How To Make Mirror Glaze (GALLERY)

2024 Author: Jasmine Walkman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 08:29

You've probably admired gorgeous cakes that look like a work of art more than once. They are turned into such fine creations by tried and tested cunning techniques of the master confectioners.

The mirror glaze is made on the basis of chocolate, cocoa and cream with the addition of gelatin or pectin, which in its finished form has a really glossy, mirror surface. Properly prepared, this glaze is characterized by high reflectivity, which actually gives it its name. It is suitable for coating mousse cakes, as an absolutely smooth surface is required to achieve the effect.

The right shape of the cake - start with the form for its preparation. The quality of the material from which it is made is also important. The very cheap ones are usually made of too soft silicone and warp when filled. In terms of shape, they are all - a sphere, cylinder, cube and others, as long as they have a smooth surface. Any embossed figures will spoil the mirror effect.

If you use a ring, you must first lay the base with thick foil and then place it on top. Cover with foil tape and its walls - so it will come out easier, and the cake on the side will remain a mirror. Do not trust the recommendations not to cover the base and after freezing the cake to use a hair dryer to heat the bottom and remove it from the ring without any problems. This advice has a serious disadvantage: when heated, you will also heat the walls of the ring, and as a result, the icing, which is a little thinner on the walls of the cake than the top, will simply spread.

8 postulates for success in the preparation of mirror glaze:

1. At the end of the preparation of the glaze it is necessary to beat with a blender until you get a completely homogeneous emulsion. In fact the mirror glaze it is nothing but an emulsion - it has a water part (syrup) and butter (chocolate). It is important to minimize the amount of air entering the glaze and to prevent the appearance of bubbles.

To do this, you need to hold the blender at an angle of about 45 degrees - in this position you will see how the funnel formed in the mixture sucks the bubbles. And another important thing: the blender must be turned on at minimum speed;

2. In most recipes it is recommended to use the finished glaze after 1 day. After this period it is necessary to heat it and beat it again with a blender. If necessary, strain it through a sieve;

3. The mirror icing is applied only on frozen cake! Not just well chilled, but frozen like stone! The moment you take it out of the freezer, your glaze should be completely ready and brought to operating temperature. If you ignore this requirement, condensation will form on the surface of the cake and a perfect coating will simply not be obtained;

4. The amount of icing should always be more than necessary to cover the cake. Why, you will ask - to apply it, you need to put the cake on a grid or stand, under the bed with foil or put a container to collect the glass. Pour the icing until the cake is completely covered and no empty areas are left.

5. If your cake is flat on top and not a sphere, for example, remove the excess icing with a spatula, but only with 1-2 movements with it. Act quickly and confidently - this is important because after only a few seconds the glaze will start to harden;

6. Each glaze has its own operating temperature - from 30 to 45 degrees. If you overheat it, the layer will be too thin and will shine, especially on the walls of the cake. And if it is too cold, the layer will be thick and the probability of irregularities in the removal of excess is high.

7. Defrost the mousse cakes with mirror glaze only in the refrigerator for about 5-6 hours - neither at room temperature nor in the microwave.

8. To cut a beautiful cake with a mirror surface, you need to do it while it is still very cold and act with a dry and warm knife.

What if problems arise?

One of the biggest troubles is the bubbles in the glaze. What do you do? Peel off the top layer with the foam. Preheat the glaze to 35 degrees and beat again. Now you can feel how her tendency to make bubbles is much smaller. Of course, watch the inclination of the blender. If bubbles still appear, strain the glaze. If at a temperature of 35 degrees the glaze is too thick, add 1-2 teaspoons of sugar syrup, boiled from water and sugar in a ratio of 1: 1. The next time you prepare such a glaze, remove it from the heat at the time of boiling. Otherwise - if the mixture is too thin, just let it stand and cool a bit. It is possible that the icing, although properly applied to the frozen cake, will start to slip out of it and run off. What is the reason? The answer is: a thin layer of ice has formed on the frozen cake! You know what happens when the ice starts to melt - it turns into water that flows, unfortunately in this case - along with the glaze. To protect yourself from such a difficult situation, once you take out the frozen cake, run your hand over its upper surface - the heat will melt the thin ice cover. Then calmly start glazing.

Glaze coloring

Colored mirror cakes look very beautiful, don't they? Water-soluble confectionery paints are used for this purpose. To achieve a pearly hue of the glaze, he added gold pollen. It is important to know that white paint dissolves equally well in water and chocolate. You can also mix the colors. For example, to get a beautiful lavender color, mix white, pink and blue. And to paint on the icing, you must first put the finished cake in the freezer for 5-10 minutes. Remember that a small amount of strokes of one color on the base of the glaze look elegant. Therefore, use paints in moderation.

Where else can you use the mirror glaze?

One option is to decorate the heart of marzipan flowers - for example, daisies with sparkling yellow in the middle. If you only want to achieve the effect of a spread chocolate topping, you can also apply a mirror glaze on a sponge cake. In this case, you do not need to freeze it in advance.

Classic mirror glaze

• 20 g of gelatin

• 300 ml of glucose

• 300 g of sugar

• 150 ml of water

• 200 ml of condensed milk

• 300 g chocolate (white, milk or black)

• pastry paint

1. Dip gelatin in cold water. Bring the glucose to the boil with the sugar and water. Pour over the condensed milk and add the chocolate and drained softened gelatin. Add the paint.

2. Beat with a blender or mixer. Leave the glaze in the refrigerator overnight. Heat, beat and use at 35 degrees.