In a pinch, you can make your own powdered sugar in seconds. Simply blend sugar and cornstarch in a blender.
Powdered sugar doesn’t have to be store bought.
Did you know this? How many times have you searched your pantry for powdered sugar only to come up empty? This seems to be the constant story of my life because this happened to me yesterday.
I wanted to make a glaze for a brunch-y type recipe (one that I’m hopefully sharing with you very soon) and when I went for the powdered sugar, my Oxo container I store it in was completely empty.
Vaguely I recalled hearing that you can put sugar and cornstarch into a food processor (or high-powered blender) and whir it until the sugar becomes powdery. So I decided I would give it a go. Worse case scenario: I’d have to run out the store. Best case scenario? I never have to buy powdered sugar again.
As you can obviously see I was able to stay in my comfy clothes because, just like magic, it worked.
The recipe I was making didn’t call for a ton of powdered sugar so I only measured a cup of sugar. I use pure cane sugar, so that’s why it’s golden in color. Either types of sugar, pure cane or granulated, will of course work.
Add the sugar and cornstarch to a high speed blender.
Using my Vitamix blender made it easy. This is not a plug, I honestly like to use it because a) I love it.. and b) I wanted to avoid pulling out my food processor. Its high speed makes it quick and super simple.
What’s the Sugar to Cornstarch Ratio?
When making homemade powdered sugar, you will need 1 tablespoon cornstarch for every 1 cup sugar.
Once my lid was on, I started up my high-powered blender and slowly increased the speed until… poof! It started turning white. You guys, I had no idea that it would work this fast. I know, I know but really! I had to stop midway to snap a picture.
In seconds (literally) I had made homemade powdered sugar.
Then I poured it into my favorite air-tight container and stored the powdered sugar until I was ready to use it.
Tips:
- Use a high-speed blender or food processor to ensure you get a fine powder.
- I’ve only tried this with pure cane sugar and can only assume it can be done with granulated white sugar.
- In my experience, 1 cup pure cane sugar equaled a little over a cup of powdered.
Click Here For More Homemade Ingredients.
How To Make Powdered Sugar at Home
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar, raw or granulated
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
Instructions
- Place the sugar and cornstarch in a high-speed blender and process on high until light and powdery. About 30 seconds.
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Hi Laurie, I am new to your blog. I was wondering which series of the Vitamix blender you use and like and where is the best place to buy one? I searched your blog but couldn’t find any links etc. on your preference or where you’d recommend purchasing one. Next month I am doing some shopping so I will definitely be ordering your cookbook too! Thanks 🙂
Hi Diana! Nice to meet you! I have the Vitamix G series (I put an affiliate link in my post of the exact one for easy finding -Thanks for pointing that out!). It has a larger carafe for blending soups that I absolutely love! I hope this helps and that you enjoy the book! And please let me know if you have any other questions! <3
Who knew! Great idea!
Thanks for the tip!
I know right? So easy!!
I used to do this all the time when we lived in Romania. I used our coffee grinder! The powdered sugar I could buy at the store was really gritty (and also… sometimes I didn’t feel like going to the store just for one thing!). My coffee grinder worked great! I just had to be sure I washed it up before my husband came along and wanted to make his coffee 🙂
Speaking of when I lived in Romania: way back when I was a kid (and Laurie please keep in mind I am but a few months older than you), my grandma taught me to make powdered sugar by using what is now referred to as a “heavy antique solid brass mortar and pestle”, on regular sugar. Then we would run it through a thin sieve and the leftovers were rerun through the mortar. Gosh, does sharing this make me feel antique:))
Lol, I did this exact same thing 2 weeks ago when I needed powdered sugar for cream cheese frosting but couldn’t find any in the house!! My only suggestion is to use a little bit less homemade powdered sugar in your recipe (or taste before adding it all in) since I found mine to be super sweet in the same quantity the recipe indicated for powdered sugar.
This is awesome. I had no idea!
Did you use a dry container with your vitamix? I have one for grinding flower and one for liquid. This isn’t doing any heave grinding so I am wondering if it makes any difference.
Hi Deborah, I did not use one for making powdered sugar. I have yet to grind my own flours, so I would consider getting one when the time comes. Hope that helps! 🙂
Did you use a dry container with your vitamix? I have one for grinding flour and one for liquid. This isn’t doing any heave grinding so I am wondering if it makes any difference.
Sorry about that first post, I haven’t had my coffee yet. I suppose that technically you could grind flowers with a vitamix but I can’t see the reason to do so.
Please excuse the spelling error, I just got up.