blueberries before being baked. Each individual cake is iced with fluffy seven-minute frosting and topped with a single plump raspberry. These pretty cakes are a light sweet treat, ideal for Summer entertaining. If you're interested in reading the recipe, do so after the break