With its delicate sweetness and delightful crunch, pearl sugar is highly versatile and can be sprinkled on hot and cold treats of many kinds. Sourced from French producer Béghin-Say, our white pearl sugar will enhance your biscuits, brioches, cakes and desserts. Read on to find out how to use this simple, versatile ingredient to stunning effect.
Sprinkle it on
Also known as nib sugar, pearl sugar is specially made to retain its shape – and its crispy, crunchy texture – even when baked. You’ve probably come across it scattered on the surface of a traditional plaited brioche, or adding extra deliciousness to those irresistible chouquettes. It’s also great as a topping for biscuits or a garnish for the Swedish cinnamon rolls known as Kanelbullar.
You can use pearl sugar to enhance any sweet baked loaf, bread or pastry. Just brush with egg first to make the sugar stick. Why not try a Belgian craquelin to have with your morning coffee? Or bake pearl sugar across the top of your bread-and-butter pudding.
Mix it in
Because it doesn’t fully melt when baked, pearl sugar can be used to add a caramelised texture and flavour to various mixtures. You can fold pearl sugar through your cake mix, brioche dough or waffle batter to create tiny perfect pockets of extra crunch. Perhaps the most famous example is a classic Belgian treat: the Liège waffle.
Get inventive
Plenty of traditional recipes include pearl sugar, but perhaps the most famous is Tarte Tropézienne. This great French classic combines light-as-air brioche with a soft, creamy filling infused with orange blossom, vanilla and kirsch. Sweet and delicate, the spheres of pearl sugar give it an extra crunch that’s very satisfying.
Or why not try your hand at chouquettes, a French bakery favourite? These are as simple as they are delicious: chewy bite-sized cream puffs sprinkled with pearl sugar. You can use pearl sugar in confectionery, too, there’s no end to its versatility.
If you’re a passionate home baker, confectioner or pâtissier, it’s our mission to keep you supplied with the very best authentic ingredients direct from French producers. As well as pearl sugar from Béghin-Say, we stock white and brown sugar cubes from La Perruche, and Sainte Lucie’s Bourbon vanilla sugar sachets. You will also find a wide range of flavourings, glazes and couvertures, chocolates and cocoa powder, flour, butter and yeast in our online store.
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