German Butter Cake and Homemade Vanilla Sugar

Ingredients

some butter for the baking tray
250 g heavy cream
4 eggs
200 g butter
1 Package baking powder (.5oz)
2 packages Dr Oetker Vanilla sugar (.32oz each) or make recipe below
4 tbsp milk
200 g sliced Blue Diamond almonds
1 pinch salt
400 g Gold Medal flour
500 g sugar

Baking Instructions German Butter Cake
- preheat oven to 350 F.
- grease a deeper baking tray, dust with flour. You also can use a high side sheet cake pan (see below) and layer it with parchment paper.
- mix heavy cream with half of the sugar and salt, mix very well by using a hand mixer.
- add eggs, sieved flour, 75 g soft butter, 1 vanilla sugar and baking powder, mix well.
- spread the dough on the baking tray and bake for about 12-15 min.
- melt remaining butter, add remaining sugar, milk and almonds, mix well.
- spread this mix on the cake and bake for another 20-30 min until the almonds show a golden color.

How to make Homemade Vanilla Sugar
http://mybestgermanrecipes.com/how-to-make-homemade-vanilla-sugar/

Ingredients
2 whole vanilla beans, the seeds from  inside
400 g sugar (white or brown, as you like)

OR
2 vanilla beans
250 g powdered sugar

Instructions
 You can also use already used vanilla beans or use the vanilla seeds inside. Scratch the seeds out of the vanilla and add to sugar.
For using the beans: Add half of the sugar in a jar with a lid (should be closing  tight).Place the whole vanilla beans in the sugar, then cover them with remaining sugar;  they should be completely covered.
Let is rest for some days so that the fragrance will be in the sugar. Leave the beans inside the sugar.

Variation with powdered sugar
Use the whole bean; cut it in smaller pieces. Don't scratch the seeds out of the beans.
In a coffee grinder grind the bean pieces with some tea spoons powdered sugar until they are really tiny.
Sieve the sugar because powdered sugar can have some clumps.
Fill powdered sugar in an airtight jar and add the mix from the coffee grinder, and mix well. You can use it right away. This variations is very strong, so use first a little bit, then try and add more if needed.

Tips

The vanilla beans get very hard after some time. You can take them and cut them into very small pieces or grind them in a processor or mixer. If you add the ground vanilla beans the sugar will get brownish but more vanilla fragrance will be added.
 When the vanilla beans are hard cut them in small pieces and add them to the ground coffee. Adds some nice vanilla fragrance to the coffee powder.
If you like vanilla pudding add the hard and dry beans to the milk, adds more vanilla taste to the pudding.