Cakes with mirror glaze. Recipe for mirror glaze for a cake step by step with a photo

Let's prepare all the ingredients that are listed in the general list and a silicone mold with a diameter of 18 cm. I have a voluminous silicone mold, Eclipse. If you do not have such a form, you can use a detachable form or a metal ring with a diameter of 18 cm.

First, let's prepare "Cherry Confit with Cognac". Soak gelatin (6 g) in advance in very cold water (36 g), in a ratio of 1:6. If the water is not cold enough, I replace some of the water with pieces of ice (ice in terms of 100 ml of water is 92 g), this helps preserve the gelatinous properties of gelatin. Leave to swell for 40-60 minutes (according to the instructions). I have gelatin powder.

Sugar (60 g) and frozen pitted cherries (250 g) are put in a saucepan and heated over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and then boil for another 2 minutes. Punch lightly with a blender so that small pieces of berries remain (it will be nice to feel them).

Remove from heat, cool to 85 ° C, add swollen gelatin, stir well until it is completely dissolved. Add 20 g of cognac and 1 tsp. lemon juice. Along the way, do not forget to taste, it turns out very tasty, and the main thing here is to stop in time, we should leave it for a cake.)

We bake "Brownie with almonds". We put melted butter (90 g) and dark chocolate (90 g) into the mixer bowl, if you want to enhance the taste of chocolate, take dark chocolate. I love bittersweet, but just dark chocolate is great for this cake. Beat at low speed, adding sugar (90 g).

Preparing White Chocolate Mousse. Soak gelatin (10 g) in cold water (60 g), similar to step 1. Prepare chocolate and brownies to be ready. Grind white chocolate (85 g), remove brownies from the refrigerator, cut off the top of the cake and cut out a circle with a diameter of 14 cm and a height of 1-1.5 cm. Rub the yolks (36 g, this is from 2 eggs) with sugar (20 g) and 2 tsp vanilla sugar.

We put the form on a tray and pour out part of the chocolate mousse, a little less than half. Put in the freezer for 3-5 minutes. On a slightly elastic mousse, spread the cherry confit exactly in the center (do not get it out of the freezer in advance). Pour the mousse on top so as to just close the confit.

Lay out the cut out brownie circle. We also try to lay it in the center, and fill the form with the remaining mousse. We slightly drown the brownie in the mousse and carefully scroll the tray with the form so that there are no voids. Everything, we clean for 12 hours or overnight in the freezer.

Preparing the Mirror Glaze. Let's start with gelatin (12 g). Soak in ice water (72 g). Well, if you have sheet gelatin, it's easier to work with! Immediately prepare a jug, in which we put the condensed milk (100 g) down, on the condensed milk - finely chopped white chocolate (150 g).

In a saucepan we combine 75 g of water, 150 g of sugar and 150 g of glucose syrup. We begin to warm up, do not interfere, do not touch, until the sugar dissolves, you can slightly move the stewpan on the stove, helping the sugar dissolve. The mixture begins to boil, the sugar has dissolved. Now we need an electronic thermometer. Mixed with a spoon (spatula), bring to a temperature of 103 ° C. 2 points are very important: undercooked or overcooked, both give a bad result for the glaze! If you do not have an electronic thermometer, use the method that I already suggested in the recipe (see step 21).

Pour the hot syrup into a jug, the chocolate gradually melts, the temperature of the syrup drops to 85 ° C, spread the swollen gelatin. Gelatin can be melted slightly in the microwave and poured into a jug. Mix gently with a spatula.

Let's prepare the dye so that it is at hand. We introduce the nozzle of an immersion blender at an angle to avoid bubbles that are undesirable for the glaze, and begin to punch the mixture with pulsating movements until a homogeneous mass. We add a dye, a few drops, continue to break through the glaze and observe with interest how the color of the glaze changes. We like her more and more, beauty. Tip: Freeze a white plastic spoon, then dip it into the prepared frosting and see what color your cake will be. We hold the blender nozzle at an angle, turning only the jug, a funnel appears into which the bubbles go.

If they punched without bubbles, great, immediately cover the icing with cling film in contact, as the glucose syrup forms a film on the icing. If nasty bubbles form, strain the icing into another jug ​​through a fine sieve and cover with cling film. Everything, put in the refrigerator for 12 hours or overnight, so that the icing is ripe.

Each of us is a little child. And we still choose from two unfamiliar candies the one with the prettier wrapper. We think that if it's beautiful, then it's delicious. And the task of any confectioner is to create the highest fair harmony between taste and appearance. Today we will do exactly what we will create a very beautiful "wrapper" for different types of desserts. It's a mirror glaze! How to cook it correctly and what mistakes can be encountered? Let's find out today.

