Homemade Sugar Cubes

By
Elizabeth LaBau
Sweet Book of Candy Making Elizabeth LaBau
Elizabeth LaBau
A professional pastry chef, cookbook author, and writer, Elizabeth LaBau has published more than 600 articles on baking and candy making.
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Updated on 04/27/21
Homemade sugar cubes recipe

The Spruce / Ulyana Verbytska

Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 0 mins
Total: 10 mins
Servings: 35 servings
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
22 Calories
0g Fat
6g Carbs
0g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 35
Amount per serving
Calories 22
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 0mg 0%
Total Carbohydrate 6g 2%
Dietary Fiber 0g 0%
Total Sugars 6g
Protein 0g
Vitamin C 0mg 0%
Calcium 0mg 0%
Iron 0mg 0%
Potassium 0mg 0%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Sugar cubes are so easy to make at home. You can dye and flavor the sugar, then use candy molds to form it into fun shapes. This method is perfect for crafting sweet bites for birthday parties, baby or bridal showers, or holiday meals. Serve them alongside your favorite tea for a truly elegant presentation. 

Ingredients

  • 7 ounces (1 cup) granulated sugar

  • 1 tablespoon water, more as needed

  • 1 to 2 drops food coloring of choice, optional

  • 1/8 teaspoon flavoring of choice, such as mint, almond, or vanilla extract, optional

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for sugar cubes
    The Spruce / Ulyana Verbytska

  2. Place the sugar in a bowl, and add the water. Stir until all of the sugar is moistened.

    Place sugar in bowl
    The Spruce / Ulyana Verbytska

  3. If you want to add coloring and flavoring, add just a tiny bit of color and the flavoring, and stir everything together.

    Add coloring
    The Spruce / Ulyana Verbytska

  4. If the color is not dark enough, continue to add a small amount and stir it in a bit at a time—it's better to be cautious than to add too much and have a color that's too dark. By the end, the sugar should have the texture of wet sand and clump together when you squeeze it in your palm.

    Sugar should have texture of wet sand
    The Spruce / Ulyana Verbytska

  5. If it seems too dry, add a small spoonful of water at a time until you get a workable texture.

    Add coloring
    The Spruce / Ulyana Verbytska

  6. Use a spoon to heap the sugar into the mold's cavities and then firmly press it down into the mold. Make sure that you compact it well so that it holds together and takes the form of the mold well.

    Use spoon
    The Spruce / Ulyana Verbytska

  7. Once all the cavities are filled with packed sugar, use a brush or a pastry scraper to remove any excess wet sugar from the tops of the molds.

    Sugar cubes
    The Spruce / Ulyana Verbytska

  8. For the best results, the sugar should dry completely before being removed. You can let it sit out at room temperature, where it might take anywhere from an hour to overnight for the sugar to be set enough to remove—it depends on the consistency of the sugar you started with, the humidity, and the depth and size of the molds.

    Sugar molds
    The Spruce / Ulyana Verbytska

  9. Alternately, if your molds are microwave-safe, you can microwave them for a short period of time to remove moisture from the sugar and speed the drying process. All microwave times will vary but start with 25 to 30 seconds.

    Sugar cube
    The Spruce / Ulyana Verbytska

  10. Let the mold cool briefly after microwaving, then trying gently flipping out the sugar shapes. Adjust the microwaving and resting time as necessary to get the cleanest shapes upon removal from the molds.

    Sugar cubes
    The Spruce / Ulyana Verbytska

  11. After the shapes are removed, let them sit at room temperature to make sure they're perfectly dry all the way through.

    Sugar cubes
    The Spruce / Ulyana Verbytska

  12. Sugar cubes can be kept indefinitely in an airtight container at room temperature. They are fairly sturdy but do be careful packaging them, as they are also brittle and can be scuffed or broken.

    Sugar cubes
    The Spruce / Ulyana Verbytska

Variation

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