Chocolate Mirror Glaze orGlacage Chocolatin French is the most stunning of all cake glazes!
No special equipment required just a meat thermometer and strainer.
(Yes, I saidmeatthermometer!)
Pouring Mirror Glaze over the cake so it spreads and covers the side in a smooth motion, creating a flawless finish.
It calls for patience above all else (you will read the words cool and fridge a lot!
What makes Mirror Glazes shiny?
The ingredient that makes Mirror Glazes so shiny is gelatine.
It makes the glaze set into a glossy, thin layer of what is essentially chocolate jelly.
So you dont perceive a jelly texture and barely notice it is there!
It will make a cakelookimpressive, but like most things in life, its whats underneath that really matters!
What is Mirror Glaze made of?
A classic Chocolate Mirror Glaze is made of gelatine, water, cream, sugar and cocoa powder.
Some recipes use melted chocolate and condensed milk, but they arent as nice to eat.
Full-fat power needed here this is not the time to muck around with low fat alternatives!!!
No tocondensed milk and melted chocolatein Mirror Glazes!
Some recipes call for melted chocolate and condensed milk instead of cream.
This makes a thicker layer of mirror glaze which helps disguise more blemishes on the surface of the cake.
that literally dissolves in your mouth.
There are also some troubleshooting tricks to know which I have deployed many times!
More than anything, Mirror Glazed Cakes require patience.
You will read the words cool and refrigerate a lot in the following sections!
Transfer the cakewithout messing up the glaze; and
Fix any blemishesusing a couple of handy tricks.
See this separate post for my directions:How to Make Frosting Smooth on Cakes.
It makes it easier to spread the frosting smoothly.
But the mousse would need to be hard chilled overnight.
Hence a fluffy meringue frosting, say, is no good.
Nor is a light and fluffy mascarpone frosting.
However, abuttercream frostingorchocolate ganacheis perfect.
Chocolate Ganacheused to frost theChocolate Cakeonto which the Mirror Glaze is poured.
As much as you would ordinarily use to fill and cover the sides and surface of a cake.
Frosting recipes should provide that information!
Checkyour cake by looking at it from the side.
Little smears like you see on the right side of the cake don’t matter because the Mirror Glaze will smooth them out as it runs down the side. However, big dents and “hills” do matter – these will be visible in the shiny glaze.
But what does matter are hills and dents.
The light bouncing off the shiny glaze makes even the smallest mounds look so much bigger than they are!
Ive made all these mistakes, so you dont have to!
Bloom gelatine powder
Gelatine is what makes Mirror Glaze shiny.
Its very simple to use and not expensive either.
Theres no need for leaf gelatine.
Powdered gelatine works just fine and its readily available everywhere.
1.Bloom gelatine put a small amount of water in a small bowl then sprinkle gelatine over.
Mix it will set into a thick paste.
Leave for 5 minutes so the gelatine crystals absorb the water.
This is calledblooming gelatineand it allows the gelatine to dissolve smoothly into mixtures.
If you just added the powder straight into the glaze, youd end up with lots of lumps.
Making the mirror glaze
1.
Do minimal stirs, enough to just incorporate the cocoa slurry into the cream;
3.
Boil Bring to boil to dissolve the sugar, then take it straight off the stove;
4.
Dissolve gelatine Drop the gelatine in (it will have solidified into a rubbery disc);
5.
Stir GENTLY Gently stir to dissolve the gelatine lump.
It will take a minute or two of stirring but it will dissolve.
Professional patissiers use a stick blender / immersion blender.
By keeping the head and blades under liquid, it avoids bubbles getting into the mixture.
Honestly, just easier to mix cocoa and water first!
Glossy!The glaze should be shiny and glossy at this point, and hopefully bubble free.
If you have bubbles, dont fret!
We can fix it in the next step.
Strain and cool
1.
This will reduce the risk of bubbles being created during the straining process.
If the glaze is too hot,it will melt the ganache and slide off the cake.
Gold leaf and gold dust used to decorate Mirror Glaze Cake
You dont need a fancy candy thermometer.
Just use your trusty old meat thermometer!
I manage this on my own, but its easier if you get a helping hand!
That action will create bubbles.
Also you will get a skin on the surface which creates unsightly lumps in the glaze.
Part 3: Glazing!
Checklist before you kick off pouring to ensure you nail it!
You dont need to possess an experts hand with the pouring action.
Dont hesitate or do a thin stream.
This is the best way to ensure you get a perfect, flawless surface.
Dont worry, the surface will still be flat.
Transfer before it sets!The mirror glaze will start to set after about 10 minutes.
Prevent screen from sleeping
See next section for how to transfer the cake.
Once a Mirror Glaze is set … dont touch!
Mirror Glazes take 5 to 10 minutes to set.
It sets quite quickly because were pouring it over a fridge cold ganache or other frosting.
It will feel like a soft jelly.
It will not crust over like typical glazes (eg.
like the Lemon Glaze inthis cake).
To preserve the flawless, shiny glaze, avoid touching the mirror glaze once it has been poured.
If you touch it once it has set, you will leave a faint fingerprint mark on it.
(Thats just a smear on the cake platter you see in the above step photos.)
Otherwise the glaze around the base of the cake will start to set and stick to the rack.
This will cause dragged, untidy bits around the base of the cake when you move it.
Mirror Glaze melts super easily you dont need it to be hot.
If it sizzles on contact with the mirror glaze, its too hot!
Voila!Its (practically) flawless!
Reheated Mirror Glazes will get bubbles in them in the stirring process.
Its inevitable, no matter how gently you stir them.
Also, the final strain of the Mirror Glaze into the pouring jug will strain out any nasty bubbles.
Very appealing for practical purposes!
Hence the beauty of homemade so we can make it properly!
It just takes patience lots of cooling / refrigeration steps.
Not just for how professional and impressive it looks, but also for the flavour and how it eats.
And heres some final words of encouragement I have to offer: So what if its not perfect??
Even if yours is a bit bumpy, the glaze will still besoshiny.
Far more shiny than you might achieve with any other glaze or frosting.
And more importantly, it is still going totaste 100% amazing!
8 more classic cakes
Life of Dozer
No chocolate for you Dozer.
And none of myBeef Phoeither!!
OK fine, you’re free to have ONE noodle!