A mirror glaze recipe that has never let me down

I will share my favorite recipe.
Once upon a time I heard that the kitchen is comparable to the laboratory. Each component is important here, its quality, weight and other characteristics. Since then, I have never doubted the veracity of this hypothesis. And there are recipes that confirm this. The recipes do not indicate “to taste”, not “a pinch”, and not even “by eye”. Everything is important there. It is described what, how, in what sequence and with what to connect.
These recipes are huge! The chance of a dish failing is reduced to a minimum. And all because everything is described in detail to the smallest detail.
This recipe is exactly where you need to follow the instructions, and then you will understand how easy it is to become the creator of the perfect mirror glaze.

Ingredients:

• Sugar - 150 gr;
• Water - 75 gr;
• Glucose syrup (molasses or invert, or corn syrup) - 150 gr;
• Leaf gelatin - 12g;
• White chocolate (the best quality you can afford) - 150 gr;
• Condensed milk - 100 gr;
• Dye. I don't say how much you need. Focus on the color you want to get. But keep in mind that the frozen glaze will be brighter.

In addition to products, tools are also needed. There are a lot of recipes where we can easily do without some products or replace one tool with one that is more convenient for us to work with (or which one is available). But frosting is a very delicate thing. And in order for us to succeed, in addition to bowls and stewpans, we need suitable tools:

• Scales;
• Thermometer;
• Submersible blender.

This is the basic recipe. There are many others, such as chocolate, fruit, cream, etc. If you have favorite recipes that you personally tested, share! Tell us how you cook in the comments and show off photos of your work! It will be great to see everything!

How to make mirror glaze (step by step recipe with photos):

1. Soak gelatin in water.
2. We combine water, sugar and glucose syrup.
3. We send the mixture to the fire. Heat up to 103 C, stirring constantly. Sugar should be completely dissolved. Set aside from the fire and stirring, cool a little, to about 60 C.
4. Squeeze out the gelatin and add to the mixture. We mix.
5. We melt the chocolate. This can be done in one of the ways: in a water bath, you can put the chocolate in a pastry bag and hold it in boiling water, in the microwave in pulses (hold for 15 seconds, take it out and mix. And so several times until the chocolate melts).
6. We combine condensed milk with chocolate.
7. Add syrup mixture. Pour it into the chocolate in a thin stream. We mix.
8. Add dye drop by drop. This makes it easier to choose the right color.
9. Holding the blender almost vertically, and without raising it above the mixture, mix the glaze.
10. Now it's time to make sure you did everything right. In the glaze you will see yourself!
11. Bubbles! If you see a small amount of bubbles in your glaze, you need to pass the mixture through a fine sieve. If after the second time the bubbles still remain, you will have to redo the glaze.
12. To work with the glaze, you need to cool (or heat) it to 29-35. The ideal "working" temperature is selected individually, empirically, on average - it is 32 C

Take note: if the icing is to be used for smudges on the cake, its temperature should be lower, from my experience, no more than 30 C, about 28-29 C. Otherwise, the smudges will go down to the very bottom of the cake and will stand on the substrate ugly puddles.

How to work with glaze:

• To make it convenient to water desserts, pour the icing into a container with a spout.
• Desserts must have a flat surface.
• Desserts are pre-frozen in the freezer.
• We put the products on a support above the tray, where the glaze will drain.
• We pour the icing slowly, but with confident movements in a spiral.
• !!! Periodically check the temperature of the glaze. Before measuring the degrees, mix the icing. If necessary, heat up.
• Let it sit for a few minutes (about 3).
• Carefully remove the finished product from the support. We remove the threads from the flowing glaze and transfer the desserts to a dish, tray, substrate.
• We send for 3-6 hours in the refrigerator. The larger the product, the longer it should stay in the refrigerator.

You can decorate the cake or pastry before putting the dessert to cool.

Analysis of errors. Subtleties. Nuances. Mirror Glaze Secrets

Color

Want to get more saturated color? - Use glucose syrup.
What are the requirements for dry dye? We have chocolate in the recipe. With this in mind, the dye must be fat-soluble.
How to get a snow-white glaze color? - To do this, add titanium dioxide as a dye.
Is it possible to recolor the frosting? - Yes.
If the color of the glaze is translucent, how can I add density to the color? - Using titanium dioxide. Adding it is also worth a drop.
Can I make silver or gold icing? Of course! - With the help of kandurin, which will take a lot to make the color distinct and saturated.

