How to dust


How to dust
"Dusting" in cooking is sprinkling a very fine layer of something in powder form. Icing sugar or cocoa powder on cakes for example. As this is not very easy to do evenly, here is a way to do it.
154 K 3.8/5 (25 reviews)
Grade this recipe:
duree2 min. difficultéEasy
Keywords:
Last modified on: October 13th 2010
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 2 min.

Step by step recipe


Stage 1
How to dust
The first instinct is to use your hand.

But if you do, you're going to produce an uneven layer, plus if there are any lumps in your powder (icing sugar or whatever) they will fall, break up, and it will spoil the appearence...

Stage 2
How to dust
...as in this photo where I'm trying to sprinkle some ice sugar onto a (black) pastry sheet.

Stage 3 - 2 min.
How to dust
The best solution is to use a fine sieve or strainer (small or large, it does not matter), fill it with your powder, and to shake it all over.

Like this you will produce a fine and even layer, where even the small lumps will be broken into powder.

You can also use a special utensil: a shaker.

Stage 4
How to dust
With this method you can produce artistic patterns made using a sheet paper cut out in designs of your choice.

Stage 5
How to dust
By carefully removing the paper, you will get pretty effects.

It is a good way of "writing" on a birthday cake for example.

Stage 6
You can also watch this short video which recaps on the basics.
Remarks
The golden rule when dusting is to use a really dry powder, because if it's damp, it will form lumps or balls which are diffcult to use. If your powder is not dry enough, you can put it in a cool oven for about 30 minutes to dry it, and then pass it through a sieve before use.
Source: Home made.
Other recipes you may also like
How to use a forcing bag (piping or icing bag)
How to use a forcing bag (piping or icing bag)
The forcing bag is the tool needed whenever you need to deposit a blob of something precisely in a particular place (in a mould, a glass, on a plate, etc). Here is how you do it.
January 14th 2011302 K 15 25 min.
How to prepare egg glaze
How to prepare egg glaze
Bakers and pastry chefs use a glaze ("dorure" in French - the same word as for gilding) made with whole full eggs, beaten in a blender. This is used with a brush on pastry that would not naturally brown during cooking ( October 17th 2018323 K4.3 2 min.
How to use a vanilla pod effectively
How to use a vanilla pod effectively
Vanilla pods are used in many recipes, but they need to treated in a particular way to be effective, detailed here.
February 21th 2011397 K4.3 35 min.
How to prepare carrots
How to prepare carrots
Here's how to prepare carrots, from the simplest way (peeled then rinsed) to a more sophisticated version where only the very best ofthe vegetable is kept.
February 21th 2011180 K4.3 15 min.
How to divide a preparation evenly
How to divide a preparation evenly
It often happens in cooking: one makes a cream for 6 people in a saucepan, then the recipe says "divide the cream evenly between the glasses", which usually gets done by eye with varying degrees of success. To divide out the preparation more precisely, here's a simple tip just using June 3rd 201159 K5 20 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com

Follow this recipe
If you are interested in this recipe, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the recipe is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
I am not a leaving thing
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.

Back to top of page