Vanilla sugar

Always keep a litre (2 pint) bottling jar full of caster sugar with at least two vanilla pods in it. This saves the need for tracking down proper vanilla essence (vanilla flavouring is to be avoided). If you need an extra-strong flavour, whizz some sugar with a short bit of vanilla pod until both are powdered: use this to replace part of the sugar in a recipe only, since it is very strong (the grey colour disappears into the rest of the mixture).