Cooking

How not to spoil the icing while mixing products? - Do not create bubbles. It depends on the position of the blender. It should be almost vertical and not rise above the surface of the icing. Otherwise, you run the risk of preparing a bubble glaze, but not a mirror one at all (we will definitely use this method when the “broken glass” or “exploded volcano” styles are in fashion.)
In what dishes is it more convenient to prepare the correct glaze? — Tall and narrow glass.
What to do if there are bubbles in the finished glaze? - If there are few of them, you can pass the mixture through a strainer 1-2 times. If there are a lot of bubbles, prepare another glaze; this one no longer works.

Glaze work

Why is the optimal temperature for glaze - 29-35 degrees? - It is convenient to work with it, it will quickly harden and will be even and smooth. At lower temperatures lumps may form. If the temperature is higher, such a glaze will simply drain from the dessert. And if the dessert is mousse or covered with cream, we run the risk of spoiling its appearance with warm icing. If the surface is a hemisphere, then the glaze itself will flow down.
What is the best way to apply glaze on a surface? - You can use a baking sheet, but it is better to take a special grill or from the oven. Place the products on the grid at a small distance from each other to make it easier to work and cover all sides evenly. Pour frosting into a bowl with a spout. Water in a circular motion from the center to the edges. All movements are slow and smooth. Instead of a grate, you can use any pot or three-liter jar as a hill.

If the glaze does not hold, but slides off the surface of the product. Why? And how to prevent? - Perhaps when the cake was in the refrigerator, it froze so hard that a thin layer of ice appeared on its surface. Now that you've taken it out, that ice melts and the icing slides off. Before work, iron the product with your hands. Then, and only then, start icing.
How to smooth the icing if the surface of the dessert is flat on top? - With a spatula.
How to achieve an impeccably smooth surface of a dessert using icing? - 2 conditions are important:

1. Initially, you need the surface of the cake or pastry to be even. A mousse top coat is ideal.
2. The product must be very cold. Then the glaze will instantly harden evenly and flawlessly.

Is it possible to cover the product with two layers of glaze? - Yes. After the first layer, you need to take a short break. But first you should check the temperature of the glaze, and if necessary, heat it up.
How many times can the finished glaze be reheated? - Irrelevant. The number of heatings does not affect the quality.
What if the frosting is at the right temperature for us, but it's still too thick and awkward to work with? - You can add a couple of teaspoons of sugar syrup (water and sugar in equal proportions).
Is it possible to use the same glaze that glass from finished products? - Yes. If there are no crumbs and pieces in it.

Should the operating temperature be the same for white or dark chocolate icing? - Not. It is believed that for dark chocolate icing, the temperature should be several degrees higher. Here it is worth focusing on how it is convenient for you to work personally. A glaze with a higher temperature will be thinner.

Product appearance and design

When and how to remove a cake (cake) from the grill? - After 3 minutes, the icing more or less "grabbed", and now you can remove the dessert from the stand. This must be done with a very thin spatula. If necessary, if the product is large, you can use two spatulas.
How to get rid of the drops of glaze frozen at the bottom of the dessert? - Not with your hands! So that the icing does not stick and does not reach for your fingers. It will be possible to carefully remove the drops while removing the dessert from the grate. To do this, the product is slightly lifted with a spatula, and rotated several times on the grid in one direction and the other.

How to mask imperfections?

- The frosting is very soft. It's easy to break. What to do?

- You can easily decorate a flaw with nuts, chocolate, berries, cream, etc.

- How to decorate a dessert covered with icing?

“Of course, we didn’t try so hard to hide such beauty. However, to make the design interesting, sometimes you need a couple of strokes. For example, mix different colors and shades of glaze. Come up with a berry composition. Or, make figurines out of chocolate, mastic or marzipan.

— The product is cold and condensation may appear. Can it ruin the look of the dessert?

- Unfortunately yes. Therefore, try to very gently blot the droplets with a napkin without touching the surface.

How to cut a cake without damaging the beauty?

- Dessert must be cold. But the knife is dry and warm.

Storage

Can frosting be stored? How to do it right?

- Can. In the refrigerator, cover with cling film so that it touches the surface of the glaze (in contact).

- How to use the frosting that was stored in the refrigerator?

Just warm it up to the right temperature.

How long does the frosting keep?

- About a month.

- Can I mix the frosting that was stored in the refrigerator with the one that was made right now?

- If the cooking recipes are identical, you can.

If I missed something, feel free to ask questions! I will gladly answer everything!

And good luck with your experience!

Another option for decorating a cake can be, which is very easy to use.

mirror glaze- spectacular, glossy, noble coating of cakes and pastries! But how beautiful she is, how capricious she is! We analyze the most common mistakes in its preparation. Now your sweets will be perfect!

