It's a treat baking sweets, but running out of a crucial recipe ingredient can really gum up the works. Knowing an ingredient 's "equivalent" or substitution can save the day. Many cake and cookie recipes can be adapted by using modern sweeteners if you don't have ingredients called for in vintage cookbooks or grandma's desert recipe. Today, Mom helps cooks in the kitchen with recipe tips on granulated, brown and powdered sugars, honey and molasses.

Granulated Sugar - Most sugar is made from sugar cane or sugar beets. The plants are juiced, the liquid is boiled several times to separate out the molasses and the remaining clear liquid is crystallized into the familiar white granules on our tables. If you don't have 1 cup granulated sugar use 1 cup packed brown sugar OR instead of 1 cup granulated sugar use 2 cups powdered sugar.

You can also substitute sweet syrups for granulated sugars, but you'll need to remove some of the liquid in your recipe to maintain the correct moisture level. If you are baking it helps to add a leavening agent like baking soda. If you don't have the soda and you are not baking, then you can probably leave it out and still be ok. But this may effect texture and cooking times, so keep a closer eye on your creation.

If you don't have 1 cup granulated sugar use 1 cup honey + 1/4 tsp soda and reduce the liquid in the recipe by 1/4 cup. Honey is sweeter than granulated sugar. Or, instead of 1 cup granulated sugar use 1 1/2 cups molasses plus 1/4 tsp baking soda and reduce the liquid in the recipe by 1/4 cup. 1 pound (package) granulated sugar = about 2 1/4 cups granulated sugar.

Powdered Sugar - Superfine or powdered sugar is granulated sugar that has been spun into a powder. Used for a slightly smoother texture especially in frostings and fluffy meringues. When measuring you'll need slightly more powdered to make up for its fine grain. If you don't have 2 cups powdered sugar use 1 cup granulated. 1 pound (package) of powdered sugar = about 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar, unsifted (not packed).

Confectioner's Sugar - Confectioners sugar has been processed past the powdered sugar phase, into an even finer powder. Today the terms are used interchangeably, so check your packaging.

Brown Sugar - Brown sugar or sugar in the raw, has slightly more brown syrup, or molasses than white granulated sugar and is slightly less sweet. As a result, brown sugar has a smokier flavor and darker color. Golden brown sugar has less molasses than dark brown sugar. The two can be used interchangeably, but note the darker sugar will have a richer flavor and color and is generally better if you're cooking pork.

If you don't have brown sugar use granulated sugar instead using the exact same measurements. You can also make brown sugar by combining 1 cup sugar with 1/2 cup molasses, but this may throw off the liquid in your recipe, so be careful using this substitution when baking cakes.

Page 1 of 2 :: First | Last :: Prev | 1 2 | Next