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Finding the finest ingredients and putting them in baked goods for friends and family members is a source of great satisfaction for many bakers when developing recipes from scratch. This year, a new kind of vanilla has taken the baking world by storm and for a good cause. Vanilla bean paste is a sticky, sweet product that integrates the most significant characteristics of pure vanilla extract and vanilla pods in one convenient package. When it comes to flavouring cakes, pastries, ice cream, and various other meals, chefs and amateur bakers have discovered the comfort of the paste, which eliminates the need to scrape entire vanilla beans.
Using high-quality vanilla extracts, a paste made with vanilla beans are made that include actual vanilla seeds and a natural thickening to vary the consistency of the paste. When you genuinely want vanilla to be the dish’s star, it’s better to use a paste made with vanilla beans instead of extract. Do you have a desire for those luscious vanilla bean specks? Use a paste made with vanilla beans instead of a quote. Classic desserts such as crème brûlée, pastry cream, and French vanilla ice cream are elevated to a higher degree of elegance and culinary appeal by using this aesthetic flourish. Although whole vanilla beans may also be utilised to achieve this effect, the preparation time and cost can be much higher with this method. A paste made with vanilla beans is the perfect solution to give your sweets the gourmet appearance of vanilla bean seeds without spending additional time and money on the baking process.
When should vanilla bean paste be substituted for vanilla extract?
After knowing better regarding paste made with vanilla beans and vanilla extract, you may wonder whether paste made with vanilla beans is superior to vanilla extract in terms of flavour. The quick answer is that it all depends on the dish you’re baking at that particular time. Even though we utilise the same high-quality vanilla beans in both our Pure vanilla Extract and Pure vanilla Paste, they have somewhat different uses due to the inconsistency and the inclusion of vanilla bean specks in the paste. As a result, they have both earned a place in many bakers’ spice cabinets, ensuring that no matter what dish they are working on, the excellent vanilla is always available. Here are a few among our most favourite applications for each of the products.
Recipes for Delicate Treats – Sponge Cakes
Recipes that ask for folding or those that need a lighter touch are better suited to a thicker vanilla that is simpler to combine and will not sink to the bottom of the bowl as quickly. A paste made with vanilla beans is your most excellent defence against the feared sunken sponge since sponge cakes depend on aeration to achieve their delicate soft texture.
Vanilla recipes with a lot of fat, such as cheesecakes
Fat is, sadly, the enemy of flavour in cooking. This is because fat covers your taste receptors, making it difficult to distinguish the flavours contained inside your dessert. High-fat recipes need the use of heavy-duty equipment. Higher-concentration varieties of vanilla, such as paste made with vanilla beans, assist to cut through the fat, allowing you to appreciate the full range of taste and perfume that Queen Vanilla has to offer without being overwhelmed. Our New York Baked Vanilla Cheesecake is made with a considerable amount of paste made with vanilla beans (as well as in the base for good measure) to provide a robust flavour.
Meringue Recipes with Little or No Liquid
Meringue is already a finicky confection, so adding any more liquid to your recipe will undoubtedly result in catastrophe. What is the solution? A paste made with vanilla beans is a must-have! Where vanilla essence or extract is suitable for high-liquid recipes like cakes, hotcakes, and sauces, a vanilla paste is ideal for low-liquid recipes where you don’t want to alter your consistency as bread and muffins or cookies. Cupcakes employ paste made with vanilla beans in the cream (which has a high-fat content) and the meringue kisses (which have a low liquid range) to create the ideal paste combination.
Vanilla recipes that are easy to make
For those of us who like food that is a feast to the eyes, those gorgeous vanilla bean specks will undoubtedly whet your appetite! A paste made with vanilla beans is a straightforward method to make even the most basic of baked goods appear (and taste) extra sophisticated without spending a fortune.
Recipes for Chocolate
Both are delicious for the age-old debate of chocolate vs vanilla! The paste made with vanilla beans, both solid and aromatic, perfectly complements your chocolate-based confections. The bitter overtones naturally contained in chocolate and cocoa might obscure the lovely flavour subtleties that can be found inside the chocolate. A paste made with vanilla beans offers chocolate a much-needed boost, smoothing out the bitter notes while improving the overall flavour and aroma of the dish.
