[Lukifell]

First off, this is my first post on this board, and I would like to say "hello" to everyone.

Alright, now that introductions are over, I live in China now and in my attempts at learning as many new things as possible, I've run into a problem. I've attempted to start baking here and I've hit a brick wall. You simply cannot find some ingredients here, even at "western import" supermarkets. Things such as vanilla extract, real maple syrup, and powdered sugar continue to elude me. I did however find Gold Medal flour which was a plus I guess.

Anyway here is my question: I managed to make Lemon Squares using normal sugar instead of powdered sugar, and they turned out "alright". However, the same was not true for Russian Tea Cakes, as I attempted to substitute Country Kitchen pancake syrup for vanilla extract. :/ Below is the recipe. Is there anything I can do to make these tea cakes actually taste good without having access to either vanilla or powdered sugar? TIA.

• 1 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 6 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/3 cup confectioners' sugar for decoration

[ED BUCHANAN]

If you have a food processor try granulated sugar and cornstarch 3 to 1 ratio. As far as vanilla do the fresh markets sell vanilla pods? If yes you can make your own.

[Lukifell]

ehhh. I tried to make my third batch of the tea cakes using the above recipe and the suggestion of adding cornstarch in with the sugar. they were slightly better, but still not as good as how my mom made them. I didn't grind the sugar at all but mixed everything alot. is the single teaspoon of vanilla that important?

[ED BUCHANAN]

Originally Posted by Lukifell

ehhh. I tried to make my third batch of the tea cakes using the above recipe and the suggestion of adding cornstarch in with the sugar. they were slightly better, but still not as good as how my mom made them. I didn't grind the sugar at all but mixed everything alot. is the single teaspoon of vanilla that important?

Sugar and starch MUST be ground together or else use superfine(Bar) sugar. Yes vanilla does matter otherwise you are baking without flavor.