How to Make a Vegetarian Mirror Glaze
Vegetarian mirror glaze aka shiny cakes is the latest trend in the cake world. This simple, easy and effortless recipe makes a mirror glaze without gelatin using agar-agar. You can use it to glaze entremets and desserts that are so impressive and yet so easy to master.
What is the mirror glaze cake?
There is a Russian confectioner @olganoskovaa from Moscow, Russia on Instagram that has these mirror glaze cakes, and they blow my mind every single time. These have been on my wishlist for a while.
Mirror glaze is a shiny cake. You make it by pouring a chocolate based sugar glaze. The glaze is essentially sweet. It consists of sugar, glucose, condensed milk, gelatin, and white chocolate. These shiny cakes took off as a treat recently but look like they are here to stay.
What is a mirror glaze?
Mirror glaze is white chocolate and gelatin-based. This glaze, when poured over a cake, gives an ultra-shiny appearance like the surface of a mirror. Hence the name mirror glaze. Though it is chocolate based, very little of it sticks to the cake, so it does not affect the flavor of the cake much. After the first mirror glaze recipe, I posted; I had tons of people asking if I could share one with a vegetarian option!! So I had to go look for vegetarian gelatin.
What is Agar Agar?
Agar is made from cooked and pressed algae. I believe it’s a kind of weed or plant. So it’s all natural.
What is vegetarian gelatin?
Vegetarian gelatin consists of chemicals like adipic acid, tapioca dextrin, calcium phosphate, and potassium nitrate. In fact, the correct name would be artificial gelatin. And it works the same way as normal gelatin. You soak it in water and let it absorb and then incorporate it as normal.
Vegetarian gelatin vs. Agar Agar
As I said in my video if you have to choose between the two I’d recommend going with the agar-agar. I have used vegetarian gelatin for this recipe but I think next time I will work with agar-agar instead. In the recipe below I will suggest the agar-agar usage as well.
You can see how I made this mango mousse cake with the mango jello insert in the next post. It’s super simple, easy and effortless in the process just a lot of in-between time. Fridge and freezer time but in general the recipe is really simple and I hope you will try it.
Ingredients and substitutes
- Gelatin or Agar Agar – This is what helps the mirror glaze stick to the cake. I discussed this in more detail above.
- Glucose – This helps prevent the mixture from crystallizing. And, if you can’t find glucose you can also use light corn syrup. 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 – Believe it or not this is the star of the show in this recipe. This is where that mirror glaze effect comes into play. I also have a recipe for homemade condensed milk in 5 mins. However, I have never used it to make this mirror glaze. So, if you do use it, could you please let us know your results in the comments below.
- White chocolate – We use white chocolate so we can play with color and achieve all those different colors. And yet, you can also use dark chocolate. Of course, once you add dark chocolate there is only one color – brown – so you won’t be able to make the blue, red and all those other fancy colors.
Vegetarian mirror glaze
- Have all your ingredients ready so you do not leave out anything.
- Divide the water into two – place vegetarian gelatin or agar-agar in one half and let sit for 3 to 5 minutes to bloom.
- In a heavy-based saucepan – add glucose, sugar, condensed milk, and remaining water.
- Let come to a boil over low to medium heat.
- 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.
- The heat in the mixture should be enough to melt the white chocolate.
- Next, add the soaked/bloomed gelatin – And, let it melt.
- Then, strain the mixture to remove any undissolved gelatin or not melted chocolate.
- Divide glaze for the second color if you need.
- Color the glaze and let come to room temperature.
- Use glaze as shown in the mirror at room temperature.
Tips and troubleshooting
- My glaze is too thick so it won’t pour – You need the vegetarian mirror glaze to be at pouring consistency. So, before you attempt to pour take a ladle and check consistency. And, if it’s not pouring, then add a few tablespoons of water. But, 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, as a result, you will get a very thin coverage. I suggest placing the glaze for 3 to 5 minutes in the fridge. This will help thicken it up a bit – then try again.
- My glaze does not stick to the cake – Condensation on the cake can cause the glaze to slide off the cake rather than stick to it. So, if the cake is frozen, wipe off any excess moisture from the cake and then try again. And, 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 room temperature. And, if you use hot or warm glaze, it will melt the frozen cake, causing the cake to have a melting effect.
Try the mango mousse cake has a vegetarian mirror glaze perfect for those of you that cannot use gelatin.
Strawberry Mousse Dessert Slice
Chocolate Mousse Cake with Mirror Glaze
Mirror Glaze Cake Recipe
Classic Tiramisu Recipe
Frequently asked questions
The main ingredient in a mirror glaze is condensed milk which when combined with chocolate, water and gelatin (agar-agar) give it that reflective mirror quality. Because it’s made with gelatin, the result is soft not hard like chocolate.
