I love vanilla sugar stirred into my afternoon tea. Adding it to vanilla cakes or other sweets, will add an extra vanilla dimension to your treats. I’ve seen some complicated procedures including lightly toasting the beans and grinding up the pods, but I believe simpler is better.

200g granulated sugar
1 25cm vanilla bean

Tip in the sugar into a non-reactive, airtight container and then simply put in the bean. You can split it to expose the seeds if you wish, but I never do. Close up the bottle and then give it a good shake. Place the bottle in a cupboard for a month, stirring up the contents every so often. Replace with plain sugar as necessary. If you use whole beans in baking or in custards, simply rinse off the cooked bean, let dry and put into the sugar jar.