From scratch · Seasonings and stand-ins · A stand-in
Powdered sugar
Granulated sugar and a spoonful of cornstarch, ground fine in a blender.
✋ 5 min hands-on
⏱ 5 min start to finish
🍽 About 1¾ cups.
Ingredients
- 200 g granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
Time
Hands-on time is when you’re busy; the rest is rising, simmering, chilling or cooling, when you can do something else.
| Step | Hands-on | Waiting |
|---|---|---|
| Blend | 5 min | – |
| In all | 5 min | 0 min |
How long it keeps
- Pantry: airtight, like any sugar (NDSU gives sugars 18 to 24 months).
Nutrition
Estimated from the ingredients’ USDA FoodData Central numbers.
Steps
You’ll need: blender or clean spice grinder.
- Blend the sugar and cornstarch on high 1 to 2 minutes, until fine as flour.
- Let the dust settle a minute before you open the lid. Sift before using in frosting.
⚖️ ScalingStore powdered sugar has 2 to 5% starch to keep it from caking (Wikipedia); a tablespoon per cup of sugar is about 4%. It comes out a little less fine than store powdered sugar.
Good to knowFor whipped cream and dusting, granulated sugar ground alone works too.
Sources
- Powdered sugar, Wikipedia. Accessed 2026-10-25.
- Food Storage Guide (FN579), NDSU Extension, reviewed January 2023. Accessed 2026-10-25.