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When I first started out, I too wondered why some recipes used caster sugar while others used fine sugar. What were their differences? How would they turn out if I pit them against each other in a caster sugar vs sugar battle?
Testing Them Out In Recipes
And so it begins, the battle of caster sugar vs sugar.
I decided one day to take a proven recipe and I swapped the fine sugar in the recipe with caster sugar. I kept the entire process the same, and the only things I changed were the sugars.
And when I had finished baking them, they didnt turn out any differently. The cupcakes tasted and looked as good.
The Startling Truth
Things were different however when the battle of caster sugar vs sugar was used on another recipe.
This time, I took a recipe that used caster sugar, and I substituted that with fine sugar instead. The results were different.
For one, I could see white spots on the cupcakes, denoting that the fine sugar didnt quite mix into the cupcake batter as well as caster sugar did.
Theories Derived
When it comes to the battle of caster sugar vs sugar in cupcake recipes, I noticed that I could swap sugar for caster sugar in recipes that called for fine sugar, but not substitute caster sugar for fine sugar in recipes that call for caster sugar.
And based on the cupcake theories that I know, caster sugar is finer in texture, tend to melt quicker, and certain recipes needed caster sugar for those properties that otherwise were not found in fine sugar.
That explains why you cant use fine sugar in place of caster sugar.
However, recipes that called for fine sugar could use caster sugar in its place because caster sugar had better mixing properties compared to fine sugar, so it wouldnt give fine sugar recipes any problems.
What You Ought to Use
I believe that as much as possible, stick to recipes based on the type of sugar they call for. Sure you can substitute caster sugar for fine sugar, but caster sugar can cost twice as much, making poor financial sense for you to do that.
But if caster sugar was called for in a recipe, stick to caster sugar or youll end up with cupcakes that have white spots because fine sugar isnt going to mix properly into the batter.
So now that you know why some recipes will call for caster sugar vs sugar in some other recipes, you can try them out for yourself and see the results first hand for yourself. But if you dont want to waste your ingredients trying things out, then stick to my advice in this caster sugar vs sugar article.
