Vegetarian Mirror Glaze
A 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?
A Russian confectioner, @olganoskovaa from Moscow, Russia, on Instagram has these mirror-glaze cakes that 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 they 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, tons of people asked if I could share one with a vegetarian option!! So I had to 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 contains 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 ordinary gelatin. You soak it in water, let it absorb, and then incorporate it as usual.
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 use 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 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 minutes. 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 places. Place vegetarian gelatin or agar-agar in one half and let it sit for 3 to 5 minutes to bloom.
- In a heavy-based saucepan, add glucose, sugar, condensed milk, and remaining water.
- Let it 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 it 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 the glaze for the second color if needed.
- Color the glaze and let it come to room temperature.
- Use the 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 very thin coverage. I suggest placing the glaze in the fridge for 3 to 5 minutes. 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 it to melt.
Try the mango mousse cake, which has a vegetarian mirror glaze, perfect for those of you who cannot use gelatin.
Frequently asked questions
The main ingredient in a mirror glaze is condensed milk, which, when combined with chocolate, water, and gelatin (agar-agar), gives 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 that the mirror glaze was too runny.
Once you take the chocolate mixture off the heat, 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 chunks and microwave on low power until completely dissolved. The glaze is made of gelatin, so you want to take all the usual precautions 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 through. A mousse-based cake needs to be frozen before you glaze. Mousse is usually set in a silicone mold and 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 is poured over a mousse-based cake, and the 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 want to chill the mousse cake well, 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 on mousse-based cakes, but it can be used on frosted cakes, cheesecakes, etc. The advantage of a mousse base is that you smooth it in a silicone mold, which, when frozen, has a nice smooth surface. The key is to ensure an excellent, smooth surface.
Vegetarian Mirror Glaze Recipe aka Shiny Cake 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.
Video
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
- 1 ½ tbsp (20 g) Agar-agar
Method
- 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.
Equipment you will need
Nutrition
Tried this recipe?
Mention @veenaazmanov_kitchen or tag #veenaazmanovkitchen!What type of mousse works best for vegetarian mirror glaze cakes?
Any mousse would work: 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)
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Made this recipe last week – was perfect. I used powder agar agar and it had a good stretch. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you Marty. yeey! So happy you had enjoyed this recipe. Thank you ! And thanks for coming back to write this feedback. Have a wonderful day.
Thank you for this recipe. Tired it last week. Perfect. Everyone loved it. Will be making it again next week.
Thank you Freddie. Happy to hear you had success with this recipe. Enjoy
Trid this recipe and it as perfect. Thank you for sharing
Thank you Jefaric. Happy to hear you had success with this recipe. Thank you for coming back to write this feedback.
Just so you know — you refer to this cake as “vegan mirror cake” and it is not. Condensed milk is not a vegan ingredient. I am so very disappointed and feel incredibly misled.
NO its not vegan. I think there was a type error and I fixed it. Thank you so much for bringing to my attention. I meant to write vegetarian but wrote vegan.
Hello ma’am
Wanted to ask can we use liquid food colour instead of gel color in this vegetarian mirror glaze recipe
I think liquid food color can be used but depending on how much you need to use it will dilute the glaze a bit. So I’d suggest reduce the liquid in the recipe ahead of time.
Hello Veena,
I tried mirror glaze on my cake with veg gelatin in accordance with the measurements u have mentioned. However the chocolate covering /glaze just would not stick to the cake. Where could I have gone wrong? Actually I tried it twice on the same day thinking probably I have not done it right the first time but both the times it just didn’t stick to the cake. Please guide.
Uma.. What do you mean it does not stick on the cake? It’s a glaze so it has to just spread over and flow out. Was it too thin? You can just heat at very low until you thicken it some what lol. Let me know how it goes.
Veena :Thanks for an immediate reply. No, it was not too thin and yet it would just not remain on the cake. I collected all the glaze that had flown down from the cake onto a tray and poured it again and again.. But it just didn’t stay on the cake..I wish you could see what was happening . I kept the glaze refrigerated for a day and then reheated and put it on the cake again. No luck .i have a feeling that veg gelatin ( carrageenan) doesn’t really work like the regular one.
Maybe I should use agar agar next and see if that works.Thanks once again.
So sorry to hear that Uma. Not sure what happened. Most people have the issue that it’s usually too thin but. Could it be that your cake is having condensation? Perhaps the water from the condensation is not letting the glaze stick to it but slipping off.
Hi Mam, I am a amuture baker… If God and masters like you are there may be there is hope for me to become a pro too … 🙂 …Thankyou for detailed recipes. I am looking for chocolate mirror glaze recipe for 8X4 inch round cake. Can I use your mirror glaze recipe with 150gm of dark chocolate instead of white? Pls. suggest.
Thank you for your kind words Kamaljeet. Yes you should be able to use dark chocolate instead of white in this recipe. I think the recipe should be just enough for your cake
Hi Veena, thankyou for replying. I made dark chocolate glaze yesterday (50% cocoa). I sized down the recipe… result was extremely sticky, slimy & not pourable 🙁
If its not asking too much please guide for next time.
Following are my measuremets as I wanted less glaze:
agar agar: 2tsp (39ml for soaking)
water: 39+52ml
Glucose: 79ml
Sugar: 100gm
Cond. Milk: 67ml (I use unsweetened evaporated milk)
Dark Chocolate: 75gm
cocoa powder: 10gm
Kamaljeet. I have tried and tested the recipe with the ingredients and amounts I have given above in my recipe. You are free to adjust the recipe as you want but since I have not tested it is difficult for me to tell you what went wrong with your measurements. Things don’t always work perfectly when you half or double recipes.
Beautiful cake and thanks for the vegetarian glaze recipe. I have a hard time to use make recipes with gelatin and agar agar is a great alternate. The flavors are amazing in this cake.
I know what you mean Sandhya.. I too prefer agar agar instead of gelatin
I have always been intrigued how some cakes can have such a lovely shine, but never tried to make a mirror glaze cake myself. I love yours, it just looks too good to be true.
Thank you Daniela.. Yeah I love the shiny cakes…
I would love a slice of this. The cake looks like sunshine on a plate. Just looking at it makes me happy!
Yeah the pretty yellow does remind me of the sun too! Thanks Amanda