vanilla sugar?

[crlykat]

Hello,
I am making a Hngarian cake (Dobos cake)for my hubby's 30th on Monday. The receipe calls for vanilla sugar. Does anyone know how to make vanilla sugar?
I am nervous about making this to begin with. Any advice would be great.
Thanks!

[Beth]

Basically, you put some sugar (a cup or so)in a jar or container with a tight lid, add a vanilla bean split down the center, close it up and let it sit. The longer it sits, the stronger the flavor will be. After you use some of the sugar, you can replace it and always keep it handy. You can also buy vanilla sugar if you don't have the time for it to sit (I think a week or more is preferred, but if you get in 3 good days before using it, you should get something that will be okay to use....add a little more vanilla in your recipe if it seems on the week side).

I just looked this up in Baking with Julia, and it says that you can pulverize the beans and add them to granulated sugar. That might infuse the flavor more quickly. I'd try that in a food processor or mini chopper if you have one.


[This message has been edited by Beth (edited 05-18-2001).]

[AudreyOB]

Penzeys makes a nice Vanilla Sugar. You can also sprinkle it on fresh berries for a treat.

[Grace]

Dr. Oetker makes vanilla sugar too. It comes in little envelopes and is in the baking aisle. It is a staple in every European kitchen, as ubiquitous as regular vanilla is here.

[Julie O]

For a quick trick, you can just add some vanilla extract. Replace the quantity of vanilla sugar in your recipe with (probably) an equal amount of granulated sugar. I don't know exactly how much vanilla extract you would want to add, maybe a teaspoon for each cup of sugar??? Just a guess. Maybe foodtv.com would have a good substitute.

[crlykat]

Hmm,
I think I'll try Williams Sonoma first tonight, then resort to the homemade.
Oh, in my first post I meant I was nervous about making the CAKE, whoops.
Thanks for your help!
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