Weight: 1 cup/7 ounces/200 grams
Characteristics: Neutral sweetness, fine texture, with hints of vanilla and light caramel, a foolproof swap for granulated white sugar, as it’s only a couple of steps less refined. Evaporated cane juice makes for a great “co-starring sugar” when another, less refined sugar with a more intense flavor is the main sweetener.
Where it comes from: Evaporated cane juice comes from sugarcane and can also be found labeled as “organic sugar.” It’s essentially white granulated sugar, minus the bleaching and other final chemical treatments. “Organic confectioners’ sugar” is evaporated cane juice that has been ground fine with a starch like tapioca or cornstarch to prevent clumping.
Best uses: As a 1:1 substitute anywhere you’d use white granulated sugar. I like to use evaporated cane juice as a slightly better quality alternative to white granulated sugar for special-occasion, celebration-type cakes and “sometimes foods” such as candies. In these kinds of recipes, this sugar is used more like a tool than a flavor booster. Its fine texture helps aerate eggs and butter when using in conjunction with liquid sweeteners, which can provide flavor and moisture, but not much loft or structure (as in the Five-Flavors Party Cake).
Just like white sugar, evaporated cane juice has neutral sweetness that lets other flavors shine. Evaporated cane juice is slightly coarser than regular granulated, so it adds a little more sparkle than regular granulated sugar when used as a topping for muffins, quick breads, and cookies.
Bonus points: When it comes to the natural-sugars pantry, evaporated cane juice definitely is the most refined sugar used in this book and has minimal benefits in terms of nutritional value. But it is closer to its natural state than white granulated cane sugar, and it also is a 100 percent vegan alternative to white cane sugars, many of which get their snow-white color from being filtered through bone char. Bone char is also called “natural charcoal” by large sugar companies and is made from charred animal bones, therefore technically making sugar filtered with it nonvegan.
How to store: Store in a tightly sealed jar in a dry place.