Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A
Flavours
Hello again cake lovers. Please can someone tell me if Vanilla essence is the same as vanilla extract. I usually use extract because I prefer it. I was looking at the Lorraine Pascal red velvet cake recipe and it asks for vanilla essence. Wondering if I can use extract instead. Many thanks.
Hello again cake lovers. Please can someone tell me if Vanilla essence is the same as vanilla extract. I usually use extract because I prefer it. I was looking at the Lorraine Pascal red velvet cake recipe and it asks for vanilla essence. Wondering if I can use extract instead. Many thanks.
Hi again NikNak42
The difference is to do with the concentration and the way vanilla is extracted. Vanilla extract is made from vanilla pods steeped in a mixture of alcohol and water (I use vodka) and essence usually means that the vanilla is a synthetic product. Unfortunately producers worldwide get these terms mixed up, so best check the label carefully. If you’d like to have a go at making your own take a peek here:
http://www.cakeflix.com/blog/making-an-egg-free-cake
Scroll down to the bottom of the blog to see how its’ done.
For other extracts and flavoured sugars take a peek here:
http://www.cakeflix.com/blog/making-flavoured-sugar-and-baking-extracts-by-madeitwithlove
If you ever want experiment with the flavoured sugars air dry the zest first otherwise the moisture can cause little hard lumps of sugar to form. You could just sieve them out. x
