Mirror glaze or mirror glaze cakes, also known as 'shiny cakes', are the latest trends in the cake world. These pretty mirror cakes are so impressive and yet so easy to master. This simple and easy recipe with my tips and troubleshooting will show you how to make a mirror glaze perfectly every single time.
Table of Content
Have you seen these mirror glaze cakes recently? Wow! It's got to be the latest craze in the cake world. Mirror Glaze aka Shiny Cakes.
There is a Russian confectioner on Instagram that has these cakes, and they blow my mind every single time especially those glaxy mirror glaze cakes. These have been on my wishlist for a while, and I wanted to make one and share the recipe with you.
What is a mirror glaze?
Mirror glaze is white chocolate and gelatin-based often used on entremets. This glaze, when poured over a cake gives an ultra-shiny appearance like the surface of a mirror. Hence the name mirror glaze. And, although it consists of chocolate, very little of it sticks to the cake so it does not affect the flavor of the cake much.
Ingredients and substitutes
- Gelatin - This is what helps the mirror glaze stick to the cake. So yes a critical element. Use good quality non-flavored gelatin for the best results.
- Glucose - This helps prevent the mixture from crystallizing. If you can't find glucose, you can use, light corn syrup as well. But you do need one of these two.
- Sugar - Yes, I know condensed milk is sweet, and then again we have sugar but this recipe is not about the calories it's about achieving that mirror glaze effect.
- Condensed milk - The main ingredient in a mirror glaze is condensed milk, which when combined with chocolate, water, and gelatin, gives it that reflective mirror quality. And, because it uses gelatin, the result is a soft glaze, not hard like chocolate. You can use homemade condensed milk too.
- White Chocolate - We use white so we can play with color and achieve all those different colors but you can use dark chocolate too! Of course, once you add dark chocolate there is only one color - brown - so you won't be able to make the blue, reds and all those fancy colors.
Step by step instructions
- Have all your ingredients ready so you do not leave out anything.
- Add half the water in a small bowl with gelatin and let it soak for 3 to 5 mins to bloom.
Pro tip - It is important that the gelatin soak well or it can give you a very grainy glaze.
- In a heavy-based saucepan, add glucose, sugar, condensed milk, vanilla extract, and remaining water. Stir well and let come to a boil over low to medium heat.
Pro tip - A heavy-bottom pan will prevent the condensed milk from scotching a the bottom. If it does do not scrape it as it will ruin the taste and texture of the glaze.
- Once all the sugar has dissolved and the mixture has come to a nice slow boil, take it off the heat. Let rest for a minute before you add the white chocolate.
Pro tip - The reason we let it cool a minute is so that the white chocolate does not split as soon as it is added to the boiling mixture. - Next, add the soaked/bloomed gelatin - Let it melt.
Pro tip - The heat in the liquid mixture should be enough to melt the white chocolate and gelatin. If not, use an emersion blender for just a few seconds. - Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve or mesh.
Pro tip - We strain to remove any undissolved gelatin or unmelted chocolate. - Color the glaze - Divide the glaze into the number of colors you need for your project. Color the glaze with food gel colors. Let it come to almost room temperature between 90 to 95 F.
Pro tip - You don't want the glaze too hot as it can melt the dessert, but also, not too thick. It should be a pouring consistency. Otherwise, it will not flow down the dessert.
- Pouring the glaze - Place the frozen cake on a cooling rack (wire rack) over a large plate or baking sheet/tray so the excess glaze will drip down on the cake. Pour the glaze in a circular motion starting with one or two colors based on the desired effect. Use an offset spatula to blend the colors.
Pro tip - If you have air bubbles in the mirror glaze, hold the glaze a bit higher so the bubbles disperse before the glaze drips down to the cake.
Frequently asked questions
Mirror glaze has chocolate in it so ideally, it will set as soon as it hits the frozen cake. You want the glaze to drip completely, clean the edges on the bottom with a clean knife or spatula. Carefully transfer the cake to a cake board or a serving platter. Before the cake sets, it is essential that you do not touch the glaze.
Yes, you can save any remaining mirror glaze in the fridge. The glaze will stay good for a week. To restore it to the glaze consistency. Break the set glaze into smaller chunk and microwave on low powder until completely dissolved. The glaze is made of gelatin, so you want, to use all precautions usually used when working with gelatin.
