# Has anyone tried this?



## cathy stapleton (Sep 28, 2005)

Yesterday, I needed to frost a Mother's Day cake but discovered that I didn't have enough icing sugar to complete the job. So I put some granulated white sugar into my coffee grinder and ground it up finer. It worked OK - it was a little bit grainier than the real thing - but it did work.

It wound up being a teeny bit coffee flavour, but that actually went quite well with the chocolate cake it was spread on. :lol: 

Has anyone else ever tried this? And has anyone got any better recommendations for an icing sugar substitute?


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## mikeb (Jun 29, 2004)

Haven't tried it, but not surprised it worked out OK. Icing sugar is really nothing more than extra-fine ground sugar with a tough of cornstarch added... Personally I like covering chocolate cakes with ganache instead of icing, but that's just my opinion.


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## cathy stapleton (Sep 28, 2005)

I kind of wondered if they mixed something else in with the sugar when they made icing sugar. It tasted sweeter than regular icing sugar, and my cream cheese icing was a bit runnier than usual. I guess the cornstarch helps the icing to set up a bit.

I'll have to try the ganache idea some day. I've never made ganache, but it sounds good.


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## crazytatt (Mar 5, 2006)

Nesescity is the mother of invention. Sounds like you made caster sugar. Neat bounus with the cofee infusion 

Ganache is a good way to cover cakes, and is super easy. Ganache is just equal parts by wieght, good chocolate, and heavy cream. Heat over a double boiler, add a little buter for sheen, and viola, you got ganache. All you have to do is let it cool a little and pour over the cake, doesn't get much easier then that.


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## panini (Jul 28, 2001)

I kind of wondered if they mixed something else in with the sugar when they made icing sugar. It tasted sweeter than regular icing sugar, and my cream cheese icing was a bit runnier than usual. I guess the cornstarch helps the icing to set up a bit.

Cathy,
The cornstarch is use to make sure ths powdered sugar does not clump up.
I will have little effect on your prepared product. Chilling might help with the runnyness. Remember that sugar melts in refridgeration, so dumping Xsugar to tighten up that icing will make it softer in the end if it goes into the cooler.Your butter is what will make it set.
I would always sift Xsugar before use.
pan


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## auzzi (Dec 13, 2004)

Whizzing granulated sugar in a processor or blender will do as an emergency substitute, but not to use all the time. Powdered sugar is pulverized uniformly - the kitchen processing of the crystals won't provided the same regularity: some won't be as powdered as others...smoothness etc relies on the quality of the crystals....

Your "product" is sweeter because it does not have all the other junk that comes with the commercial product: up to 5% of what you buy contains 3%-5% starch with or without a host of other additives [mostly anti-caking agents]. 5% seems to be the maximum.

Take your pick: they are used singly or as a combination, with or without the starch
calcium phosphate [Monocalcium phosphate]
Calcium phosphate tribasic [Tricalcium phosphate]
Magnesium carbonate
Magnesium hydroxide carbonate
Silicon dioxide, amorphous [dehydrated silica gel]
Calcium silicate
Magnesium trisilicate
Sodium aluminosilicate
Calcium aluminosilicate
Bentonite
magnesium stearate 
sodium calcium alumino-silicate

and I'm sure there are others......


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## mezzaluna (Aug 29, 2000)

Oh, yum...


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## cathy stapleton (Sep 28, 2005)

I'm with you. With all those ingredients in it, maybe it's better to grind granulated sugar into powder and make your own confectioner's sugar.

Is there anything added to granulated sugar?


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## auzzi (Dec 13, 2004)

Most white refined cane sugar has a polarization (or, optically measured purity) of from about 99.40% to 9.99%. 

There are lots of scientific papers around detailing the process but few mention any impurities by name. The remaining %% appears to be stuff left over from the refining process eg ash...


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## junkhead (May 22, 2006)

Thats actually sounds pretty tasty with the little coffee kick to it. Gives me an idea.


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## mannlicher (Jan 8, 2006)

For many years, I have been putting regular granulated sugar in the Cuisinart, and giving it a good whirl. This winds up pretty much like what the Brits call 'Castor Sugar', and is exellent for icings. I don't cook commercially any more, but this works fine at home.


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## bubbamom (Jan 30, 2002)

I use this method every year at Christmas time when making my favorite cookie recipe which calls for pulverizing a vanilla bean and mixing with powder sugar. The hot cookies are then carefully rolled in the vanilla powder sugar.

Found the easiest method was to cut the vanilla bean into two or three pieces and put it, along with regular granular sugar in my blender. A few minutes of blending later, powdered sugar blended with pulverized vanilla bean. :lips:


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## ed buchanan (May 29, 2006)

Try adding a little cornstarch to the sugar the next time, as it gives almost the same consistancy as 10x. If you left your cake around for a while useing gran sugar would make the icing tend to weep or throw liquid. This is sometime caused by humidity in the air or a damp fridge.
But in a pinch it is done in the business, simular to putting kasha(groats) in a food processor when you dont have wholewheat flour . :crazy: chef ed


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