I need help! I had a client ask for Mexican Vanilla cupcakes and I don't know what that is. Does anybody have a recipe they could share? Thanks!

I love mexican vanilla but would assume that kind of cupcake just uses mexican vanilla instead of the vanilla you can find here. it has a distinct taste that is so yummy.

I purchased a bottle after my daughters culinary teacher at school told her that she liked using Mexican vanilla instead of real vanilla. To me it smells and tastes like imitation vanilla and costs about 2.50 here in CA. I stopped using Mexican vanilla after I heard that it could cause health problems. I didn't want to take a chance. http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Healthday/story?id=6157423&page=1#.T7nZ0MWO58E

Thanks for your help!

mexican vanilla is basically pure vanilla extract with 2x the vanilla bean. so for a recipe that calls for mexican vanila, just use 2x pure vanilla... not imitation.

There is nothing unsafe about REAL Mexican extract. What you need to avoid is the clear stuff that is sold for very cheap or be sure it is labelled coumarin-free. The clear Mexican vanilla is not genuine vanilla. Real Mexican Vanilla is wonderful with smoky flavor.

There is nothing unsafe about REAL Mexican extract. What you need to avoid is the clear stuff that is sold for very cheap or be sure it is labelled coumarin-free. The clear Mexican vanilla is not genuine vanilla. Real Mexican Vanilla is wonderful with smoky flavor.

I agree. Vanilla for 2.50 a bottle is not pure vanilla. 2X the amount of imitation vanilla would work fine.

My mother-in-law thinks that stuff is the bees knees. She always boasts about the cheap liter bottle of clear vanilla that her friends bring her back from their annual trip to Mexico every year. She nearly had a coronary when I finally had to break the news to her that her beloved secret ingredient was not real vanilla. I didn't want to be mean about it but she bakes up a ton of goodies and feeds them to my kids on the regular and I wasn't convinced that her "vanilla" is coumarin-free. Coumarin has blood-thinning properties. I'm not sure how much of it would be needed to have an effect but when it comes to my little ones I just don't want to risk it.
If you like the flavor of the imitation Mexican vanilla, you can buy it here in the States and it is inspected and coumarin-free. It has a very distinct smell and taste.

True Mexican vanilla is not cheap. If you have a Penzey's nearby, you must go! They have both Mexican and Madagascar extracts and beans. Also, their cinnamon collection is out of this world!