What Is Sugar, superfine and How Can I Use It?

If sugar, superfine has turned up in a recipe or caught your eye at the store, here's what you need to use it with confidence and how to choose it, cook it, store it, what to substitute, and 172 recipes to try it in.

What is sugar, superfine?

Superfine sugar is granulated sugar milled to a smaller crystal, sized between regular table sugar and powdered sugar. In Britain and Australia it goes by caster (or castor) sugar, and the two names mean the same thing.

The fine crystals dissolve almost on contact, which is the whole point. They blend into cold drinks and whipped egg whites without the gritty undissolved specks coarse sugar can leave behind.

It is not powdered sugar. Powdered sugar is ground to a flour-like dust and cut with cornstarch to keep it from caking, so it clouds liquids and behaves differently in baking. Superfine has no starch and stays a true crystal, just a small one.

When to Reach for It

Use it anywhere grit would show or where speed of dissolving matters. It is the standard sugar for meringues, where it folds into the egg whites fast enough to keep the foam stable, as in this Feather Light Angel Food Cake.

Delicate cakes benefit too, since the small crystals cream evenly and give a finer crumb. Cold mixing is the other natural fit: it sweetens iced tea and cocktails without the syrupy bottom layer, and it dissolves cleanly into a cool caramel cream like the one in Brandy Snaps.

No superfine on hand? Pulse regular granulated in a food processor for a few seconds until the crystals shrink, then let the dust settle before you open the lid. Stop early; run it too long and you drift toward powdered sugar.

For how sugar creams and stores in general, see sugar.

Nutrition

Quick facts

Where to find sugar, superfine: Sugar, superfine is usually found in the baking supplies section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.

Food group: Sugar, superfine is a member of the Sweets US Department of Agriculture nutritional food group.

In Chinese

糖，超细

British (UK) term

Sugar, superfine

en français

sucre semoule

en español

azúcar superfino

How much does sugar, superfine weigh?

Related

Sweets

Recipes using sugar, superfine

There are 172 recipes that contain this ingredient.

Buttermilk Waffles with Raspberry Sauce

Buttermilk waffles with raspberry sauce trade syrup for a bright purple-red puree spiked with orange zest. The tang of buttermilk and lift from baking powder give crisp-edged waffles a fluffy interior.

Reduced-Fat Apple Muffins

This apple muffins are rich in fibire and low-fat, they are fit for all!

Chocolate Mousse Tart with Gumleaf Cream & Wild Rosella Confit

A chocolate mousse tart with cream made from gumleaf and served with a side of rosella confit.

Chocolate Mousse Tart with Gumleaf Cream & Wild Rosella Confit

A chocolate mousse tart with cream made from gumleaf and served with a side of rosella confit.

Buttery Orange Biscuits

Buttery orange shortbread biscuits with custard powder and fresh orange zest. British-style melting moments with crisp edges and tender, crumbly centers.

Dark & Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies

Always welcomed! Very classical chocolate chip cookies!

Chewy-centred Chocolate Chip Cookies

Crispy at the edges and chewy in the middle. For those days when you feel like having a chewy cookie for a change.

Sesame Mini-Loaf

Soft sesame-topped mini bread loaves made from scratch with yeast dough. These individual rolls are perfect for breakfast or sandwiches.

Breakfast Ricotta Pancakes

Ricotta pancakes whisk creamy ricotta into a simple self-rising flour batter for tender, moist, custardy pancakes. A quick breakfast stack that's lovely with fresh berries, syrup, or a spoon of cream.

Breakfast Scotch Pancakes

Scotch pancakes are small, thick griddle cakes leavened with cream of tartar and baking soda for an old-fashioned tangy lift. Cook on a hot griddle, serve warm with berries and syrup.

Very Chocolaty Brownies

These brownies are nice for kids, they always love chocolate flavour!

