The Flavorful Paste That Makes Store-Bought Frosting Bakery-Worthy

The intention and love behind homemade treats often make them preferable to their store-bought counterparts. Yet, if you don't have all the time and ingredients to make every component from scratch, taking a few shortcuts is acceptable. Store-bought frosting brings ease to the home baking process, and vanilla bean paste gives it a much-needed flavor boost.

Whether they were made at the bakery or in your kitchen, putting your touch on desserts with a pre-made tube of frosting is a natural choice. However, the grocery store toppings can taste aggressively artificial. The saccharine flavor tarnishes an otherwise perfect dessert, but a dash of vanilla bean paste adds depth to the frosting. A mix of concentrated vanilla extract and ground bean pods, vanilla bean paste packs a powerful punch. The syrupy ingredient delivers a fresh, bold vanilla taste, complete with all the unique nuances found in the type of vanilla it's derived from.

Thanks to the paste's potency, only a small amount is needed to elevate the frosting. Stir a teaspoon of the paste into an entire container of frosting until they're well combined. You can do this by hand, or fluff up the store-bought frosting with an electric mixer. Either way, the specks of ground vanilla beans will be dispersed throughout the mix, giving your dessert an elegant look to match its new taste.

With vanilla being one of the most popular ingredients for sweet treats, the paste can be incorporated into practically any baked good you make. Rather than focusing on which specific dessert to add the paste-infused frosting to, opt for vanilla bean pastes with tasting notes that match your dessert.

If you want to add an extra dose of sweetness to chocolate bourbon cherry cookies, amp up the frosting with Mexican vanilla bean paste. The variety is renowned for its earthy, smoky taste, one that's fit for bourbon cookies. Its depth is further emphasized with spicy notes of clove and nutmeg, making it the perfect pair to the tart cherries and oaky bourbon. Tahitian vanilla, on the other hand, isn't quite as bold as Mexican vanilla, though it's rife with complexity.

The island-derived pods have a lower level of vanillin, the compound that gives the plant its distinct flavor. Instead, Tahitian vanilla is packed with fruity, floral notes like cherry and plum, making it ideal for a vanilla loaf cake. The simple cake of vanilla extract, sugar, eggs, butter, and flour doesn't necessarily need a boost from the plant; instead, Tahitian vanilla bean paste's main flavor complements the cake, while its unique notes offer a sweet depth to top off the treat.