Powdered sugar

Powdered sugar, also called confectioner's sugar or icing sugar, is a finely ground sugar made by milling normal granulated sugar into a powdered state. It usually contains a small amount of anti-caking agent to prevent clumping and improve flow. Although most often produced in a factory, it can also be made by putting normal sugar in a coffee grinder, or crushing it by hand in a mortar and pestle.

In industrial food production, it is used where a quick dissolving sugar is required. Domestically, it is principally used to make icing or frosting and other cake decorations. It is often lightly dusted onto baked goods to add a light sweetness and subtle decoration.

Powdered sugar is available in different degrees of fineness, most commonly XXX, XXXX, and 10X, with more Xs indicating finer grains. With finer particles more moisture is absorbed, which results in caking. An anti-caking agent is generally added during grinding, typically corn starch, or tricalcium phosphate, at 3% to 5% concentration, to absorb moisture and improve flow by reducing contact between sugar crystals.

Darren Hayes

Darren Stanley Hayes (born 8 May 1972) is an Australian singer-songwriter. Hayes was the frontman and singer of the pop duo Savage Garden, whose 1997 album Savage Garden peaked at No. 1 in Australia, No. 2 in United Kingdom and No. 3 in United States. It spawned the singles "I Want You", "To the Moon and Back", and Australian and US No. 1 "Truly Madly Deeply". The duo followed the success of their debut album with Affirmation (1999), which provided additional hits such as US No. 1 "I Knew I Loved You", and Australian No. 3 "The Animal Song". Savage Garden sold more than 23 million albums worldwide before parting ways in 2001.

Hayes released his first solo album Spin in 2002. The album sold two million copies worldwide, debuted at No. 2 in the UK and No. 3 in Australia. It delivered the hit single "Insatiable". Hayes's second solo album The Tension and the Spark marked a change of direction for the singer-songwriter, showing experimentation with electronica and darker lyrics. NME wrote about its first single, "Pop!ular" saying it was "A twistered masterclass in career reintervention...This guy is a genius." While The Observer said "This album is no folly and succeeds, often to the point of all out triumph, on its own terms." Hayes parted way with his record label Columbia Records in 2006 and started his own independent record label, Powdered Sugar, from which he would release his third solo album, This Delicate Thing We've Made (2007).