Homemade Vanilla Bean Paste

Vanilla bean paste has a more concentrated vanilla flavor.  Making your own homemade vanilla bean paste is a simple, easy and effortless process that can save you money and give you the best quality of bean paste for all your baking needs. Add it to your baked good when you want to enhance the flavor of vanilla.

Table of Content

• Ingredients and substitutes
• Step by step instructions
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• Printable Recipe
• Join the conversation

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Vanilla can be an ingredient in almost all baking no matter what flavor you are baking. Even a strawberry cake has pure vanilla extract added to it and so does caramel or chocolate. Right?

However, in some recipes vanilla is a key ingredient. I'm talking about recipes like vanilla pastry cream (custard), vanilla cake, and vanilla sugar cookies. These are recipes where vanilla really shines thru. This is why a good quality vanilla extract goes a long way.

Having said that, vanilla is expensive. I know!! With baking as my profession vanilla is a huge expense. Not to mention I have an easy hand with vanilla. If a recipe says 1 teaspoon vanilla you can bet that I will be adding at least 1 ½ if not more.

I find making homemade vanilla is more affordable to me. I buy vanilla pods when I can in bulk and when there are good offers. So I'm always looking for good vanilla deals. And I have vanilla bottles on the back of my shelf at all times. So when one gets done I go for the next making sure to refill the empty and put it at the back of the shelf.

Ingredients and substitutes

• Vanilla - If you go to purchase vanilla beans you will usually find that there are several types of vanilla beans.
  • Those that come from Madagascar, which is considered rich and robust in flavor and aroma.
  • Then, there is a Tahitian vanilla bean which is said to have a subtle floral and fruity flavor and aroma.
  • The third most popular is an African vanilla bean mostly from Uganda, which is said to be smoky and bold in flavor.
  • There is also a Mexican vanilla bean, which is said to be smooth and spicy.
    I have never used any other than Madagascar so far. That's the one I get locally and in my budget when I shop online.
• Corn syrup - The purpose of the corn syrup in this recipe is to prevent the sugar from crystallizing. If you do not have corn syrup, you can use any other invert sugar, such as glucose as well.
• Honey / Agave Syrup - When making vanilla bean paste, I often use honey instead of making a sugar syrup. This is of course when I do not want to make the sugar syrup. However, if the sugar syrup or honey does not work with your diet, you can also use agave syrup. Agave syrup can be expensive so not the most popular of course.

When should you use vanilla extract, bean paste, or vanilla sugar

I have shown you how to make your own vanilla extract, vanilla sugar, and bean paste. so I think it's worth discussing this.

People often write comments on my blog. Can I use extract instead of bean paste? or You said extract in the recipe but you are using bean paste in the video.

The truth is there is more than one way to go with it. You can use them interchangeably and in combination too!

• Vanilla extract - I use this in almost everything by default. Mostly because it's what I have most in the house in good quantity. I must admit I love vanilla so I tend to be very generous with my homemade vanilla.
• Vanilla bean paste - This usually has a more concentrated flavor and as you can see the quantity you get from pulsing these in the food processor is really not much. A little goes a long way with this. So I use this in recipes that need a more concentrated flavor. For example, if I am making a vanilla cake where I want to really bring out the flavor of vanilla (as compared to a chocolate cake) I would use this bean paste. Similarly, if I'm making vanilla pastry cream, vanilla pudding, or vanilla-based desserts like a vanilla ice cream, and vanilla bavarian cream as compared to a strawberry Bavarian cream. Does that make sense?
• Vanilla sugar - I often use vanilla sugar in desserts not as much in my cakes. For example pies, tarts, creme brulee, etc. These get a more defined flavor of vanilla in addition to the vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste. I am known to use vanilla sugar in savory dishes such as my quiches and sauces just to help balance the acidity in there. Of course I most definitely always make my hot chocolate and drinks that call for sugar with vanilla sugar.

Step by step instructions

Honey or agave method

• Split each vanilla bean in half down the middle lengthways to open the vanilla seeds. Scrape the center and roughly chop the beans into small pieces.
• Place all ingredients (vanilla beans, scrapping, agave syrup, and vanilla extract) in a food processor and blend until you have a thick puree consistency.
  Pro tip - I usually use my spice grinder as it does a great job to blend the tough beans.
• Strain thru a sieve using a firm spatula to drain as much of the vanilla paste as possible
• Ideally, you should not need more liquid but If necessary add more syrup
• Pour in a clean sterilized mason jar or bottle and store in a cool dry place in the pantry for up to a year.
• Use in any recipe that calls for vanilla bean paste.

Sugar syrup method

• Split each vanilla bean in half down the middle lengthways to open the center seeds. Scrape the center and roughly chop the beans into small pieces.
• In a heavy-based saucepan add water, sugar, corn syrup, and chopped vanilla beans
• Cook on medium-low until you get a thick syrup consistency. Let cool slightly.
• Place in a food processor and blend until you have a thick puree consistency.
• Strain thru a sieve, and use a firm spatula to drain as much of the vanilla paste as possible
• Ideally, you should not need more liquid but If necessary add more sugar syrup
• Pour into a clean sterilized mason jar or bottle, let cool completely before you close it.
• Store in a cool dry place in the pantry for up to a year.
• Use in any recipe that calls for Vanilla Bean Paste.

My cheat - Homemade vanilla bean paste

• I use the vanilla beans from my jar of vanilla extract that has been sitting in there for 4 months.
• After 4 months, these beans become really soft but still have lots of flavors.
• I place about 10 vanilla beans in a food processor with ½ cup honey until smooth.
• Strain and use a firm spatula to remove as much of the paste as I can.
• Store in a mason jar - this will last for a year or more.

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