How to Make Light Purple Sugar Cubes

Purple tea service with purple sugar cubes in a white bowl and vase of pink and purple flowers on a table.

I love making sugar cubes with color.

It adds a fun touch to your presentation when having friends over for tea or coffees. They can also be made in a variety of colors, flavors and shapes.

Here’s my simple recipe for colored sugar cubes in one of my favorite colors “light purple”. They’re very easy to make but, it does take a little patience to pack the mixture into each little cube mold and, waiting for them to dry completely – and it’s so worth it.

QUANTITY

This recipe makes approximately: 15 Square Cubes, 18-20 Shallow Cubes, 7-8 Stars or Hearts.

Keep in mind that different molds will yield different amounts so these numbers may vary. Once you make them, you’ll know which mold makes more or less.

TOOLS

1 small bowl

¼ cup measuring cup

The Silicone mold of your choice (cubes, stars, hearts or whatever).

INGREDIENTS

¼ cup sugar

¼ tsp water

1-2 drops gel dye (start with 1 drop)

DIRECTIONS

1. Put ¼ cup sugar in a small bowl and sprinkle ¼ tsp water around the sugar.

2. Mash the sugar and water together with a small spatula to a create a consistent texture. The sugar should feel like damp sand. While mixing, be sure to scrape the bottom and corners of your bowl to get all of the sugar.

Caution: Only use ¼ tsp of water per ¼ cup of sugar. Adding more will dissolve the sugar too much and will significantly increase your drying time.

3. Add 1 drop of “Gel” food coloring to start with. Stir with spatula mashing it around to mix color into the sugar until the whole bowl of sugar is the same color.

Note: Gel dyes work the best because unlike the watery food colors that you get at the grocery store, they add less water to the sugar AND you can choose the precise color you want.

Important: Darker shades of red and black dyes can introduce a slightly bitter taste.

4. Press the sugar firmly into silicon mold. You want it to be as dense as possible, so it holds it shape and won’t fall apart later after drying.

5. Cover the mold with a sheet of wax paper or parchment overnight. Parchment or wax paper will keep the dust off while still allowing the air in.

6. The next morning, turn mold upside down on some parchment (or wax paper) and gently push shaped sugar out. Silicone molds make it easy.

7. Place into an airtight container lined with parchment or wax paper – I like small plastic tubs because the cubes are less likely to get broken. Store them in the cupboard like any other sugar. They keep for quite a while but are best if used within 2-3 weeks.

8. When you’re ready to use them, take them out, clean up the edges to give them a finished look, and put them into a sugar bowl or saucer for your tea party or after dinner coffees.