Coconut Angel Food Cake

Coconut angel food cake folds shredded coconut into a fat-free egg-white batter, then frosts the cooled tube cake in seven-minute orange frosting and toasted coconut.

Berry Yoghurt Ice Cream

This ice cream is my favorite one, I always use low-fat yogurt, sometimes mixing more kinds of berries, very tasty and healthy!

Yummy Honey Pancakes

Honey pancakes cook thick, fluffy pancakes inside crumpet rings, drizzled with warmed honey and topped with fresh fruit. British-style tea-time pancake ready in 30 minutes.

Chorizo & Black Olive Pizza

Recipe made by the ambassador for Olives from Spain José Pizarro. Spain is the largest producer of olives in the world. The four main varieties of Spanish table olive available from major supermarkets in the UK are: Manzanilla, Gordal, Hojiblanca and Cacereña. Spanish table olives can be served in a different number of ways including: whole, pitted, stuffed with one or more ingredients such as pimento, onion, tuna, anchovy, salmon, almond, etc. It is a healthy seasonal ingredient, with the Spanish olive harvest running from September-March.

Chocolate Mocha Mud Cake

Chocolate mocha mud cake: a dense, fudgy Australian-style cake baked low and slow, then finished with a glossy chocolate-butter icing. Instant coffee deepens the chocolate without tasting like coffee.

Cranberry Cosmos

A batch cranberry cosmopolitan you mix by the pitcher, vodka, cranberry, lime, and Cointreau with a fresh ginger kick. Shake to frosty, strain into a sugar-rimmed glass, and serve a crowd.

Boozy date & Coffee Cake

Boozy date and Coffee Cake with Lime Buttercream Icing, Using Atholl Brose, a traditional Scottish Whisky liqeuer. Perfect with a cuppa' Joe :)

Moist Butter Raisins Cake

I have found the best moist buttery raisins cake....

Christmas Pudding With Vanilla-Bean Custard

This Christmas pudding has plenty of delicious fruit and nuts, but it's really simple to make - just plan ahead and then make the warm vanilla-bean custard on the day.

Chocolate Roulade with Coffee Cream

A very decadent dessert indeed. The chocolate roulade was packed with chocolate flavor, and the coffee cream was rich, creamy and delicious. You don't need much, only one slice is enough to knock your socks off.

Chocolate Roulade with Coffee Cream

A very decadent dessert indeed. The chocolate roulade was packed with chocolate flavor, and the coffee cream was rich, creamy and delicious. You don't need much, only one slice is enough to knock your socks off.

Sheila's Mandarin Orange Cake

Sheila made this Mandarin Cake this morning to take to our Paella lunch with Spanish friends. They go crazy for it.

Favourite Coca Cola Cake

Coca Cola cake, a moist, fudgy chocolate cake with cola whisked into both the batter and the glossy poured frosting. The fizz keeps the crumb tender while a warm cocoa icing sinks right in.

Christmas Marshmallow Snowflakes

Make your own marshmallows, then cut out shapes into snow flakes; elegant looking with delicious flavour will definitely impress your family and friends at your Christmas party!

Venetian Style Ricotta & Sultana Pie

A very old recipe from Venice, Italy, a delicious cheesecake with raisins

Quick Limoncello

Quick limoncello skips the weeks of steeping and shakes together fresh lemon juice and zest, simple syrup, and vodka for a bright Italian after-dinner sipper ready in under an hour. No patience required.

Weight Watcher Peanut Butter Muffins

Weight Watchers peanut butter muffins with skim milk and self-rising flour. Small-batch portion-controlled snack with chunky peanut butter. Bakes in 4 cups.

Brandy Snaps

Crisp tubular cookies that can be eaten filled or filled with your favorite filling - typically a brandied whipped cream during Christmas time. A British favorite.

Master Chef Double Chocolate Cookies

Double chocolate oat cookies in the Aussie Anzac style: cocoa dough studded with chocolate chips, oats, and coconut, bound with golden syrup, then finished with a dark chocolate drizzle. Crisp, chewy, and deeply chocolatey.

