Make Your Cake a Work of Art by Glazing it(2020)! 3 Basic Yet Visually Stunning Glaze and 6 Steps to Ensure a Success!

Make Your Cake a Work of Art by Glazing it(2020)! 3 Basic Yet Visually Stunning Glaze and 6 Steps to Ensure a Success!

Cakes are a delicious dessert in itself. But the challenge lies in making it visually appealing. Learn the basics of cake glaze and how to make them. Follow our tips for a successful glaze. Turn your cake to a work of art by glazing them with a glaze of your choice.

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Cake Glaze: A Perfect Blend of Delicious Flavours

Cake Glazes can be used in order to create ornate decorations on a cake. The glaze can be simply drizzled onto the top of the cake, or it can go on to completely encase the whole cake, by pouring the glaze onto the cake or brushing the glaze onto it. The manner of application of the cake glaze is responsible for the consistency on all sides of the cake.

Cake glazes are the perfect addition to a variety of different cakes like bundt cakes, tube cakes, coffee cakes, angel food cakes, etc. They allow the maker to avoid using heavy frosting on a cake and yet make it very appetizing and visually appealing. Baked products like muffins and cinnamon rolls can also be drizzled over with cake glaze. It is an easy recipe to make and produces delicious results for everyone to enjoy.

The glazes are basically a union of two basic ingredients, namely - powdered sugar and a liquid. The liquid varies from cake to cake, often depending on the flavour of the cake. As in the case of a lemon flavoured cake glaze, the liquid ingredient used as a part of the recipe is lemon juice. Each cake glaze recipe makes use of a different liquid ingredient, which can be orange juice, pineapple juice, chocolate, alcohol, etc. or even a simple mixture of powdered sugar added to milk.

Basic Steps to Follow While Making a Cake Glaze at Home

Work as Per Directions

The cake glaze should be prepared absolutely in accordance with the directions that are on the recipe and the glaze should be allowed to cool properly before being applied to the cake. The consistency of the glaze should be the same as that of corn syrup and the consistency can be tested by taking a spoonful of the glaze and drizzling it back in. The drizzle should be leaving a trail if it has been prepared properly.

Cool Down the Cake Before Application

The cake must be cooled down before the application of the glaze with the desired consistency. In case the glaze must be spread, a cake that is a little bit warm will allow for easy spreading of the glaze. However, the cake should not be too warm to stop the glaze from running off the cake.

Avoid Thickening of the Glaze

In order to avoid thickening of the glaze and/or the glaze from starting to set up, while it may have to stand for a bit while waiting for the cake to cool down, the prepared glaze can be placed into a bowl containing warm water. Using a measuring cup or pour spout, the glaze can be poured on top of a cake or it can also be drizzled onto the cake using a tablespoon.

Let it Properly Set on the Cake

The glaze, once it is on the cake, sets at quite a rapid pace, and so if it needs to be spread out, it must be done fairly quickly so as to not damage its smooth appearance, by making use of some utensil, for example, the back of a tablespoon, before the glaze starts to set. The glazed cake can be put in the refrigerator to properly set the glaze.

Maintain Appropriate Temperature

The higher the temperature of the cake, on which the glaze is being applied, the thinner will be the coat of glaze, when it is drizzled onto the cake. Hence, in case the requirement for the glaze is for it to be thin then it can be applied when the cake is actually a bit warm. In case of adding some kind of garnish, like nuts, it must be added before the glaze starts to set up, so that when the glaze hardens the garnish will stick to it.

Remove the Wax Paper

In case any wax paper is put under the cake, in or to protect the cake or the board, it needs to be removed before the glaze has set. The paper must be slid out slowly(maybe by shifting it left to right) before gently pulling it out. In case the paper is pulled out in a rough manner, the bottom edge of the cake runs the risk of getting damaged.

Try Out Some Different Recipes of Making Cake Glaze

How to make Vanilla Cake Glaze

Vanilla glaze is often overlooked due to its simplicity. It is easy to make and is quite versatile. The below recipe will give you a thinner glaze. If you are looking for a thick consistency replace the milk with heavy cream.

  • This cake glaze recipe requires four tablespoons of butter, two cups of powdered sugar, milk or hot water (two to four tablespoons, based on the consistency the maker desires) and one and a half teaspoons of vanilla extract.

  • Once all of the ingredients have been gathered, the first step in the process is to melt the butter. This can be done in a saucepan or maybe in a bowl, over an open flame. The melting can also be done in an oven(microwaves work just fine).

  • Once the butter has started to melt, two cups of powdered sugar must be sifted into a bowl(medium-sized).

  • Then once the butter melts completely, it is added to the powdered sugar that has been sifted, along with the two tablespoons of milk or hot water and also the vanilla extract.

  • Once all the ingredients have been put in together, the mixture needs to be stirred well to be blended. The blend must then be blended preferably by an electric mixer until it becomes absolutely smooth and creamy. During this step, you can add more milk to achieve its desired consistency.

  • Now comes the final step of drizzling the finished glaze over the top of a cake that has been already cooled.

How to Make Mirror Cake Glaze

The Mirror Glaze also follows the basic steps of melting your butter and then adding it with your sugar and your milk, like all other glazes. However, this type of glaze has a few other areas where attention to detail is extremely necessary.

  • The first of them is making sure to use white chocolate of high quality in order to make the glaze. The chocolate must contain more than thirty% cocoa butter to achieve the best results.