If you use a cake with buttercream frosting, it does not have to be frozen but it does need to be smooth. The glaze does not cover any blemishes so any imperfections will show thru. A mousse based cake needs to be frozen before you glaze. Mousse usually is set in a silicon mold and so often has a smooth surface that works well with the glaze.
Glazes made with perishable ingredients like this one with condensed milk should always be refrigerated.
If the glaze poured over mousse based cake, then the mousse is also made of perishable ingredients. Mousse, if left at room temperature, will start to soften. So, yes, it needs to be kept in the fridge and is usually served cold.
On the other hand, if you pour the glaze over a frosted buttercream cake, you can leave it out on the counter for a few hours, and it will be ok.
Once glazed the mousse does not take long to thaw. A frozen mousse will take an hour at most to come to its chilled state. You do want the mousse cake to be well chilled, or it will be too soft to cut and serve.
Troubleshooting
- My glaze is too thick so it won't pour - You need the mirror glaze to be pouring consistency at a temperature between 90 to 95 F. Before you attempt to pour, take a ladle and check the consistency - if it's not pouring then add a few tablespoons of water. Be careful when adding water as you cannot make it thicker once you've diluted it.
- My glaze is too thin - If you have not boiled the mixture enough when preparing the mirror glaze, it will be too runny and will result in a very thin coverage. Also, if you have not waited long enough after making the glaze, the gelatin would not have gelled. I suggest placing the glaze for 3 to 5 minutes in the fridge or wait a little longer at room temperature. This will help thicken it up a bit - then try again.
- My glaze does not stick to the cake - It just slips off. Condensation on the cake can cause the glaze to slide off the cake rather than stick to it. If the cake is frozen, wipe off any excess moisture from the cake and try it again. If you live in a place with high humidity, I highly recommend glazing immediately, as soon as the cake is out of the freezer before it has had time to condense. Additionally, setting the air conditioner to high for those few minutes might help as well.
- My cake started to melt as soon as I started to glaze it - The glaze needs to be at room temperature. If you use a hot or warm glaze, it will melt the frozen cake, causing the cake to have a melting effect.
Is mirror glaze vegetarian?
The only ingredient in the mirror glaze that's not vegetarian is gelatin, which is usually animal or fish-based. If you substitute the gelatin for vegetarian gelatine or agar-agar, this can be a vegetarian glaze. You can find my recipe for vegetarian mirror glaze here.
What cake is best to use for mirror glaze cakes?
Ideally, you want something that has a smooth finish. If you have a bumpy cake, the glaze will show those bumps and dips. So it's good to have a smoothly frosted cake for the best results. Also, it's best on frozen cakes because the gelatin sets as soon as it hit the chilled cake. Mirror glaze can also be used on frosted cakes, cheesecakes, it works best on entremet and cakes with mousse and bavarian creams. And, yes, you can also use it on layer cakes as long as the outside is smooth.
Today, I have used a chocolate mousse cake with a chocolate torte insert. Here are a few of my mousse recipes that will work well for the mousse cake with mirror glaze.
- Classic Mango Mouse - vegetarian mango mousse
- Vegan mango coconut cream mousse (vegan, vegetarian)
- Classic strawberry mousse
- Classic chocolate mousse, Eggless, or Vegan chocolate mousse
- Blackberry mousse (eggless)
- Chestnut mousse (eggless)
More entremets
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Printable Recipe
Mirror Glaze Recipe
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Conversions Used
1 lb = 453 grams, 1 cup = 240 ml, 1 stick = 113g, 1 tbsp= 15 ml, 1 tsp= 5 ml,
Ingredients
- 1 ½ tablespoon (20 g) Gelatin
- ½ cup (120 ml) Water
- ¾ cup (180 ml) Glucose or Light Corn Syrup
- ¾ cup (150 g) Sugar
- 7 oz (200 g) Condensed Milk (Sweetened)
- 7 oz (200 g) White Chocolate
- 1 tsp clear vanilla (or other flavors)
Instructions
- Have all your ingredients ready so you do not leave out anything
- Add half the water in a small bowl with gelatin and let it soak for 3 to 5 mins to bloom. Pro tip - it is important that the gelatin soak well or it can give you a very grainy glaze.
- In a heavy-based saucepan - add glucose, sugar, condensed milk, vanilla extract, and remaining water. Let come to a boil over low to medium heat.Pro tip - a heavy-bottom pan will prevent the condensed milk from scotching a the bottom. If it does do not scrape it as it will ruin the taste and texture of the glaze.
