There is nothing quite like the experience of biting into a soft, melt-in-your-mouth cupcake, with a scrumptious lava of creamy buttercream frosting on top 🙂
But, what if your dream of perfect homemade frosting turns into frosting frustration, upon realizing you are out of confectioners’ sugar? Since I have been asked this question before, I thought I should write a short post on the topic of confectioners’ sugar aka icing sugar aka powdered sugar, and how you can make it at home.
Growing up, I saw my mom use confectioners’ sugar in recipes all the time, but she never bought this sugar from the grocery store because there was none available, to begin with. She would make it at home, instead, by placing granulated sugar in a coffee grinder, and grinding it to a fine powder. This was one of the things which made this experience wonderful: she didn’t have upscale kitchen equipment, but she didn’t need any. A coffee grinder, some granulated sugar, a few minutes of patience while the granules turned into powder – that was all 🙂
In the US, the confectioners’ sugar you find at the grocery store is made of granulated sugar ground into powder and mixed with cornstarch, which acts as an anti-caking agent. Unless clearly indicated on the packaging, this cornstarch is made out of GMO corn (as per the US Food and Drug Administration, in 2020, 92% of all of the corn planted in the US was GMO corn) If GMO crops are of concern to you, making powdered sugar at home, using a coffee grinder or a powerful blender, may be the way to go.
Without cornstarch in it, homemade confectioners’ sugar must be used quickly to avoid clumping. I only make a small quantity at a time, and I use it in the recipe immediately. If you want to make confectioners’ sugar and store it for longer periods, then you would have to use cornstarch – but in this case you can opt for non-GMO cornstarch, if you so wish.Â
As for the granulated sugar to use, I recommend you check the labels and go for non-GMO varieties, too, if you so wish. My favorite is Zulka, a non-GMO certified vegan sugar I wrote about before.
I have never made confectioners’ sugar with cornstarch (to store for longer), but my research indicates that the ratio is 1 cup granulated sugar to 1 tablespoon cornstarch, mixed together in a coffee grinder or a powerful blender, and turned into a fine powder.Â
According to my research, the best way to store homemade confectioners’ sugar is in an air-tight container at room temperature, away from light and moisture.
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