Glaze is used to keep cakes and pastries fresh longer, but it is primarily a decoration. Glossy glaze is one of the varieties of sweet coating that can turn confectionery into real masterpieces. This glaze is easy to make at home. Its other names are mirror or glazed.
Basic Mirror Glaze Recipe
To prepare a regular glossy glaze, we need to take the following products:
- glucose syrup -150 gr.;
- sheet gelatin - 12 gr.;
- condensed milk - 100 gr.;
- granulated sugar - 150 gr.;
- water - 70 ml;
- white chocolate (melted in a water bath) - 150 gr.;
- food coloring - a few drops if necessary.
Cook like this:
- Soak gelatin in cold water.
- Pour water, glucose syrup and sugar into a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil and stir until a sugar syrup is obtained.
- Mix melted chocolate and condensed milk, add syrup to the mixture. Let cool slightly and add pre-squeezed gelatin. Stir gently. Food coloring can be added at this stage.
- Mix everything with a mixer or blender at low speed, avoiding the appearance of bubbles. Cover the mixture with cling film and refrigerate for 12 hours or overnight. If you then press on the mass and it will spring, then you did everything right.
You can store the glaze in the refrigerator for up to 30 days. Before pouring the product, it must be heated in a microwave oven or in a water bath and mixed with a blender.
Instead of glucose syrup, you can use honey in the same amount. You can also use invert syrup, which is used by pastry chefs instead of honey and molasses. It is not difficult to prepare it. This requires the following products:
- granulated sugar - 350 gr.;
- water - 150 ml;
- citric acid - 2 g.;
- baking soda - 1.5g.
Preparation:
- Cookware should have a thick bottom and a tight-fitting lid without holes. In it, mix sugar and water, put on medium heat and stir the mixture until the sugar dissolves. Add citric acid.
- Bring the syrup to a boil, cover tightly with a lid and simmer for about 20 minutes. The lid must not be lifted during cooking.
- Remove the syrup from the heat, let it cool slightly and add the baking soda. You should get a foam that will settle in 15-20 minutes. To make it dissipate faster, stir the syrup.
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If the foam hasn't completely gone, add a tablespoon of water and heat the syrup again.
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From this amount of products, 400 gr is obtained. syrup. In terms of density, it resembles flower honey, only without aroma. Yellow color. You need to store it in a sealed container for about a month at room temperature.
Chocolate glaze
Prepare the following ingredients:
- sugar -1 glass;
- water - 150 ml;
- sheet gelatin - 15 gr.;
- cocoa - 80 gr.;
- cream 25-30% fat - 150 ml.
Now do the following:
- Pour half the water over the gelatin.
- In a ladle, combine the sugar and remaining water and cook the syrup.
- Sift the cocoa into the syrup through a fine sieve, stirring the mass constantly with a spoon, bring until smooth. Remove from stove. Heat the cream to a temperature of 80 ° C, add gelatin.
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Add the creamy mass to the chocolate, stir and pass through a strainer.
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What cakes are decorated with glaze
Mousse and jelly pastries, soufflés are often covered with mirror glaze. They usually have a perfect smooth surface, which is a prerequisite for achieving a mirror effect. Pastry rings are often used to prepare these desserts. If such a glaze is used for ordinary cakes, then only the top is covered, while the glaze flows down the sides with beautiful streaks.
Coating the product with glaze
Glazed mainly frozen cakes and pastries. You can cut them with a heated knife. To properly cover the product, follow these instructions:
- Place the frozen dessert on the wire rack, and under it a plate or tray, where the excess coating will drain. If the cake is of any unusual shape, place it on a smaller platter.
- Then just pour the cake or pastries from the middle or around the perimeter, trying to make sure that the glaze also covers the sides of the dessert.
- Then take a spatula or wide knife and slide it over the surface of the cake, thereby removing excess coating from its surface. This will make the surface of the cake smoother and more mirror-like. However, you can skip this step if you are not confident in your skill.
- Lift the product in your hands and with a spatula, sort of collect the formed glaze threads to the bottom edge of the cake.
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After that, put the cake on a special support and send it to the refrigerator for 5-6 hours so that the product slowly thaws, and the icing finally sets. Decorate to your liking, such as sweet pearl sprinkles or mastic flowers.
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Rules for working with mirror glaze
To make the glaze evenly lay on the cake, follow these rules:
- the glaze must be kept in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours before use. Moreover, it should be covered with a film, it is the glaze itself, and not the dishes;
- before using the glaze, you need to warm it up to the so-called operating temperature - from 27 to 40 ° C. You can also focus on consistency: the glaze should not be too fluid;
- pour only frozen or very chilled cakes. Before pouring the product, run your hands over it to remove ice or condensation. If this is not done, the glaze may flow;
- the dripped glaze can be collected and reused. You cannot freeze it, otherwise it will lose the very mirror shine for which it is used. But it can be mixed with a new batch of frosting, brewed according to the same recipe.
The main mistakes when working with glaze
Here we will look at the main mistakes that can be made when working with glaze, and how to fix them.
Mistake # 1
Mirror icing for cakes covered the product with a very thin layer, the sides show through. Or vice versa - she covered the product with a too thick layer, lay down in lumps, did not completely “cover” the sides.
The reasons:
- the syrup is liquid or undercooked or overcooked;
- the working temperature of the glaze has not been maintained;
- incorrectly diluted powdered gelatin or did not squeeze the sheet, letting in excess liquid, which made the finished glaze liquid;
- the item to be coated is not completely frozen.
How to fix:
It is no longer possible to obtain a perfect mirror surface on a coated product. You can mask the gaps on the sides with decor (sugar sprinkles, chocolate chips, berries, chocolate tape).
Mistake # 2
During cooking, air bubbles formed in the mirror glaze, which, when coated, remain on the surface of the glazed product.
The reasons:
- too “violent” stirring during cooking;
- improper use of the blender. Before turning it on, gently chat to it so that excess air comes out.
How to fix:
- pass the glaze through a sieve with very fine meshes (you can several times);
- if the bubbles are closer to the surface, hit the glazed dishes several times on the table surface and remove the bubbles that have risen with a spoon.
