Confectionery glaze recipe. Confectionery glaze - composition, recipes and types
If you love homemade baking - and not only eating, but also cooking - you regularly face the question of glaze. Sweet, aromatic, it will add attractiveness to any pie, not to mention cakes and muffins. And sometimes, to be honest, it will help to mask some shortcomings like a crumbled cake or a failed golden crust. In short, it never hurts for a keen cook to have a couple of interesting homemade glaze recipes in her notebook. Especially cocoa glaze - chocolate, fragrant, tender and plastic.
Classic recipe and its variations
There are a great many recipes for sweet coating for baked goods: from powdered sugar, whipped egg whites, caramel. But the leadership in this area is confidently held by chocolate, a recognized favorite of both cooks and eaters. Preparing this glaze couldn’t be easier: just melt a chocolate bar in a water bath, and then mix it with a spoonful of butter (for shine) and a couple of spoons of heavy cream (for softness). But finding the necessary ingredients is difficult. For a high-quality coating, you need a delicacy containing at least 70% cocoa beans, which may easily not be available in a small store. Alas, too often, under the guise of chocolates, we are sold so-called confectionery bars, which do not contain a single gram of cocoa butter! And real tiles are not cheap...
But with cocoa powder such problems do not arise. It is accessible to everyone, cheap, does not create difficulties during cooking, gives the dessert a mind-blowing aroma of pure chocolate and a bright taste... Beauty! The main thing is to purchase the “correct” cocoa - the one that needs to be boiled and not poured with hot water. And also stock up on the necessary additional components.
But no matter what recipe you ultimately choose, it is important that the resulting glaze meets three main requirements. Firstly, it should be liquid enough and easily spread on the cake, but at the same time thick enough so as not to drip off it. Secondly, it must freeze well. Thirdly, its preparation should not take much time, because the glaze is the final touch with which the hostess completes the creation of a culinary masterpiece.
And the glaze should be delicious. This is perhaps the main condition.
Step-by-step cooking recipes
Chocolate glaze with milk
You will need:
- milk - 3 tbsp. l.;
- cocoa - 3 tbsp. l.
- sugar - 5 tbsp. l.;
- butter - 2–3 tbsp. l.
Preparation:
- Rub the cocoa through a fine sieve to break up any lumps, and then mix with the sugar.
- Pour in milk, add butter and cook the mixture over low heat, stirring continuously, for 7-8 minutes. If you want, you can add the oil later, into the hot ready-made mixture.
- Once you achieve homogeneity, remove the chocolate-scented mass from the heat, cool slightly and use it for decoration.
To check whether the glaze is ready, experienced housewives advise placing a saucer in the freezer before putting the pan on the stove. By dropping 2-3 drops of the aromatic brew onto its cooled surface, you will immediately see whether they begin to harden or whether the glaze should be kept on the fire a little longer.
Video: how to make cocoa glaze
With sour cream or cream
You will need:
- cocoa - 2 tbsp. l.;
- cream or sour cream - 2 tbsp. l.;
- butter - 1–2 tbsp. l.;
- powdered sugar - 4 tbsp. l.;
- vanilla sugar - 0.5 tsp.
Preparation:
- Sift cocoa and powdered sugar, add vanilla sugar.
- Combine in a saucepan with sour cream (cream) and place on low heat. Don't forget to stir the mixture constantly!
- Lastly, when the rest of the ingredients are already warm, add the butter. Mix everything well again, remove from the stove, cool a little... and you're done!
If you miss the time and the glaze starts to harden right in the saucepan, don’t worry. Return it to the steam bath and bring it to the consistency you need.
Video: simple secrets for making homemade glaze
With condensed milk
You will need:
- condensed milk - 4 tbsp. l.;
- cocoa powder - 4 tbsp. l.;
- butter - 4 tbsp. l.
Preparation.
- Grind cocoa with melted butter.
- Place the mixture in a water bath, melt completely and combine with condensed milk.
- Keep the pan steaming for another 5-6 minutes, constantly stirring the future glaze, let it cool a little and you can start decorating.
If the cake is not intended for children, before removing the pan from the stove, add 1 tbsp. l. cognac - the dessert will turn out even more fragrant and glossy.
With eggs
You will need:
- cocoa - 5 tbsp. l.;
- butter - 130 g;
- sugar - 2 tbsp. l.;
- egg.
Preparation.
- Melt the butter over low heat or a steam bath and dissolve the sugar in it.
- Add cocoa.
- Remove the mixture from the heat, let it cool slightly, add the egg to the butter with cocoa and sugar.
- Using the whisk vigorously, whisk the glaze.
- The mass will be thick, dense, but at the same time tender.
With starch
You will need:
- cocoa - 3 tbsp. l.;
- milk - 5 tbsp. l.;
- powdered sugar - 3 tbsp. l.;
- natural chocolate - 50 g;
- butter - 50 g;
- starch - 1 tbsp. l.
Preparation.
- Carefully sift the starch, powdered sugar and cocoa.
- Mix everything, add milk and put on low heat.
- Break the chocolate into pieces or grate, add to hot milk and cook the glaze, stirring continuously until the mixture begins to thicken. And then all that remains is to remove it from the heat, let it cool a little and use it for its intended purpose.