Banoffi

Classic banoffee pie with buttery biscuit crust, rich caramel toffee, fresh bananas, and whipped cream drizzled with dark chocolate for indulgent British desserts.

Fresh Pineapple with Rum Cream

Fresh pineapple with rum cream pairs ripe sliced pineapple with a silky rum-spiked sabayon-style sauce of egg yolks, butter, and whipped cream. An elegant New York chef-style fruit dessert.

Haworth Bilberry Pie

Traditional Yorkshire bilberry pie from Haworth with wild bilberries mixed into baked apple pulp, wrapped in pastry and baked until golden. Served with cream.

Soused Herrings with Lemon

Classic British soused herrings slow-baked in a tangy bath of white wine vinegar, lemon juice, Marmite, and pickling spices. Served cold as a traditional pub-style appetizer.

Banana Pudding with Mandarine Cream

Loosely related to a dessert from the English-speaking islands of the West Indies, this makes a wonderful - and legal - winter fruit pudding. Despite its richness, it has next to no fat and, if you use eggs modified with omega 3 oil, it couldn't be more nutritionally sound.

Blank Manng of Chicken

A medieval English blancmange: tender poached chicken folded into creamy almond milk rice with butter and ground almonds, topped with golden fried almonds. A savory, centuries-old dish brought to life.

Blank Manng of Chicken

A medieval English blancmange: tender poached chicken folded into creamy almond milk rice with butter and ground almonds, topped with golden fried almonds. A savory, centuries-old dish brought to life.

Baked Illawarra Plum Cheesecake

Baked Cheesecake made with Australian Illawarra Plum Sauce.

Brandy Wafers

Crisp, lacy brandy wafers spiced with ginger and rolled into elegant tubes while still warm. Golden syrup gives them a buttery toffee crunch that shatters with every bite.

Spotted Dick

Traditional British steamed pudding studded with sweet sultanas and wrapped in greaseproof paper. This classic Spotted Dick is proper old-school comfort food, best served with hot custard poured over the top.

Autumn Dessert Cake

Autumn dessert cake, a moist hazelnut and pecan torte topped with juicy plums and brushed with a lime marmalade glaze. Nutty, fruity, and barely any flour, finished with a scatter of almonds.

Mushroom Starter Salads

Marinated mushroom salad in a tangy mustard-herb vinaigrette with white wine vinegar, parsley, and chives. A French-style cold appetizer that improves after hours of marinating in the fridge.

Polenta & Lemon Aspen Cake with Sugar Bag & Wild Rosella Cream

Cake made from Polenta and Lemon Aspen and served with cream, riberries and rosella confit.

Pear Sorbet in Meringue Shells

This sorbet, based simply on commercially canned pears, can be enhanced with the flavor of eau-de-vie de poire (pear liqueur) or, if preferred, with fresh lemon juice.

Frosted Cherry Chocolate Cheesecake

A sweet treat to impress: frosted cherry chocolate cheesecake.

Frosted Cherry Chocolate Cheesecake

A sweet treat to impress: frosted cherry chocolate cheesecake.

Rainforest Lime & Macadamia Nut Pudding

A delicious dessert pudding made with rainforest limes, lemon myrtle and macadamia nuts.

Golden Cake

Golden Cake, a delicate European cheesecake with a buttery almond pastry base and an airy curd cheese, lemon and cream filling, served with fresh strawberry or raspberry puree. Old-world elegance on a plate.

Coffee Pots De Creme

Coffee pots de creme infused with whole roasted coffee beans and Kahlua, baked in a water bath, and topped with homemade almond praline. A silky French custard dessert.

Goat's Cheese Salad with Sweet & Sour Onions

Grilled goat cheese salad with sweet-and-sour caramelized Spanish onions, sun-dried tomato vinaigrette, and mixed greens. A classic French bistro starter that eats like a full meal.

All 172 recipes