Hi all!

For a long time we did not replenish the section, but we must! And today we will devote our article, more precisely, to the most common mistakes that occur during its preparation. The professional training portal for confectioners The Chef will help us with this! The guys answered the questions that most often torment novice confectioners who have begun to conquer the mirror glaze, or, in the language of the masters, glaze. We combined this information with experience, and we got a great chest of useful tips!)

Recipes mirror glaze mass, and the number only multiplies. Caramel, on gelatin, condensed milk, cream, pectin, berry puree ... We also have a troika on the site - and. The most simple, working, running recipes. And it seems that everything is verified to the smallest detail, described in detail, but, one way or another, troubles happen: it either drains from the sides, then it lies in waves or with bald spots, then it loses its luster, then ... In general, it turns out that the glaze is a guy with skittish!

If anyone has forgotten the rules for working with mirror glaze, we recall.

• The icing is prepared in advance, preferably 12 hours before use, and this time is kept under the “vkontakt” film in the refrigerator.
• Before use, the glaze is heated to operating temperature. For each recipe and composition, it can be different - from about 27 to 40 degrees. Experienced confectioners often focus not even on temperature, but on consistency: the icing should be fluid, but not too fluid. It is difficult to explain this, therefore, in fact, they came up with the concept of “working temperature” so that there was at least some kind of guideline.
• Only frozen (or in extreme cases very well frozen) cakes are poured with icing! You can cover both mousse and sponge cakes with it, but the latter should be well aligned and - again! - frozen. Cream for alignment - any stable!
• It is necessary to allow excess glaze to drain, so the blanks are placed on a wire rack or other surface, the area of ​​\u200b\u200bwhich is less than the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe base of the cake.
• The drained icing can be collected and reused - but in no case on the same cake: the second layer is unlikely to lie flat. Put the icing in the refrigerator, and within a week you can cover another dessert with it)
• You can’t freeze the glaze, otherwise it will lose its shine, for which we all love it so much! However, if you used the recipe on dextrose, then the gloss will remain after freezing. But such recipes are rarely used by home confectioners.

So, those are the basics.

And now - actually, errors.

Icing runs off the sides of the cake - completely or almost completely

Well, firstly, perhaps you were in a hurry and did not let her “ripen”. The fact is that gelatin needs time to earn its full potential. It's 6-7 hours. That is why the glaze is prepared in advance. And it’s better to infuse the icing for 12 hours, to be sure) No, seriously, in the leading confectionery schools, this is exactly how much time is allotted for the “ripening” of the icing. And one more thing - if you are worried, start with dark chocolate icing recipes: they are stronger and set faster on the cake.

Secondly, it is likely (although you will now deny it)), your cake was not cold enough. For better adhesion, the cake should be downright icy! Therefore, take the blank out of the ring or mold, put it back in the freezer for a while and only then fill it with glaze, because during the time that you get the cake out of the ring (which, due to lack of practice, can be very difficult), he will have time to absorb a little room temperature and it won't be so cold anymore.

The third is condensation. Yes, again, while we are fiddling, taking the cake out of the mold, it manages to be covered with tiny droplets of water due to the temperature difference. And they will also interfere with a good grip. Therefore - again! - we don’t keep the cake at room temperature for a long time before glazing, and just before pouring, we wipe it with a clean hand, removing possible condensation.

Glaze falls in waves

There is only one answer here: you did not bring the temperature to the working temperature - the glaze is too cold! If you don't have enough experience yet to recognize the correct glaze consistency, but want (which is completely normal!) to avoid such problems, freeze some mousse in small molds and fill them with glaze before icing the main product. You can try dipping a well-chilled spoon into the glaze, for example, but this test is not always 100% correct.

Bubbles on glaze

Not scary, but unpleasant: the aesthetic side of the issue suffers. Of course, bubbles can be covered with decor, but their presence still speaks of the insufficient level of professionalism of the confectioner in the field of modern mousse cakes and the not very high quality of the coating. And if you planned a design in the style of minimalism, then the bubbles will simply spoil the whole concept for you. In short, ideally, you need to learn how to cover cakes with glaze without bubbles! They appear at the stage of preparing the glaze, when you actively mix all the ingredients. Before use, according to technology, it is necessary to “break through” the glaze with a submersible blender. This procedure, in theory, should rid the mixture of bubbles, but this is not always the case. It happens, on the contrary: the bubble blender only adds! Therefore, it is extremely important to “punch” strictly according to the rules: in a tall glass, tilting it slightly and fixing the blender nozzle in one place, without moving it back and forth. You need to find the optimal position of the nozzle, in which the blender will make a quiet, characteristic sound. But a lot depends on the blender itself, on the structure of its nozzle. In other words, you need to feel your technique, make friends with it. And this, of course, also comes with practice. And if you want to see right now clearly how to break through the icing in order to rid it of bubbles, this can be done in the lessons of The Chef online academy, for example, or.

