What All Bakers Should Know About Brown Sugar

When it comes to baking, it’s likely that you have noticed that brown sugar has a huge presence in many of our favorite recipes. But have you ever wondered what makes brown sugar brown and what the difference between brown and white sugar is (besides the obvious)? That’s what we’re here to discuss today, plus we’re also going to share some of our favorite baked goods that contain this sucrose product, so hold onto your seats as we take a sweet ride through facts that you should know about brown sugar.

What Exactly is Brown Sugar?

Brown sugar is in the sucrose sugar family and gets its brown coloring from molasses being present within it and is labeled as either refined or unrefined. Natural brown sugar comes from the presence of molasses in the sugar that comes naturally, while commercial brown sugar consists of white sugar that has had molasses added to it.

Natural brown sugar, also called raw sugar or whole cane sugar, holds varied amounts of the molasses that comes from the partially evaporated sugar cane liquid. Being that there is more molasses contained within natural brown sugar, there are also some nutritional values and healthy benefits to consuming it, such as mineral content. Some also say that brown sugar has the ability to soothe menstrual cramps as well as serving as an anti-aging treatment for skin, but there is no technical research to officially back up these claims.

Brown sugar is naturally soft and is this way because of the way that molasses holds moisture, and brown sugar granules are typically much smaller than that of white sugar. Part of its appeal in baking is the fact that it caramelizes much easier than white sugar does, and it also lends more flavor to baked goods.

As an interesting fact, during the late 19th century, the white sugar business didn’t have complete control over the production of brown sugar, which caused a smear campaign to try to steer faithful customers away from trying brown sugar due to the possibility of infestation by tiny insects. Along with the brown sugar business itself, lots of other industries that used brown sugar in their products had quite a hard time for a little while because of the series of misinformation that was being spread around.

How Commercial Brown Sugar is Made

To make commercial brown sugar, oftentimes sugarcane molasses is added to totally refined white sugar in order to ensure that the correct measurements of sugar granules and molasses is balanced, and to also lower the cost of making it. However, the downside to this is that the product result is grainier than that of natural brown sugar. Not to mention that all it would take is to wash the product and the molasses could separate from the sugar granules, leaving them white and without a trace of the molasses.

The Difference Between Brown Sugar and White Sugar

Aside of the obvious color difference, there is also a difference in flavor, consistency, and other attributes between brown and white sugar. For example, brown sugar has a deeper flavor profile than its white sugar contemporary, something more along the lines of caramel or toffee, because of the addition of molasses. This makes brown sugar work for purposes other than making sweets, such as barbecue sauce.

Brown sugar also works best in baked goods that are made to be soft and a bit more moist and dense because of the molasses being able to retain water. Because of this, brown sugar is a top choice in cookies, fruit cakes, and chocolate cakes.

Due to the molasses content, brown sugar also gives the foods that it is baked and cooked into a brown tint, whereas plain white sugar doesn’t affect the coloring of baked goods at all.

Meanwhile, white sugar, which is produced by removing the molasses from the raw sugar via a purifying process, is notably sweeter than brown sugar, so this means that you can use less of it in order to obtain the right amount of sweetness in your baked goods.

White sugar is a favorite choice when it comes to baked goods that need to rise because of its ability to allow air into the dough or batter. This is why white sugar is used to make fluffy baked goods as well as those that depend on the ability to properly rise, like meringues, souffles, and mousses.

Plus, where white sugar is more neutral in flavor than brown sugar is, this also makes it a prime candidate in baking, especially in sweet pastries.

Some of Our Favorite Brown Sugar Baked Goods

Brown sugar is the key component in what makes each of these baked goods great, and we hope that you’ll enjoy them as much as we do!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

We couldn’t talk about wonderful brown sugar baked goods without including chocolate chip cookies! Using brown sugar to make your chocolate chip cookies results in a deeper flavor profile, as well as a moister and denser cookie. So, if you’re looking to make the absolute best batch of chocolate chip cookies, find a great recipe containing brown sugar.

Gingerbread Cake with Caramel Sauce

This amazing, delightful dessert comes together with molasses, spice, and of course a healthy helping of brown sugar to ensure that it is soft, moist, and flavorful. Plus, the brown sugar also comes in handy for making the rich caramel sauce to pour over it.

Brown Sugar Brownies/Blondies

Using a brownie recipe that calls for brown sugar results in a brownie that could also easily be called a blondie, but no matter what you end up calling it, this rich, moist, dessert is one of the most uniquely flavorful ones that you’ll ever have!

Berry Cobbler

Cobblers are a favorite dessert among many, and the combination of sweet and tart berries, no matter which you choose, and brown sugar among their many other ingredients, create a symphony of flavors that your tastebuds will thank you for later.

Chewy Brown Sugar Cookies

If you just want a nice, sweet, chewy cookie without chocolate chips or anything else, then you’ve got to try whipping up a batch of chewy brown sugar cookies. These easy to make cookies are soft, chewy, and even have a hint of cinnamon to kick up the flavor profile even more.

Incorporate Brown Sugar into Your Baking More Often

So, whether you have just started baking or if you’ve been baking for many years now, we hope that this guide to brown sugar has been helpful and that we’ve sparked an interest in baking with brown sugar more often.