  • Second is to always make sure that the mirror glaze is strained after it has been prepared, so as to eliminate any and every lump that may ruin the finish.

  • Third, is pouring the glaze only at a temperature of ninety degrees Fahrenheit, exactly. In case the glaze is too hot, it will not set and rather run off the cake. On the other hand, if it is too cold, then it will not be smooth.

  • Fourth, is freezing the dish, on which it is to be served, beforehand and taken out of the freezer just before putting the cake on it, in order to make sure that the two ingredients in the glaze, the gelatin and the chocolate, set quickly.

  • The fifth and last step to keep in mind is that the cake must be kept on a cake pan or glass, in order to make sure that the glaze can easily drip off the cake.

The simple mirror glaze can easily be turned into a coloured mirror glaze. In order to do that, the first step is making the simple white glaze and then dividing it into a few bowls and then colour the glaze in each bowl, making use of regular food colouring and after a bit of good mixing, each bowl has a coloured mirror glaze of a different shade.

The colours can be put all in together into a large bowl or pitcher to give a mix of different colours and then poured over the cake that has been frozen. On the other hand, the colours can be poured into individual layers. Effects can be added to the glaze by adding metallic gold dust to any grain alcohol and then dropping it over the mirror glaze. However, it must be made sure to use a small amount, else it might eat away the glaze itself.

How to Make Chocolate Cake Glaze

Chocolate makes almost any dessert taste better. Even though the process of making a chocolate glaze may be quite simple, it might turn into a lumpy mess if all the proper steps are not followed in its preparation. It is always preferable to go through the entire recipe and keep all the things required on hand, before actually starting to make the glaze.

  • Now, the first thing to do is to put sugar, the first quantity of water along with sweetened condensed milk into a saucepan and put it on a simmer.

  • Once that is done, the chocolate and cocoa powder that is going to be used need to be set aside in a relatively large bowl that is heatproof.

  • Now while the saucepan mixture is simmering away, gelatin needs to be sprinkled over the second quantity of the whole water, so as to let it absorb.

  • Once the liquids in the saucepan have come to a simmer, the gelatin needs to be added in and the whole mixture must be stirred to melt the gelatin completely.

  • Once all of the gelatin is melted, it can be taken off the heat and then vanilla extract must be added into it. The resultant mixture is then poured over the cocoa powder and chocolate and left to rest for around five minutes.

  • After that, they must be whisked together until the final mixture becomes smooth and any remaining lumps can be removed by making use of an immersion blender.

  • Any bubbles present in the mixture or any gelatin bits or any amount of unmelted chocolate can now be removed by pouring the final mixture through a mesh strainer, in order to give it a smooth and shiny chocolate glaze.

  • Once cooled to the correct temperature, the glaze can be poured over the cake. It can also be put over mousse cakes, but in order for that, the cake must be frozen completely before pouring the glaze onto it.

Things to Keep in Mind While Making Cake Glaze

Preparing your glaze is very easy. However, the process should be exact for a smooth and shiny glaze. Keep the below points in mind before going ahead with your glaze.

  • Once the cake glaze has been prepared and applied, the excess mixture can be frozen in the refrigerator for later use. They can be stored in freezer containers or even zipper bags fit for freezing, till around six months.

  • In case the sugar being used has a tendency of leaving lumps, it needs to be sifted before it is added to the glaze.

  • In order to make the surface of the finished cake absolutely smooth, any loose crumbs on the cake must be brushed away before the glaze is spread over the cake. Else there might be bumps on the smooth exterior once the glaze has set.

  • In case of a cake being particularly delicate, it might be hard to apply the glaze on it, and so it must be put in the refrigerator for around a half-hour beforehand, to firm it up a bit.

  • It is better to rather dip baked products like cupcakes and/or muffins into the glaze itself, rather than pouring or drizzling the glaze onto them, as this saves both time and glaze.

  • It is always a good idea to place a wax paper sheet under the rack when a cake is being glazed. During the glazing process, there is bound to be at least a few drips and this wax paper catches all of them, making the clean-up way easier. In fact, in some cases, it might even be possible to reuse a few of these drips, which do not contain crumbs.

  • Pouring the glaze over the cake requires a lot of concentration and a bit of precision. Once the cake has cooled down properly, it must be placed on top of a circular object with a wax paper in between (in order to accumulate the run-off glaze in one spot). Once this is done, the glaze needs to be poured onto the cake, starting from the center of it and then slowly moving towards the outer edges of the cake.

  • Once the glaze completely covers the cake the garnish(es) can be added on top of the cake before the glaze has had time to set. The glaze should be left to continue dripping for around ten minutes, before scraping away any drips that might be on the cake board. In case it is not going to be eaten for at least a few hours, the cake should be put into a refrigerator.

Final Words

It is quite easy to make a cake glaze. There are a number of different types of cake glazes, all of which can make your can even more beautiful to look at and even more tasty. It is a simple way of taking your cake to the next level and with a plethora of different recipes it is your chance to become the chef of your house.


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From our editorial team

Cake Glaze not a Herculean Task!

Glazing a cake is not as difficult a craft. It is more about precision, temperature and measurements. With these and a steady hand, you can master a cake without much ado. For a glaze to spread evenly, make sure your cake is even and in the right temperature. A beginner can start with a basic vanilla glaze and move on to mirror glaze after you are confident about the whole process.