DIY Pearl Sugar
Pearl sugar is small white clumps of sugar that don’t dissolve or melt when heated. It’s used to give breads and baked goods sweetness and texture.
I make waffles for my family very often. I use a yeasted waffle recipe, and when I make them, I like to sprinkle the batter with pearl sugar before cooking. While I have found pearl sugar locally in the past at European markets and specialty stores, it is typically difficult to find and expensive.
I tried various DIY methods in the past, one using crushed sugar cubes, and one mixing granulated sugar with very small amounts of water, then re-drying the sugar. Neither method worked for me. With both methods, the sugar “pearls” dissolved into the waffle batter and melted onto my waffle maker. Real pearl sugar does not melt.
Then I came across some videos that used powdered sugar to make homemade pearl sugar. The results looked promising. Both videos used a simple mix of powdered sugar and just a tiny bit of water to make a stiff “dough” (one also added cornstarch). One rolled that dough thin and cut it with a knife. One shredded the dough with a box grater.
I decided to give the powdered sugar method a try, and since the shredding method looked quicker and easier to me, that’s what I went with.
Before even using my homemade pearl sugar, I knew it was much closer to the real thing. The bright white color and the texture were much closer to store-bought pearl sugar than anything I made using granulated sugar. The real test came when I actually made waffles with it, and they were successful. I could still see some pockets of white “pearls” in my finished waffles – the sugar didn’t melt or caramelize like the granulated sugar did.
The big difference between this DIY pearl sugar and real, store-bought pearl sugar was the texture. Even though I was careful to make the shreds very short, they were still quite obviously shreds, not exactly “pearls”. Perhaps next time I will try the cutting method and see if that works better, but in the meantime, this is a very good substitute.
What is pearl sugar?
Pearl sugar is a type of coarse, white sugar that is usually used for topping various baked goods like breads, pastries, and waffles. The sugar provides sweetness, decoration, and crunch. Pearl sugar is not meant to melt or caramelize when used in baking.
How to Make Pearl Sugar
Making pearl sugar requires only powdered sugar and a bit of water. A box grater and a baking sheet (and maybe some parchment or a silicone baking mat) are the only equipment you’ll need.
To make your pearl sugar, simply add a little bit of water to a cup of powdered sugar. This will make just over a cup of pearl sugar. If you want to make more, simply double the recipe. Stir the water into the sugar until a stiff dough forms. Then start kneading the dough until all of the powdered sugar is incorporated. Note that if you can’t get all of the sugar to stick together, you can add a bit more water, only a few drops at a time.
Once you get all of the sugar to form a ball, get your grater out and place it over a parchment or silicone baking mat-lined baking sheet. Begin grating the ball of sugar dough in very short motions. Using long grating motions will make the shreds too long. Continue grating until the ball is gone.
Spread the grated sugar over the baking sheet, and break up and shreds that are too long, if needed. Place the baking sheet in the oven on the proof setting, or with the light on to dry. Drying time will vary based on humidity and climate, but I recommend to start checking it after about 2 hours. Once the sugar is completely dry, transfer it to a jar or airtight container and store it at room temperature indefinitely.
Use your pearl sugar to top breads, waffles, or other baked goods.
Pearl Sugar Ingredients
You only need two very basic ingredients to make homemade pearl sugar:
- Powdered sugar – Canadians might know this as “icing sugar”. Avoid using any other type of sugar here, as the powdered texture and small amount of added cornstarch help the sugar to bind together.
- Water – You don’t need to use any special water here. Cold tap water is fine. Just avoid using too much.
Making flavored Pearl Sugar
You could follow these basic directions and use some additional ingredients to make flavored pearl sugar. Some ideas might include vanilla, orange or lemon zest, or cinnamon. Keep the amounts small to start, and build with more if you think more flavor is needed.
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Pearl Sugar Nutrition Notes
The yield and consequently portion size/number of portions you will get from this recipe will depend a bit on how large your shreds or “pearls” of sugar are. The nutrition information in the recipe below is for an estimated portion size of about 2 teaspoons of pearl sugar, which is roughly how much I would use to make one waffle (one teaspoon per side).
Pearl sugar is gluten-free and vegan, and will essentially only add a small amount of sugar (and calories) to whatever recipe you use it in.
DIY Pearl Sugar
Equipment
Ingredients
Instructions
- Stir together 125 g (1 cups) powdered sugar and 10 g (2 teaspoons) water in a medium bowl with a spatula. When the mixture forms one or more semi-solid clumps or balls, start mixing with your hands.
- Squeeze the clumps together and press them into any remaining loose sugar until you have one solid but dry ball of sugar with no more loose powdered sugar remaining. If you find that your ball is not able to pick up any more of the loose sugar, and there is still lots of dry/crumbly bits of sugar left in the bowl, add a few more drops of water at a time until you are able to incorporate all of the sugar into the ball. Make sure to fully incorporate all of the water you have already added before adding more. If at any point you find that the ball becomes sticky or worse, it begins to run like a liquid, it means you have added too much water. You will need to add more sugar to compensate.
- With all of the sugar pressed into one solid, but dry ball, begin grating it using the large holes of a box grater set over a silicone mat or parchment-lined baking sheet. You want to use very short up and down motions on the grater to make small pieces of sugar, not long shreds. Spread the sugar bits evenly over the baking sheet.
- Place the baking sheet in the oven with the light on or on the proof setting for it to dry. The drying time may vary depending on the weather/climate, but mine was completely dry in about 2 hours (my area is relatively dry). Once the sugar bits are completely dry, transfer them to an airtight container or jar and store at room temperature. Use in Belgian waffles or other baked goods as desired.
Nutrition
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