The icing quickly fades on the cake!

And this is the most mysterious mistake, annoying and very unpleasant! After all, glaze is called mirror glaze for that: it is glossy, glitters and you can look into it like in a mirror! But it often happens that just a few minutes after coating, the glaze becomes dull (And there is nothing to be done about it. Why is this happening? Even chefs admit that there is no normal, logical explanation for this phenomenon. But, of course, there are suspicions!) a common opinion is that the glaze is simply weathered, dried. Therefore, experienced craftsmen advise to pack the cake in a box as soon as possible and put it in the refrigerator in it to defrost. They say it helps to keep the shine and the very "mirror". It has also been noted that how quickly the icing will wind up depends on the model of the refrigerator: the better everything is ventilated inside, the faster the icing becomes matte. In general, again and again - negotiate with your equipment, in the confectionery business all these devices are not just machines, but really friends and helpers!

And further! When adding dyes to the glaze, remember that their color fully appears only over time (about a day), so you can not evaluate the result immediately. On the cake, the shade may change.

Thank you for your attention!

If you have questions on this topic, leave them in the comments, we will try to help in every possible way online.

At first glance, it is not easy to prepare a mousse cake with a mirror glaze. However, if there is a desire and a little patience, the result will exceed all expectations. The cake is soft and has a rich taste. Decorated with mirror glaze, the mousse cake looks beautiful and spectacular. It creates a sense of celebration even before the first bite is eaten.

Set aside at least two days for the preparation and preparation of the cake. This does not mean that all this time you will have to constantly cook something and settle in the kitchen. Just ready-made cake base should be left to lie down for 5-8 hours. Mirror glaze is best left overnight in the refrigerator. The entire finished cake will have to be frozen before coating, which will take 5 hours. But the wait is worth it!

Decorating with mirror glaze is just some kind of confectionery magic! When I first tried decorating a cake with it, I was surprised at how easy it was and how beautiful it turned out. It is only important to cook it correctly and follow simple rules:

1. only frozen cake can be covered with mirror glaze
2. do not allow condensation to form on the surface to be coated
3. work quickly and confidently

Biscuit base

Ingredients

eggs - 3 pcs.
sugar - 1/3 tbsp.
cocoa - 1/6 tbsp
flour - 1/6 tbsp.
soda - ½ tsp
wine vinegar - 2 tsp

• For the cake, take the recipe for a simple chocolate biscuit.
• Eggs need to be beaten with sugar in a lush mass until its volume triples, add vinegar.
• Sift flour, cocoa and soda, and then mix with a spatula into the egg mixture.
• Bake a biscuit until fully cooked in a round shape with a diameter of at least 2 cm less than the future cake. Readiness to check with a toothpick, and do not open the oven for the first 20-25 minutes.
• We stand the finished biscuit for at least 5 hours, then cut it to the desired thickness and level it.

Mirror glaze recipe

Mirror glaze at home is prepared in the same way as it happens in pastry shops. It is also called glazing. The ingredients are the same, the technology is the same. You should not replace glucose syrup with anything else, as it gives the desired viscosity of the glaze. An alternative may be invert syrup, which must be prepared in advance.

Ingredients:

gelatin - 12 g
water - 70 g + 75 g
sugar - 150 g
glucose - 150 g
white chocolate - 150 g
condensed milk - 100 g

• Soak gelatin in boiled cold water (70 g) and let stand until it swells.
• Pour water into a stainless steel bucket with a thick bottom, add sugar and glucose syrup. Put this mixture on fire and let it boil. Sugar should be completely dissolved.
• Put white chocolate pieces in a blender bowl, add condensed milk and gelatin. Pour in hot syrup and beat the whole mixture with a blender, adding the desired dye.
• The surface of the glaze must be covered with a film in contact. If there are a lot of air bubbles, you can strain it through a fine sieve.
• Mirror glaze for the cake should stand in the refrigerator and cool. It is better to let it stabilize for 8 hours.

fruit confit

Ingredients:

fruit - 350 g
sugar - 100 g
starch - 12 g
gelatin - 10g
water - 60 g

• In this cake for the fruit layer, I used peaches and plums in half. I peeled and pitted the fruits, covered them with sugar and let them juice.
• Then you need to bring the fruit to a boil, cook a little to completely soften.
• Dilute the starch in one to two tablespoons of water and add to the fruit.
• Last add the soaked gelatin (it will dissolve in the hot fruit puree).
• Wrap a detachable ring of the same diameter as for a biscuit with cling film. Set the ring on a flat tray and pour chilled confit into it.
• Allow the fruit confit to harden in the freezer for easy handling.