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 serving platter. Before the cake sets, it is essential that you do not touch the glaze.
A prevalent issue with people is – mirror glaze was too runny.
Once you take the chocolate mixture off the heat and add the bloomed gelatin. Stir well until all the gelatin has dissolved. It is essential that you wait for the mirror glaze to cool slightly, cooling the mixture will thicken the glaze. You can place it over a bowl of ice water or just give it a few extra minutes naturally. The glaze needs to thicken and reach about 26 degrees C. This is similar to almost room temperature.
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 and mousse again is 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.
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 gelatin or agar-agar, this can be a vegetarian glaze. You can find my recipe for vegetarian mirror glaze here
Mirror glaze first became popular when used on mousse based cakes, but they can be used on frosted cakes, cheesecakes, etc. The advantage of a mousse base is that you smooth it in a silicon mold which when frozen has a nice smooth surface. The key is to ensure an excellent smooth surface.
What type of mousse works best for vegetarian mirror glaze cakes?
Any mousse would works, vegetarian, non-vegetarian, dairy free -as long as you can freeze it. And you don’t always need an insert either. You can pour mirror glaze over a simple mousse cake as well. The cake inserts do look pretty and are very popular. Here are a few of my mousse recipes that will work well for the mousse cake
- Mango Mouse – vegetarian mango mousse
- Mango coconut cream mousse (vegan, vegetarian)
- Classic strawberry mousse
- The Best chocolate mousse
- Eggless chocolate mousse
- Vegan chocolate mousse
- Blackberry mousse (eggless)
- Chestnut mousse (eggless)
Baileys Chocolate Mousse
Best Strawberry Mousse
Creamy Chestnut Mousse Recipe
Vegan Coconut Mango Mousse
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Vegetarian Mirror Glaze Recipe aka Shiny Cake Glaze
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Ingredients
- 1 ½ tbsp (20 g) Vegetarian gelatin
- ¾ cup (180 ml) Water
- 1 ¼ cup (300 ml) Glucose or light corn syrup
- ¾ cup (150 g) Sugar
- 7 oz (200 g) Condensed milk
- 10 oz (300 g) White chocolate
Substitute for gelatin
- 1 ½ tbsp (20 g) Agar-agar
Instructions
- Have all your ingredients ready so you do not leave out anything.
- Divide the water into two – place vegetarian gelatin or agar-agar in one half and let sit for 3 to 5 minutes to bloom.
- In a heavy-based saucepan – add glucose, sugar, condensed milk, and remaining water.
- Let come to a boil over low to medium heat.
- 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.
- The heat in the mixture should be enough to melt the white chocolate.
- next, add the soaked/bloomed gelatin – Let it melt.
- If you want to strain the mixture to remove any undissolved gelatin or not melted chocolate.
- Divide glaze for a second color if you need.
- Color glaze and let come to room temperature.
- Use glaze as shown in the mirror at room temperature.
Conversions Used
1 lb = 453 grams, 1 cup = 240 ml, 1 stick = 113g, 1 tbsp= 15 ml, 1 tsp= 5 ml,
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
Hello Veena!
Can we use this glaze over whipped cream frosted cakes?
Yes, you can – just make sure the frosting is smooth.
Hi Veena,
I am going to try making the veg mango mousse cake with the mirror glaze for my husbands b’day in a couple of days.I shall use agar agar
I have a couple of questions please:
1. Can I make the mousse without the mango jelly
2. Doesn’t agar agar have to be soaked in hot liquid?
Many Thanks
Hey Kauser. Yes, you can make the mousse cake without the jelly of course. Just omit the jelly and make only the mousse. You may need more mousse to add a little height to the cake.
You can dissolve the agar-agar in the water and cook it first then add the agar-agar mixture to the hot condensed milk mixture. I think it will work better. The vegetarian gelatin works like normal gelatin so we add it to the pan directly.
Hey Veena, was just going through this recipe. What is the middle layer in your cake picture. Looks like a coulis. If yes how do u make it
That is a mango jello. I redid the recipe for the mango mousse with jello insert because this one was too tall. You can follow that recipe for the cake
I am not sure whether I am more excited by the prospect of being able to make mirror glaze without gelatin, or by the fact I just learnt you can make condensed milk at home!
I am really intrigued to give this a go with agar agar since I have that at home (but not vegetarian gelatin) but I am concerned that the recipe would require less agar than it would gelatin, since that stuff sets pretty firm!
Cindy, yes, the agar-agar is thicker so you have to use it at the right pouring consistency or it can be difficult to pour. You can use less agar-agar if you want. Thanks
Hi! Would you recommend using veg gelatin or agar agar?
Many people have better success with agar-agar. Thanks
How do I make choc glazing with this recipe
This is a mirror glaze and it does have white chocolate inside. you can also use dark chocolate.