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Powdered Unrefined Sugar

October 10, 2011 by KimiHarris 21 Comments

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Thanks for stopping by! If you're interested in healthy eating check out my free gifts! and subscribe to get regular email updates. *Some links may be affiliate.*

Powdered Unrefined Sugar compared to unrefined sugar straight from the package

I know that I promised to share my simple chocolate buttercream frosting today, but I realized I needed to share one simple technique first; powdering unrefined sugar.

For anyone who has bought either whole cane sugar such as rapadura or sucanat, or a palm or coconut sugar, you will know that it can be rough and coarsely ground.  When made into cakes or cookies, it melts invitingly into the dough, but in other cases, it can form a gritty consistency and a need for a finer grind is evident.

And that need is certainly true for a simple buttercream.

Thankfully it only takes about 1 minute to take that gritty rough sugar and make it into a fine grind sugar. You will quickly find that there are many instances when a fine grind sugar is better than a coarsely ground.

Directions for Making Powdered Unrefined Sugar

While some people have had good success using a food processor, I’ve had the best success using a blender. Another option would be a “spice” coffee grinder.

Dump 1 to 2 cups (or a smaller amount, depending on how much you want to make) into blender. Turn on high and blend until powdered. It should like like this when done.

And that’s it!

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KimiHarris

I love beautiful and simple food that is nourishing to the body and the soul. I wrote Fresh: Nourishing Salads for All Seasons and Ladled: Nourishing Soups for All Seasons as another outlet of sharing this love of mine. I also love sharing practical tips on how to make a real food diet work on a real life budget. Find me online elsewhere by clicking on the icons below!

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Filed Under: Dairy Free, Desserts, Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Previous Post: « Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes (Gluten and Dairy Free)
Next Post: Simple Chocolate Buttercream (using unrefined sweeteners) »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Holly

    October 10, 2011 at 12:15 pm

    I’ve tried this in my vitamix and had mixed results. Is there a magic amount of sugar? Or could you powder sugar in a flour mill like a Blendtec?

    Reply
    • Dea

      October 10, 2011 at 7:57 pm

      I use my food processor and that seem to do the trick.

      Reply
  2. Lisa @ Happy in Dole Valley

    October 10, 2011 at 1:09 pm

    I’ve been using the same method (blender) with great success! Looking forward to that chocolate buttercream frosting recipe… 🙂 ~Lisa

    Reply
  3. Heidi

    October 10, 2011 at 2:42 pm

    I read years ago about this and it was recommended to add corn starch to the sugar to prevent caking or something. I have always added arrowroot powder instead. I’ve also found that if I do around 2 cups of sucanat or crystalized cane juice and 2 tbsp. of arrowroot in my Vitamix, it turns out pretty good. I don’t put it at full speed or it “bakes” hard in the bottom from the heat. I’ve found that you want the right amount and speed so that the sugar keeps funneling down the middle.

    Reply
    • kelly

      October 10, 2011 at 7:55 pm

      Thanks for the tip. I had the same “baking” at the bottom. =0)

      Reply
  4. Bonnie

    October 10, 2011 at 3:03 pm

    Is there as a substitute for refined brown sugar?

    Reply
    • Heidi

      October 10, 2011 at 4:40 pm

      Anytime I have something that calls for brown sugar, I either use just sucanat, or I use crystalized cane juice with a bit of molasses.

      Reply
      • Meagan

        October 10, 2011 at 7:13 pm

        Brown sugar is simply refined white sugar with the molasses added back in. You could blend sucanat or palm sugar into a powder and just add molasses in small quantities, mixing well, until the desired “browness” is acheived. Many people don’t know this is how you make brown sugar – but it’s true. I work in a bakery and this is how we do it.

        Reply
        • Rachel J

          October 11, 2011 at 9:14 am

          Sucanat hasn’t had the molasses removed, hence it’s brown color and stronger flavor, so I’m guessing you wouldn’t want or need to add any additional molasses to it. Unless of course you’re making gingerbread or some other wonderful fall treat.

          Reply
  5. Toni

    October 10, 2011 at 3:35 pm

    Hmmm, I like the idea of using the coffee grinder especially in chocolate frosting if there is any coffee residue left.

    Reply
  6. Candi

    October 10, 2011 at 4:24 pm

    I have been wondering this for the last few months. I need to make frosting, but like the thickness of powdered sugar, but not using refined sugar. Thanks for this. Just in time.

    Reply
  7. Deion

    October 10, 2011 at 7:46 pm

    I used my spice grinder and it works great.

    Reply
  8. Laura

    October 11, 2011 at 2:35 am

    I haven’t tried unrefined sugar because of health issues, but I did try a half and half blend of finely ground rice flour/corn starch combination with a bit of powdered stevia extract to dust my homemade marshmallows and chocolate mocha cake. This turned out pretty well, though I think I will try potato starch instead of the rice flour. In any case, I used the same mixture to make a frosting with coconut oil and it blended well. Just don’t take it outside on a warm day! 🙂

    Reply
    • Nina

      October 13, 2011 at 3:40 pm

      I toss my marshmallows in arrowroot. My chocolate ones get tossed in arrowroot and cocoa!

      Reply
  9. Olivia

    October 11, 2011 at 4:47 am

    Thank you so much for this! I am eliminating processed sugar from my diet and was wondering about this very questions just yesterday!

    Reply
  10. Angel7

    October 11, 2011 at 9:20 am

    Thank you for bringing this to my attention! I would not have thought to do that. I use rapadura, and it is coarse.

    http://faithfulsolutions.blogspot.com/

    Reply
  11. Katie

    October 11, 2011 at 10:30 am

    I do the same thing in my blender! 🙂

    Reply
  12. Saundra

    October 11, 2011 at 8:35 pm

    What’s the difference between succanet and refined sugar. Jaggery is pure cane juice that has been boiled and left in big chunks or crushed into smaller pellets and called sucanat. Sucanat still has the full content of the cane juice. Refined sugar removes the brown color (molasses?) from cane sugar through some artificial process to make it white. How do they go about accomplishing this? And how do they get the succanet (jaggery crushed into smaller pieces) into tiny little pellets. Is the jaggery simply crushed and made into tiny pellets and sold as sucanat? Sucanat does not smell as strong as jaggery so I’m thinking it’s boiled down, further, and it would be beter to purchase the totally unrefined jaggery and put it through a grinder yourself! I’m not clear on all this.

    Saundra

    Reply
  13. Judy@Savoring Today

    October 12, 2011 at 4:20 am

    A mortar and pestle can achieve extra fine results, though it may be a little more time consuming it could be worth it depending on how delicate the desert texture needs to be.

    Reply
  14. Annette

    October 12, 2011 at 6:11 am

    I’ve been making powdered sugar in my coffee grinder with coconut sugar for a while now. I’ve only used it on popcorn though. My kids love “carmel corn”. Basically coconut oil, powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Looking forward to trying your frosting recipe.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Simple Chocolate Buttercream (using unrefined sweeteners) says:
    October 11, 2011 at 9:40 am

    […] fed is best for health and it tastes amazing too) 1/3 cup of cocoa powder, not dutch 3/4 cup of powdered unrefined sugar Dash of unrefined salt 1 teaspoon […]

    Reply

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