  Lemon cream mousse

Ingredients:

cream cheese - 250 g
cream 33% - 300 g
sugar - 100 g
lemon juice - 3 tbsp.
white chocolate - 90 g
zest of ½ lemon
gelatin - 10 g
water - 60 g

• Add sugar to lemon juice and heat over low heat until sugar dissolves.
• Soak the gelatin in water and then add it to the hot lemon syrup.
• Melt the white chocolate in this mixture.
• Whip cream until stiff, add cream cheese and lemon mixture.

Collecting and decorating the cake

1. On a flat surface of the tray we put a ring covered with cling film and laid with a side tape.
2. Place a biscuit on the bottom. It can be impregnated with fruit syrup or cognac-based impregnation.
3. Place the frozen fruit confit on top of the biscuit and fill everything with mousse.
4. Place the cake in the freezer overnight if possible.
5. Before decorating, remove the glaze from the cold, heat to 35 degrees and punch again with a blender.
6. Remove the frozen cake from the ring, remove the side tape. Set the cake on a stand over a large tray where the icing will drain.
7. Pour the glaze over the cake, remove the excess with a pastry spatula and let the glaze set. Then remove the drips from the bottom of the cake and place it with spatulas on the substrate.

You can decorate the cake with chocolate or natural flowers. They need to be properly prepared in advance. Flowers are best taken at a flower shop to avoid getting into the cake along with insect buds. Wrap the legs of the buds with cling film or special tape.

You can also decorate the cake with ready-made gel. You can buy a special confectionery gel in the DelGusto store. By clicking on this link http://delgusto.ua/ua/kategoria-geli you can choose a gel for every taste and color.

Many people think that mirror glaze is just the work of Photoshop on pictures. But in fact, a similar result is quite simple to obtain if you prepare the decoration according to a proven recipe. That is what we are going to tell you about in this article.

A mirror glaze cake has a glossy, mirror-like surface. Modern confectioners often use these secrets to transform mousse desserts, traditional cakes and pastries. Gloss coating can be white, chocolate or colored.



In the old days, craftsmen deftly sculpted figures from mastic or decorated sweets with syrup. Today, this is already in the past and many are interested in what kind of glaze recipe will allow you to recreate the surface of the cake, similar to a mirror. Let all your household and guests be amazed by your skill and professionalism in the culinary business.

How easy it is to make a mirror glaze

All the ingredients that are included in the cake with mirror glaze must be preheated, because the main point is the implementation of the temperature regime. So, all the secrets of mirror glaze are presented below and step by step:

1. The optimum whipping temperature should be 30 degrees. But the indicators are allowed to vary within 29-39º.
2. It is important that the cake is well frozen before glazing. You need to get it out of the freezer immediately before applying a mirror coating to its surface.
3. If your goal is to make beautiful stains on the cake, then it is worth maintaining the lowest temperature of 20-30 degrees. As the temperature rises, the drips may solidify in the form of puddles.
4. Hot shiny icing can leave gaps and lighter spots that can ruin the appearance of the cake.
5. The formation of condensate is also unacceptable, because as a result, the mirror glaze for the cake may wrinkle.
6. The mass is stored in the refrigerator for a short time, before re-use it must be reheated.



It is also necessary to take into account that it is necessary to work with glazing immediately after its manufacture. In the refrigerator, the mirror icing for the cake is stored in a dish covered with cling film for no more than a day.

The most common mistakes

Before you cover the cake, you must foresee and prevent the most common mistakes.

A thin layer of glazing after application, as a result, the sides are visible:

1. The syrup was cooked incorrectly, that is, it turned out to be liquid. Most likely, the temperature regime was not achieved taking into account the recommendations.
2. Multi-colored colored glaze must also have a certain temperature when applied to the cake. Most likely, this indicator was lower or higher than expected.
3. Such a discrepancy with expectations could occur due to incorrectly squeezed initially gelatin. Excess moisture can give an uneven, smooth and runny finish.
4. We remind you: before decorating the cake, it must be thoroughly cooled or chilled.

The prepared glaze turned out to be too thick or came in lumps:

1. You need to quickly remove the syrup during cooking, when it reaches a temperature of 29-39 degrees. Then the covered cake will become tasty and beautiful.
2. During application, the operating temperature was below the optimum. The frosting set ahead of time.



