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Vanilla Beans Sample Recipes

 Here are some sample recipes from around the Internet to get you started on the different way to use vanilla beans:

Bread & Butter Pudding

6 slices of bread, buttered and remove crusts
10 eggs
1¼ cups thick cream
1 tablespoon vanilla sugar
½ cup warm milk
¾ cup brown sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scrape out the seeds, mix with milk
A pinch of Cinnamon powder

Cut the buttered bread in halves and arrange in the base of a lightly-greased shallow baking pan about 20 x 30cm. Lightly beat the eggs and add the cream, vanilla milk mixture, brown sugar and vanilla sugar. Whisk until combined and pour over the bread.  Stand for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with nutmeg and bake in a preheated 150C oven for 45-50 minutes or until set. Stand for 5 minutes, cut into portions and serve with cream or vanilla ice-cream. Note: Instead of plain butter, you can use vanilla butter instead.

Papaya Smoothie

1 medium-sized papaya sliced
1 cup of whole milk
1 cup of water
1/8 cup of vanilla sugar
1 tablespoon (or teaspoon) of vanilla (more or less depending on your taste)

Instructions:
Mix in a blender until smooth. Serve in chilled glasses and garnish with mint or spears of papaya and pineapple if desired. You can use other type of fruits too instead of papaya.

Vanilla Salt Cookies
250g butter
1/4 tsp vanilla salt
125g sugar
2 large egg yolks
1 vanilla bean, split and scrape out the seeds
315g plain flour

Beat the butter, salt and sugar at medium speed until smooth. Add egg yolks and vanilla  seeds and beat at low speed until blended. Add flour and mix until a dough forms. Divide dough into three or four equal portions. Roll each portion into logs about 1.5 inches in diameter. Wrap logs in plastic wrap and freeze or refrigerate till firm. Before baking, unwrap log and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices. At this point you can op to sprinkle  vanilla salt, vanilla sugar and chopped nuts on the surface. Bake at 180 C for 12-15 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer them to wire racks to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Vanilla Cupcakes
Makes 20 regular cupcakes / 350 degree oven

3/4 cup (1-1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 2/3 cups vanilla sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
2-2/3 cups flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons warm milk
1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out, mix seeds with the milk

Beat butter until softened. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until well combined. Measure the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Measure out the milk and vanilla and stir to combine. Add about a third of the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar and beat to combine. Add about a half of the milk/vanilla and beat to combine. Continue adding, alternating between dry and wet ingredients and finishing with the dry. Scoop batter into cupcake cups about 2/3 full. Turn oven down to 350 degrees and bake cupcakes for about 22-25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Vanilla Bean Frosting

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 package (8 ounces) philadelphia cream cheese
1 tablespoon vanilla sugar
1/4 vanilla bean, seeds scraped-out
4-5 cups icing sugar

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy. Add the cream cheese and beat until well combined.
Add the vanilla vanilla sugar, vanilla seeds, and 3 cups of icing sugar and beat at low speed, occasionally stopping to scrape the sides and bottom off the bowl, until light and fluffy. Add more icing sugar to arrive at the consistency and sweetness you like.

To Assemble:
Frost each cooled cupcake with a generous mound of frosting.
 Top with vanilla sea-salt or decorate with whatever garnishing that you like

Vanilla Mash Potatoes

1kg potatoes, peeled and chopped
salt and fresh ground black pepper
150ml milk
1 vanilla pod, slit open lengthways
1 tbsp vegetable oil
8 pieces breakfast beef strips
1 large onion, sliced

Cook the potatoes in a large pan of salted boiling water until tender. Drain, mash and season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Meanwhile, place the milk in a small saucepan. Scrape out the vanilla pod seeds and add them and the pod to the milk. Bring to a gentle simmer, then set aside to infuse.  Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan. Add in the beef strip and onion and fry, stirring occasionally, until browned. Strain the infused milk into the mashed potato and mash together well. Stir in the beef strips  and onion. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper. Serve.

