You probably reach for this all the time in baking, but do you really know exactly what brown sugar is?
Is there anyway you can create your own substitute for brown sugar?
What if you do not have any brown sugar? What if the recipe calls for dark and you have only light? Will that recipe change or will your baked goods taste differently if you use light versus dark brown sugar?
Sugar Cane
Did you know brown sugar comes from sugar cane or sugar beets? They’re cut and squeezed for their juice, which is boiled until it thickens to molasses. Sugar crystals settle out of this mixture. Those crystals are stripped of the molasses through centrifuging and drying. White sugar is the result of this process.
What does that mean for you when you do not have the type of sugar you need? It means you can make your own light or dark at home if you need to. How do you do that?
For light brown sugar use one tablespoon of molasses for every cup of regular granulated white sugar. You will need to mix this thoroughly before you add it to the rest of your ingredients. We recommend using a lighter molasses for lighter result. You can always smell or taste to see if it reminds you of what you need.
If your recipe calls for dark, you will need about two tablespoons of molasses for each cup of regular white sugar. Again, it is a good idea to taste before adding it to your ingredients.
One way to get the final result mixed equally is to put everything in your favorite mixer and combine until it looks like you think it should. There should be no dark streaks. It really should look like the brown sugar you normally use.
If you want to know more about sweet ingredients check out how we use vanilla beans in our recipes.