What actions need to be taken in case air bubbles for some reason formed on the surface of the decor and froze in this form:

• while mixing the workpiece, you worked too sharply and actively;
• use of technology - the blender should be kept at an angle of 45 degrees and only the bowl should be rotated;
• a day after you store the mirror glaze in the refrigerator, the foam with bubbles must be carefully removed with a tablespoon;
• to cover cakes with your own hands, it is worth repeatedly passing the workpieces through a sieve with small shaking.

The reasons why the mirror glaze became matte, deformed:

• glucose syrup and dessert should be removed directly from the refrigerator before application;
• Initially, before coating, it is worth wiping the dessert with a warm, dry palm.

Simple but invaluable tips:

1. Silicone molds should not just be good, but of the highest quality.
2. The cake should be removed from the workpiece very carefully.
3. The freezer must be empty when freezing cakes. The cake is placed on a flat surface, such as a cutting board.

Mirror glaze preparation video

https://youtu.be/Ka0tdV8uDK8

Mirror glaze with invert syrup

Here is a recipe for mirror glaze with invert syrup, according to which you can create a real culinary masterpiece. Here is a step-by-step recipe that you need to carefully follow:

1. Gelatin must be soaked in ice water. If you have not found sheet gelatin, take an ordinary powdered one. But in this case, stick to the exact proportions. Count 1:6 gelatin to water. And this means that if there are 12 g of gelatin powder in a bag, then you need to take 72 g of water and put the container aside. The powder needs to swell for one hour.
2. Chopped and melted chocolate and condensed milk are added to the bowl of an immersion blender.
3. In a separate iron bowl, mix water, sugar and glucose syrup in the amount indicated in the list of ingredients. On low heat, you need to melt the mixture, but do not interfere with the spoon, but only slightly move the metal container from side to side.
4. When to remove the mixture from the fire, the thermometer will tell you. When you see the designation 103 degrees, you should remove the dishes from the heat and set them aside. If you digest the future glaze, it will thicken and nothing can be done with it, and if you don’t cook it, it will drain. There will be gaps on the surface.
5. In a blender bowl, add the squeezed gelatin (it is what creates the shine on the surface) and the syrup cooked on the stove.
6. Before blending all the cooked ingredients with a blender, it is worth checking the operating temperature. It should be 85 degrees, pour everything into the mass and gently knead.
7. Add a couple of drops of food coloring and run the blender on low speed. Slightly whisk all the products into a single mass. Add more dyes if not enough. But remember that when frozen, the glaze looks brighter.
8. With this method of making glaze, the blender should be held at an angle of 45 degrees. You only need to rotate the bowl. There should not be many bubbles during whipping.
9. Leave the mass in the bowl, covered with cling film. To obtain a gloss effect and stabilize the consistency, the prepared mass is placed in the refrigerator for 12 hours. Usually at night.
10. If in the morning you press on the mass, and it will spring, then you did everything right.
11. During the further preparation of the mirror glaze, it should be melted in the microwave and then beat again with a blender before applying to the cake. But it is worth carefully monitoring the temperature regime. The operating temperature should be 30-35 degrees. It can be adjusted if necessary.
12. The mixture must then be passed through a sieve to remove excess air bubbles and poured into a jug with a spout. The last action will facilitate the process of confectionery decoration.
13. Remove the cake from the freezer and immediately cover the dessert with the prepared glaze. Don't forget to monitor the temperature.
14. If the colored mirror glaze stands for several minutes, condensation may appear on its surface. This is the biggest reason glossy icing can run off.
15. If the frosting remains, it can be stored under cling film in the refrigerator. Just warm it up before coating.

If you did everything right, you can even see your reflection on the surface of the confectionery decoration.

Ingredients and how to cook

Having mastered the recipe for mirror glaze at home, you will cope with other options for preparing this amazing confectionery decoration. For this you will need:

• gelatin in sheets;
• water - 75 g (using a kitchen scale, it is necessary to weigh it in g, not ml);
• sugar - 150 g;
• invert syrup - 150 g;
• white chocolate - 150 g;
• condensed milk - 100 g;
• food colored dyes, which can be purchased in special confectionery departments.

All the above products are available and sold in ordinary stores, supermarkets. Having mastered the recipe for mirror glaze and acquiring all the necessary ingredients, you can call yourself a master in the confectionery business. You can make red, green and even black cake toppings.

Equipment needed for cooking



To prepare a glaze, everything must be foreseen with great accuracy. Therefore, as an inventory you will need:

• cooking thermometer;
• kitchen electronic scales;
• high bowl immersion blender

A cooking thermometer that will allow you to measure the required temperature. If the icing reads low on the thermometer, then it will be difficult to distribute it on the surface of the cake. In another case, too warm glaze may spread and is unlikely to resemble mirror glass after solidification.