- Once all the sugar has dissolved - and the mixture has come to a nice slow boil. Take it off the heat. Let rest for a minute before you add the white chocolate.Pro tip - the reason we let it cool a minute is so that the white chocolate does not split as soon as it is added to the boiling mixture.
- Next, add the soaked/bloomed gelatin - Let it meltPro tip -The heat in the mixture should be enough to melt the white chocolate.If not, use an immersion blender for just a few seconds
- Strain the mixture through a sieve or mesh. Pro tip - we strain to remove any undissolved gelatin or unmelted chocolate.
- Divide the glaze into the number of colors you need for your project. Color the glaze with food gel colors. Let it come to almost room temperature between 90 to 95 F Pro tip- You don't want the glaze too hot as it can melt the dessert, but also, not too thick. It should be a pouring consistency otherwise it will not flow down the dessert.
- Pouring the glaze - place the frozen cake on a cooling rack over a large plate or baking sheet so the excess will drip down on the cake. Pour the glaze in a circular motion starting with one or two colors based on the desired effect. Use an off-set spatula to blend the colors.Pro tip - If you have air bubbles in the mirror glaze, hold the glaze a bit higher so the bubbles disperse before they flow down to the cake.
Recipe Notes & Tips
- Plan this dessert in advance so you have enough to do the necessary steps
- Make sure the cake is frozen for a few hours so the glaze solidifies as soon as it hits the cold cake.
- The temperature of the glaze is important. You need the glaze to be pouring consistency at a temperature between 90 to 95 F.
- Glazes made with perishable ingredients like this one with condensed milk should always be refrigerated.
- Plan the colors you are going to use in advance and take note that both white chocolate, gelatine, and condensed milk are not white. So you are starting off with an off-white base. Some colors don't do well with this base. You may need more.
- Mirror glaze is not white so if you need white you will need to use white gel food color also called titanium oxide.
- Once glazed the cake must be left in the fridge to thaw so the moose is not too cold to cut.
Troubleshooting
- My glaze is too thick so it won't pour - You need the mirror glaze to be pouring consistency at a temperature between 90 to 95 F. Before you attempt to pour, take a ladle and check the consistency - if it's not pouring then add a few tablespoons of water. Be careful when adding water as you cannot make it thicker once you've diluted it.
- My glaze is too thin - If you have not boiled the mixture enough when preparing the mirror glaze, it will be too runny and will result in a very thin coverage. Also, if you have not waited long enough after making the glaze, the gelatin would not have gelled.
I suggest placing the glaze for 3 to 5 minutes in the fridge or wait a little longer at room temperature. This will help thicken it up a bit - then try again. - My glaze does not stick to the cake - It just slips off? Condensation on the cake can cause the glaze to slide off the cake rather than stick to it. If the cake is frozen, wipe off any excess moisture from the cake and try it again. If you live in a place with high humidity I highly recommend glazing immediately, as soon as the cake is out of the freezer before it has had time to condense. Additionally, setting the air conditioner to high for those few minutes might help as well.
- My cake started to melt as soon as I started to glaze it - The glaze needs to be at room temperature. If you use a hot or warm glaze, it will melt the frozen cake, causing the cake to have a melting effect.
Nutrition Information
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
Marion
Veena, do you have a dark chocolate mirror glaze recipe or should I just use dark chocolate instead of white chocolate
Veena Azmanov
You can use dark chocolate instead of white chocolate.
Netra
This is the 4th time I have used this recipe. Whenever I use it, the cake is a hit. This time though the cake looked amazing, it became so difficult to cut it because of the glaze, I had to remove the entire glaze and then serve. What do you think could have been the reason? I know I have made a mistake somewhere, don't know where 🙂
Veena Azmanov
Hey Netra. Thanks, happy you enjoyed this cake so many times. Was it hard to cut through the glaze or the cake? If the glaze is hard perhaps the gelatin was too much so it became thick like rubber. But, if it is the cake means the frozen cake has still not thawed enough to cut.
Netra
Hi Veena
It wasn't hard, the cake or the glaze. The glaze was very gooey while cutting. It actually looked like slime children play with.
Veena Azmanov
So then, it should have no problem with cutting. Right? Perhaps I didn't understand your question?
Netra
The mirror glaze was sticking to the knife and cutting the cake was messy.