Vanilla Sugar

If there is on thing I just don't think I could be without in my kitchen cupboard it would be vanilla sugar.

The top notes sing above the ingredients. A delight. Now although I'm not adverse to using essence, and I admit that I am being particular when I say that the depth of flavours in a recipe are improved significantly when infused sugar is used rather than essence.

The sugar is a treat in coffee and hot chocolate, or sprinkled over strawberries and cream

For me it has to be Ndali. Nothing else comes close in my opinion. Fair trade, organic it's dark, deep sticky sweetness vanilla accentuates the sweetness of it's counterpart ingredients.

However it's not cheap to go out and buy lots of vanilla in one go, so my tip is to gift vanilla pods instead of chocolate, wine or flowers to friends who cook.

Then if your close friends or family bring you gifts when you invite them for supper then perhaps suggest that you'd be utterly delighted with some vanilla instead as you are building your stash.

List is as one of those things you'd love to receive and you'll soon have a seriously packed jar of utterly delicious sweet vanilla sugar before you know it.

Linked Recipes

Strawberry, Vanilla and Rose Ice-cream

Chocolate Vanilla and Cardamon Biscotti

Plum and Cardamon Crumble with Vanilla Custard

Blackberry and Vanilla Jam

Whoopie Pies with Vanilla Cream

Strawberry Vanilla and Rose Ice-cream

The strawberries are early. They are small, sweet juicy and just slightly tart. I can honestly say that I never eat strawberries out of season they are nothing but a disappointment - so I gorge on them a this time of year not least because their prefect state is so fleeting - a rare find. Not ripe enough and they are perfumeless tasting of nothing and over ripe they simply loose their texture. Really strawberries are best served warm from the summer sun or left to ripen on their own they will develop a deep sweetness and it is at this point you capture the moment and devour them. If you have a glut then seize the opportunity and catch these exquisite berries most heavenly moment in ice-cream emphasizing their feminine charm with rose and vanilla.

Serves 8

Prep time 5 minutes

Cooking time 20 =- 25 minutes + 20 minutes to whisk / turn in to ice-cream

500ml double cream

200ml full fat milk

5 egg yolks

125g vanilla sugar (or caster sugar with a vanilla pod)

4 fresh roses or 3/4 drops of rose essence

425g fresh strawberries

1 Put the, cream, milk and egg yolks and sugar in a heavy-based saucepan and stir over a moderate heat. Keep moving the liquid using a whisk. ( add the vanilla pod at this point if you don’t have vanilla sugar)

2 Keep stirring as the custard thickens. This can take 20 – 25 minutes so take your time and don’t be tempted to heat it quickly (you’ll get scrambled eggs!). The mixture will thicken. When the custard easily coats the back of a spoon, remove it from the heat.

3 Check the rose petals for any extra guests and then drop them into the custard. Allow the custard to cool. I leave mine over night - but if you are in a hurry use rose essence instead.

4 Hull the strawberries and blend to a liquid in a food processor. Sieve the petals out of the custard and pour into the strawberries. Blend the mixture. It is now ready to make the ice cream.

5 (You can store this for up to 2 days before making it into ice-cream in a clean airtight container ) Transfer into an ice-cream maker, and follow the manufacturers instructions to make the ice-cream.

OR

If you make this by hand, then you’ll need to pour the mixture into a shallow freezer-proof container, Freeze for about an hour. Whisk it every 45 minutes of so 3–4 times as it is setting to prevent ice crystals forming and you will get a smooth result. (Use a timer to remind you as I often forget to go back and whisk!)