The same can be said about the accuracy in measuring the weight of each ingredient. You should not do everything by eye - this is the worst mistake in the manufacture of colored glaze.

And with the help of an immersion blender, it will be possible to achieve the necessary consistency, which in the future will need to cover the delicacy.

What to do if there is no glucose syrup

In this case, you can use honey instead of glucose syrup. Honey taste and aroma will be just an additional plus for your delicacy.

You need to take:

• water - 75 g;
• sheet gelatin - 12 g;
• condensed milk - 100 g;
• white chocolate, sugar, liquid natural honey - each ingredient should be taken in 150 g;
• food coloring.



The recipe for making glass glaze with honey is similar to the base one, which uses invert syrup. It is only important to observe one basic rule: honey must be liquid. And for this it will need to be melted in a steam bath.

Alternatively, this syrup can also be prepared by yourself. You will get a white mirror glaze, and if you add a dye, it will be colored.

Store in the refrigerator, covered with cling film, up to 1 month.

• sugar - 350 g;
• hot water 155 ml;
• citric acid - 2/3 teaspoon;
• baking soda - 1.5 g.

step by step

1. Add sugar to hot water, mix well until the sugar dissolves. Then put on fire and keep there until boiling.
2. After the mixture boils, add citric acid to it and let it boil under the lid for another 20 minutes. Please note that the syrup should be light golden in color.
3. Soda must be diluted with a dessert spoon of water. The presented mixture must be poured into syrup. There will be something like an explosion. It is worth the wait and the homemade syrup will be ready when all the accumulations of bubbles have subsided. It will be very similar in texture to honey.

Mirror chocolate icing



In home cooking, chocolate mirror glaze is considered a favorite. This decoration is great for such delicacies as "Daniella", "Bird's milk", they look great with all kinds of mousses. Also, a cake with mirror glaze looks great in a company with a variety of powder, mastic, candied flowers, as well as in combination with other shades of confectionery coating. Glossy icing on the cake is very beautiful in appearance, but the taste will exceed all your expectations.

Of the ingredients you will need:

• a bag of gelatin;
• sugar - 240 g;
• water - 96;
• molasses (you can also take liquid honey, or cook it yourself) - 80 g;
• fat cream (more than 30%) - 160 g;
• cocoa powder - 80 g;
• vanillin - 1 sachet;
• crushed or chopped dark chocolate - 50g.

Step by step recipe



1. First, soak the gelatin in water. Follow the instructions on the package. If you threw out a bag with a detailed description, then you will need our hint. It is necessary to pour gelatin in powder with water, at the rate of 1 tablespoon of the product for half a glass of liquid. Leave the gelatin to swell in water for 1 hour. Remember that instant gelatin swells in half an hour.
2. Now it is worth preparing a water bath, in which a container with swollen gelatin is placed. Bring to complete dissolution without stopping stirring. Secret: if you let the gelatin boil, then the protein and collagen will be destroyed, after which the dish itself will no longer harden. If you were unable to achieve the desired result, the correct way out would be to throw away the boiled gelatin, it will no longer be usable. Filling on the cake will not work if you add spoiled gelatin to it.
3. In a separate container, add sugar, cocoa and vanilla, bring to a homogeneous mass. Gradually add cream and water. Do it very carefully.
4. The mirror glaze mixture will gradually heat up on the stove and boil. Watch carefully and mix it with a whisk. When you prepare a glossy glaze, remember that it will stick to the sides of the dish.
5. Then add the previously chopped dark chocolate and let the mass cool slightly.
6. Gelatin makes the delicacy glossy, mirror-like. So it's time to add it to the workpiece and mix well.
7. Strain the workpiece through a strainer, leave to stabilize in the refrigerator for at least 20 hours and proceed to decorate the confectionery.
8. We remind you that the working temperature for decorating cakes is 37 degrees.

Now you know how to make cocoa mirror glaze. It looks very impressive on numerous confectionery masterpieces.

And let's add a couple of secrets in the end



1. When cutting a cake with glossy icing, problems often arise. Sometimes a glaze can stick to a knife, what to do about it? There is a way out and the recipe is very simple - you need to cool the dessert a lot and heat the knife well. Then you shouldn't have any problems in the future.
2. If you decide to let the cake freeze in the form, then you need to carefully pull it out of there. To do this, use the ring tape.
3. A thick layer of glaze can also be leveled with a spatula.

Experienced cooks can prepare a delicious cake with mirror glaze, but for many beginners it turns out without any problems if you adhere to the operating temperature and all the nuances of the cooking technology.