Homemade Vanilla Sugar, Two Ways

Ingredients

• The Slow Way — 2 spent vanilla pods (rinsed and dried after scraping) + 500g caster sugar
• The Quick Way — 1 whole Nilla Vanilla vanilla pod + 200g caster sugar

Method

1. 01

   Slow way: Bury the spent pods in an airtight jar of caster sugar, seal, and store somewhere cool and dark. Shake the jar every few days. After 1–2 weeks the sugar will have taken on a deep, rounded vanilla aroma — top up with fresh sugar as you use it and the pods will keep flavouring for months.

2. 02

   Quick way: Roughly chop a whole pod and blitz it with the sugar in a food processor until fine and evenly speckled, about 1–2 minutes. Sieve out any larger pod fragments if you want a finer texture.

3. 03

   Use either version anywhere you'd reach for plain sugar — stirred into coffee, dusted over shortbread, or folded into whipped cream.