Homemade Powdered coconut sugar

Powdered Coconut Sugar is easy to make at home and can be used to replace conventional icing sugar which is made from white cane sugar.

First, below is information on coconut sugar and why I choose for it to be the primary sweetener in our home.

What is coconut sugar and how is it made?

Coconut sugar comes from the sap of the coconut palm tree. The large leaf of the coconut palm tree is cut which allows the sap to be drained out and collected. To try ensure farmers get enough sap, they climb the coconut tree twice a day. The coconut palm tree sap is a milky colour and is heated in a large wok – this is where it turns its characteristic brown colour. Eventually, once most of the water is evaporated, a sugar block remains. Finally, this sugar block is ground down to make coconut sugar¹.

What are the other names for coconut sugar?

Alternative names for coconut sugar is¹:

• coconut palm sugar
• coco sap sugar
• coco sugar
• coconut blossom sugar
• red sugar
• javanese sugar
• malacca sugar or gula melaka

Which is healthier: coconut sugar or cane sugar?

Coconut sugar has similar properties to brown cane sugar. In comparison to brown cane sugar, white cane sugar undergoes processing to remove the molasses present in brown cane sugar. Molasses gives brown cane sugar its characteristic brown colour.

Coconut trees can be treated with pesticides and the amount of pesticides used by farmers is not regulated. Researchers have found traces of chemicals in branded coconut water². Under these circumstances, buying organic coconut products is important to reduce your exposure to hormone disrupting chemicals.

The Glycaemic Index is a measure of how quickly the sugar in food increases your blood glucose levels. The lower a food’s glycaemic index, the slower blood sugar rises after eating that food. To summarise, the more processed a food is, the higher its GI. In comparison, the more fibre or fat in a food, the lower it’s GI³. The glycaemic index of coconut sugar equals to 35, which classifies it as a low GI food⁴. The glycaemic index of conventional sugar is 100, which classifies it as a high GI food⁵.

For the reasons set out above, I use organic coconut sugar in my recipes and hot drinks as an alternative to brown cane sugar.

What is the substitution ratio between coconut sugar and conventional sugar?

The substitution ratio for coconut sugar in recipes that call for conventional cane sugar is 1:1. Coconut sugar has a caramel taste and will give your baked goods a caramel colour. Given the distinctive taste and flavour of coconut sugar, its useful to keep in mind that it can take time to get used to the caramel flavour of coconut sugar in your hot drinks and baked goods.

Powdered Coconut Sugar Video

Here is a step-by-step video showing and explaining how to make powdered coconut sugar.

Powdered Coconut Sugar Recipe

The only ingredient you will need is organic coconut sugar.

How to make powdered coconut sugar

1. Add 2 cups of coconut sugar to a blender.

2. Next, blend the coconut sugar for 2 minutes. To get the coconut sugar as fine as possible, blend the coconut sugar at three speeds. I suggest blending at a low speed for 30 seconds, at medium speed for 1 minute and then at high speed for the final 30 seconds.

Please note: To prevent a light dusting of powdered coconut sugar on your work surface, avoid opening the blender for at least 10 minutes once blending has finished.

Tips for making powdered coconut sugar

1. Avoid opening the blender too early. If you do, you will see a mist of coconut icing sugar envelop you and your work area. For this reason, I advise to waiting at least 10 minutes before opening the blender lid. In the event you open the blender too early, you will see a fine mist of coconut icing sugar as pictured below.

2. The colour of the coconut sugar icing will be brown and have a distinctive caramel taste. Due to its distinctive brown colour, applying food colouring to your icing may not result in the desired colour. Therefore, as an alternative to food colouring, I prefer using garnishes. For example: lemon zest, nuts, chocolate etc can be used to decorate your baked treats.

3. To empty out the blender, use a spatula. You will then be able to get into the corners of the lid and scrape down the sides of the blender. Consequently, the amount of powdered sugar that is wasted will be reduced.

4. Use a glass jar that you already have to store the powdered sugar. There is no need to purchase a separate glass jar. Even if the jar is not air tight, it will only result in the powdered sugar getting hard. As a result of this, the powdered sugar will need to be sifted before being used.

Tools you may need:

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Coconut sugar

Blender – I use a high speed blender to ensure the sugar gets fine enough to become icing sugar. This is the reason why I recommend using the Ninja blender.

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References

1 – This YouTube video explains how coconut sugar is made

2 – The organic centre – Research into coconut water

3 – Explanation of Glycaemic Index

4 – Coconut sugar Glycaemic Index

5 – Conventional sugar Glycaemic Index