Whats the difference between powdered sugar and confectioners sugar

Unlike granulated sugar, powdered sugar dissolves easily at room temperature, with no real agitation needed. That makes it great for glazes, buttercreams, frostings, icings, mousses—basically anywhere where the mixture won’t be cooked or where a smooth texture with no hint of graininess is especially vital.

Some of our most beloved royal icing and glaze recipes, in fact, are simply a combination of powdered sugar and a small amount of liquid. Sometimes that liquid is milk or cream or buttermilk, other times it’s water or lemon juice or strong coffee or tea. When you whisk these two ingredients together, a marvelously viscous, shiny, pourable glaze forms, aided by the thickening, gelatinizing power of cornstarch, one of two essential ingredients in powdered sugar. (Ever played the Ooblek game and made that mysterious cornstarch-and-water concoction? Well, some genius put all those childish science experiments to use and invented The Glaze. Props.)

Powdered sugar is what brought you the glaze on that lemon pound cake. 

Powdered sugar also comes in handy in no-bake candies (fudge or Buckeyes, for example), where it brings that melt-in-your-mouth sweetness, and you’ll also see in some meringue recipes, where, thanks to the cornstarch, it acts as a stabilizer.

How to make powdered sugar

Now to answer the burning question: Can you make your own powdered sugar if you don't have any lying around? The answer is YES!

To make homemade powdered sugar, you’ll need two ingredients: granulated sugar and cornstarch. The magic ratio is 1 cup granulated sugar to 1 tablespoon cornstarch. Combine the two in a high-powered blender like a Vitamix, a food processor, or spice grinder, then blitz away until you have a soft, powdery consistency—the total time could be several minutes, depending on the power of your machine.

I wouldn’t recommend using a spice grinder to make larger batches of the powdery stuff, as it can get a bit messy, and in most instances where you’ll need several cups, it’s probably worth it to go get yourself a box from the grocery store. But when you only need a few tablespoons for dusting over brownies (yet another great use for the powdered stuff), this trick will save you from an unnecessary trip.

Can you use granulated sugar in place of powdered sugar?

In most cases, no. If you’re making a recipe in which powdered sugar is a vital ingredient (cookie dough, for example), stick with powdered sugar or risk getting a final product that doesn’t meet your expectations. But if you are going to try your hand at substituting, you’re more likely to get decent results if you substitute by weight rather than by volume. (Powdered sugar weighs 113 grams per cup whereas granulated sugar weighs 200 grams.)

One last thing! You can absolutely forego powdered sugar altogether for sweetened whipped cream. I don’t know about you, but my mother always swore by adding powdered sugar to her cream before whipping it. And as is the case with most mothers, she is always right, so I never gave it another thought. Until one day I grew up, started to use all my powers of critical thinking, and realized that there is absolutely no reason granulated sugar doesn’t work just as well when whipping cream. Assuming that you're going to Whip It Good, there’s no chance the granulated sugar will remain undissolved, and therefore will sweeten your cream just as well as powdered. I promise.

So yes: You need it. Sometimes. And yes, you can you forego in some situations. AND you can make it yourself if you have to. Now you have all the answers. So what're you waiting for? Go make those outrageously good Brown Butter Wedding Cookies already!

The cookies in question:

Six-ingredient cookies for people who don't think they can bake cookies.

View Recipe

This article was originally published in 2018 and was updated by Sarah Jampel in 2021.

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What's the difference between confectioners' sugar and table sugar?

Find out why confectioners’ sugar can’t be substituted with other kinds of sugar. - by

What is confectioners’ sugar?

It’s a powdered form of table sugar commonly used in desserts, baked goods, and other sweets. You might also know it as powdered sugar, icing sugar, or 10X sugar.

If you’re new to baking, chances are you haven’t heard of those names before. In that case, you’re in for a treat as confectioners’ sugar is more special than you might think. Read on to find out what makes confectioners’ sugar so unique and why you can’t use other kinds of sugar as substitutes.

RELATED: Brown sugar substitutes

Why use confectioners’ sugar?

Confectioners sugar is a crucial ingredient in all of your favourite treats. Without confectioners’ sugar, the milk icing on your favourite cupcakes wouldn’t be so smooth and creamy. Your cheesecakes wouldn’t have that rich texture! And your beignets just wouldn’t feel complete without that light dusting to really give it that finishing touch.

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Confectioners’ sugar vs table sugar

At first glance, the two sugars aren’t that different from one another. While the crystals that make up confectioners’ sugar are finer than the ones that make up regular sugar, the two kinds are chemically and nutritionally identical. Both kinds of sugar provide the same level of sweetness and contain about 390 calories for every 100 grams. On top of that, the two sugars even carry the same health risks as they’re both made of sucrose.

But, while these sugars are identical in terms of taste and nutritional value, the fineness of confectioners’ sugar makes all the difference in the kitchen. For one, confectioners’ sugar dissolves in liquid much faster than other kinds of sugar, and it’s this quality that makes confectioners’ sugar so important for glazes and frosting. Confectioners’ sugar also helps keep air out of dough and batter as its powdery crystals make it a lot denser than regular sugar.

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The fineness of confectioners’ sugar is also important for food presentation. While a sprinkling of table sugar adds the same level of sweetness on a batch of freshly-baked cookies, the snowy effect from a light dusting of confectioners’ sugar can make them look absolutely divine!

However, even with the unique qualities of confectioners’ sugar, you can use table sugar as a substitute in a pinch. While your pastries might not get the same texture from table sugar, they would be just as sweet. Just remember that you need about half as much table sugar as you need confectioners’ sugar since regular sugar is a lot less dense. And, if you aren’t sure about your conversions, you can always make one-to-one substitutions based on weight.

Confectioners’ sugar vs caster sugar

Like table sugar, confectioners’ sugar is chemically and nutritionally identical to caster sugar as both are just ground versions of regular sugar. However, since caster sugar crystals are somewhere in between table sugar and confectioners’ sugar in terms of size, caster sugar has unique uses in the kitchen.  

For one, it’s used in sweets like meringue that need the dissolvability of confectioners’ sugar and the rough texture of table sugar. Caster sugar is also often used as a sweetener for cocktails and other cold drinks for its dissolvability. 

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Where can I get confectioners’ sugar?

Unlike other special ingredients, you should be able to find confectioners’ sugar in most major stores at around twice the cost of regular sugar. However, if you’re shopping at your local Coles or Woolworths, you need to look for icing sugar instead as Australian brands prefer to use that name.   

That said, if you’re looking to cut costs, you can easily make confectioners’ sugar at home by grounding table sugar into a fine powder using a food processor or other similar machines. For decorative purposes, your homemade confectioners’ sugar should be just as effective as the commercial kind. But, if you’re following a recipe, you might want to add a bit of cornstarch as the recipe might need the tiny bit of cornstarch found in store-bought confectioners’ sugar.

RELATED: How to find the hidden sugars in food labels

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