You’ve seen it called for in baking recipes. But what is it anyway? And is it any different than powdered sugar or icing sugar? We get to the bottom of things.
What Is Confectioners' Sugar?
Confectioners' sugar is regular granulated white sugar that’s pulverised to a powder so fine it’s basically sugar dust. On its own, this powder will draw water from the air and clump, so cornstarch is added to prevent this (but don’t worry, you won’t taste it). If you pop plain powdered sugar into your mouth, it will feel dry and then melt away on your tongue, leaving a sweet flavour.
What Is Powdered Sugar?
Powdered sugar is just another name for confectioners’ sugar. The name “powdered sugar” is based on its physical, powder-like appearance; the name “confectioners’ sugar” is based on how it’s used (by sweet makers). And to make things even more confusing, confectioners’ sugar has two other names.
In the UK and the countries that are members of the Commonwealth, confectioners’ sugar is called icing sugar because one of its main uses is for making icing and frosting.
It also goes by 10X sugar. For granulated sugar to become pulverised to the point where it becomes confectioners’, it is milled multiple times. Some say the 10 refers to the number of times it’s milled. Some say it refers to the size of the sifting screen it passes through to be just the right size powder.
When to Use Confectioners’ Sugar
You should use confectioners’ sugar when you want a sugar that will dissolve immediately and never be grainy, no matter what it’s going into. The most popular recipes where that is important are American buttercream, royal icing and whipped cream. In buttercream frosting, the sugar blends perfectly with the butter, smooth as silk. In royal icing, it dissolves into the egg white. In whipped cream, it dissolves in the cream.
How to Use Confectioners’ Sugar
To measure confectioners’ sugar, spoon it into a dry measuring cup and then level it off with the back of a knife.
When a recipe calls for dusting with powdered sugar, place it in a very fine strainer and shake it over the cake or cookies that need the dusting. Alternatively, you can put it in a container like a cinnamon-sugar shaker for easy dusting. Just make sure you dust a dessert with powdered sugar right before serving otherwise it’ll absorb moisture and disappear (remember, powdered sugar attracts moisture).
