This is important, so pay attention – did you know that you can take white sugar, and make it into brown sugar? As in, start with white caster sugar, and make light or dark muscavado sugar? I know it sounds like witchcraft, but believe me, it’s real!
I’d had a vague idea for a while that it was possible to make brown sugar but it seemed so mysterious and possibly complicated that I put it to the back of my mind. Why did no one tell me how easy it is?! EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT THIS!
And you just need three things – white sugar, treacle, and a stand mixer or electric whisk. It’s super quick to do – I recently realised a recipe I was making called for light brown (light muscavado) sugar, so I whipped some up first.
And the best thing? Freshly made brown sugar is amazing. It’s so moist and creamy – it’s almost like cookie dough or cake batter before any other ingredients are added to it! It really takes your baking up a notch – give it a go!
Here’s what to do.
Pour 1kg white or golden caster sugar into the bowl of your stand mixer. Next, decant 1 large heaped tbsp of treacle into a mug and boil the kettle. Pour about 1-2 tbsp boiling water in with the treacle, and mix until it’s thinned out to a runny consistency. (This will make lighter brown sugar – for very dark (like dark muscavado sugar), add another tbsp of treacle.
With the mixer running, pour the treacle into the sugar, and let the sugar and treacle mixture combine for 5 minutes. If you’re a super efficient kitchen genius, you would probably make a half batch light brown and a half batch dark brown sugar. Impressive.
Store your brown sugar in an airtight container or bag. Try not to eat it direct from the bag. I know this sounds crazy – but trust me, homemade brown sugar is amazingly flavourful, and does taste almost like cookie dough just on it’s own!
x Kerry
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Love, love, LOVE that! Thanks so much it’s really useful. Can’t wait to try it out. x
Thanks Emma! I couldn’t believe more people don’t know about it!
Well who would have thought it! Seems obvious now you’ve pointed it out… I very often just substitute with white sugar where recipe needs dark, but this doesn’t make for best results I’m sure!
Great Tip! ANd if making a cake… you nearly always cream butter and sugar first, so this is just a little prelim step! Easy ;)Thanks
Using light or dark brown sugar makes SUCH a difference in my experience. Esp in brownies – oh my god!
Thank you! I really didn’t know that, and I’ve always got treacle in my cupboard. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve had to pop out to get brown sugar because I only have white. I may just have to give this a go today.
Exactly – treacle keeps forever and you’ll never have to get emergency brown sugar again! Plus I can’t describe how much BETTER it is than store bought !