“Finish with a sprinkling of powdered sugar.” How many recipes end like this? Powdered sugar is an ingredient that you should always have in your pantry to garnish desserts with. But that’s not all. It adds sweetness and embellishes preparations. It’s a big part of the festivities. Delicate on biscuits, donuts, brioches, powdered sugar is also useful, for example, to make meringues, cold cakes, and to create royal icing or sugar paste.
Homemade powdered sugar
Easy to find, powdered sugar is just as easy to make at home. All you need is one ingredient, powdered sugar, and a few minutes to grind it with a mixer until you get a powdery texture. After you’ve ground the sugar, if you like, you can add vanilla or the dried peel of an orange or lemon to flavor it. Once ready, use it immediately or, if you’ve made too much, store it in a closed glass container in a dry place.
Powdered sugar with starch
If you have to use powdered sugar to decorate, you should add corn starch so that it becomes more resistant to moisture (otherwise you’ll see it “disappear” as soon as it’s dusted. The quantities are 1 tsp of starch per 16 tsps of sugar. Add the starch even if you have to use powdered sugar to make the sugar paste.