Vanilla-Cured Sea Bass

100g vanilla sugar
75g sea salt
15g coarsely ground black pepper
700-800g sea bass
2-4 large salmon fillets
1 stick rhubarb

The vanilla cure brings out the creamy sweetness of the fish's flesh. Serves six to eight as a starter. Mix together the vanilla sugar, salt and pepper, and sprinkle some into a small, rectangular, non-metallic dish. Place the first fillet skin-side down in the cure (or two fillets, slightly overlapping, if you have four), then sprinkle another, slightly thicker layer of cure over the top. Arrange the next fillet(s) skin-side up and sprinkle over another layer of cure. Spread some cling-film or foil over the fish, place a plate or board on top and weigh it down with a brick, storage jar, tins of food or whatever comes to hand. Put in the fridge for 24 to 48 hours.

To prepare the fish for serving, carefully lift the fillets from their cure one at a time. Give them a very quick rinse under the cold tap and pat dry with kitchen paper or a clean cloth. Lay the fillet on a board, skin-side down, and run a flexible filleting knife between the flesh and skin. Once the skin is removed, slice the fish thinly, cutting slightly on the diagonal. Cut the rhubarb into 10cm pieces and poach in simmering water until just tender - about three to four minutes. Plunge into iced water to stop the cooking, drain and slice thinly. Serve the cured bass with plenty of rye bread and butter, and a little poached rhubarb on the side.

Vanilla Baked Chicken

4 tbsp fruity extra-virgin olive oil
Zest of a lemon
1 tbsp honey
1 large vanilla pod preferably tahitian vanilla bean, split
1.5kg chicken pieces, skin on
150g stoned prunes
2 apples, cored and cut into thick slices
4 tbsp water

In a bowl, whisk together the oil, zest and honey. Add the vanilla pod and chicken pieces, and turn over in the marinade. Seal in a plastic bag and marinate overnight in the fridge. Remove from the fridge about an hour before cooking. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/ gas mark 6. Heat a non-stick pan over a medium-high heat and brown the chicken pieces on all sides - about five minutes. Tip the marinade, prunes, apples and water into the pan, cover tightly with foil and/or a lid, and bake for 18 minutes, turning once during the cooking. Divide between warmed plates and serve hot.

Vanilla Infused Olive Oil Ice-Cream

1 1/2 cups of whole milk
1/2 cup of sugar
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 1/4 cup of heavy whipping cream
6 egg yolks
1/2 cup of vanilla olive oil

Warm the milk, salt, and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk together the yolks in a non-reactive bowl.

Slowly pour the warm milk mixture into the yolks while whisking constantly. Then, pour the egg and milk mixture back into the sauce-pan and put over medium heat. Stir with a heatproof spatula and keep scraping the bottom and sides to ensure nothing becomes too solid. When the custard mixture can coat the back of a spoon, sieve the mixture through a wire mesh and into a new bowl set in a larger bowl filled with ice-water. Add the cream while whisking very quickly. Add the vanilla olive oil and whisk until fully incorporated. Allow to chill in the fridge, then pour into your ice cream maker and follow the manufacturers instructions.

Vanilla-Infused Olive Oil

500ml bottle of Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
1-2 vanilla pods, split

Just pop in the beans into the oil and keep the bottle in a dark, closed place. Let it infuse for at least 3-4 weeks before using.

Vanilla Bean Hot Chocolate

2 ½ cups milk
2 ½ Teaspoon sugar/Vanilla sugar
1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
3 oz good quality dark chocolate, melted
1 vanilla bean, cut in half and seeds scraped
Cream

Heat milk and sugar over low fire in a pan until it just begins to boil. Remove from the heat, add vanilla bean and seeds, cover and let steep for half an hour. Remove the bean from the pot and reserve for another use, (like making vanilla sugar). Add the cocoa and chocolate, stir to combine. You might want to heat it up it up a little more if you plan on drinking it immediately. Add a generous dollop of cream before serving.