With honey
You will need:
- cocoa - 4 tbsp. l.;
- milk or cream - 4 tbsp. l.;
- powdered sugar - 4 tbsp. l.;
- honey - 2 tbsp. l.;
- butter - 2 tbsp. l.
Preparation.
- Grind cocoa with butter softened at room temperature.
- Pour in milk and heat over low heat.
- Place the saucepan in a water bath, add the powder to the milk and cook, stirring, until the mixture begins to thicken.
- Remove the saucepan from the stove, add honey to the glaze and mix well.
- Let cool slightly and use for decoration.
Mirror glaze
You will need:
- instant gelatin - 2 tsp;
- heavy cream (30%) - 100 ml;
- sugar - 7 tbsp. l.;
- cocoa - 4 tbsp. l.;
- water - 100 ml + 70 ml.
Preparation:
- Pour 70 ml of cold water over the gelatin and give it time to swell.
- Make syrup from 100 ml of water and sugar - just put it on the stove and cook until the sugar is completely dissolved.
- Add the cocoa, pour in the cream and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly to prevent burning.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat, add the swollen gelatin and stir again. Some people recommend using a blender for this purpose.
- Let the glaze cool - it should become just warm - and apply to the cake.
Mirror glaze can be made for future use. Pour it into a storage container, cover with film so that it fits tightly to the surface of the glaze, excluding contact with air, and refrigerate.
Video: mirror coating for mousse cake
If you don't have time to make intricate decorations for home baking, icing will help you out. It is made with cocoa, real chocolate, sour cream, condensed milk or honey. The cake can be completely covered with icing, decorated with inscriptions, or even used as a layer for cake layers. The glaze is prepared quickly; you don’t need any special skills.
Some tricks will help you decorate your birthday cake in an original way:
- When cooking, the glaze must always be stirred vigorously, otherwise it will burn and become bitter.
- Chocolate can always be replaced with cocoa powder, just follow the proportions: if the recipe says “100 grams of chocolate”, take instead 50 grams of cocoa powder and 50 grams of butter, cream or condensed milk.
- After decorating the cake covered with glaze, refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
- Light glaze can be tinted with food coloring. One drop of blue dye will give a light glaze a snow-white tint, neutralizing the yellowness of the butter.
It is more convenient to heat the chocolate for glaze in the microwave, after covering the container with a lid.
Mirror glaze
This cake coating is shiny, smooth, and very durable. When cutting the cake into portions, the knife must be heated, otherwise the icing may crack.
Ingredients:
- Chocolate (white can be combined with food coloring, black) – 1.5 bars;
- Glucose syrup – 150 milliliters;
- 150 grams of sugar;
- Condensed milk – 100 milliliters;
- Gelatin (+ 60 milliliters of water) – 12 grams;
- 75 milliliters of water.
Cooking process:
- First, soak the gelatin in water and let it swell.
- Mix glucose syrup and sugar in a saucepan, put on fire and boil.
- Boil a little, remove from heat, cool.
- Add gelatin to the cold syrup, and pour in condensed milk.
- At this stage, food coloring is added if the chocolate for the glaze is white and a different coating color is needed.
- Chop the chocolate, add syrup, and beat with a blender.
- Refrigerate the mixture overnight. In the morning, warm it up in the microwave to 35 degrees, beat it again if necessary and cover the cake. When decorating, simply pour the glaze evenly onto the surface of the cake without smoothing it with a knife.
- Refrigerate for 3-4 hours to harden.
Icing
This cake covering is the easiest to prepare and the most festive. The snow-white color on the surface of the dessert gives it solemnity and elegance. In addition, products for such glaze can be found in the refrigerator of any housewife.
Ingredients:
- Powdered sugar – 200 grams;
- Lemon juice – 1–2 tablespoons;
- Vanilla – 1 packet.
Cooking process:
- Sift the powdered sugar into a fine sieve, preferably twice.
- Squeeze the juice out of the lemon and strain.
- Pour the juice into the powder in a stream, stirring the mixture with a whisk.
- When you get a viscous mass, beat it at high speed with a blender.
- Finally, add vanilla or other essence as desired.
- If you add 1 egg white to the composition, you will get a fairly viscous and elastic glaze (icing). You can not only cover the cake with it, but also create amazing snow-white decorations, figures, and inscriptions.
Honey and Coconut Milk Glaze
This unusual chocolate glaze based on liquid honey and coconut milk is very sweet and slightly sticky. It has excellent covering properties and fills all the unevenness on the cake.
Ingredients:
- Coconut milk – 35 milliliters;
- Cocoa powder – 10–15 grams;
- Honey – 30 milliliters;
- Half a bar of dark chocolate;
- A piece (about 40 grams) of butter.
Cooking process:
- Blend the chocolate with a blender or grate it on a coarse grater.
- Mix it with sifted cocoa powder, milk and honey.
- Place the dishes over low heat, preferably in a water bath.
- Stirring, bring the mixture to a boil and cook until all ingredients are dissolved.
- Add a piece of butter to the slightly cooled mass, stir until it dissolves.
- Apply the sauce to the surface of the cake and spread it with a knife.
Chocolate sour cream glaze
This baking coating is soft and delicate. You can apply the glaze in a fairly thick layer, and it will not flow, but it will not harden either. Can serve as a layer for cakes. For this filling, sour cream must be fatty and without excessive acid.
Ingredients:
- Sugar – 6 teaspoons;
- Sour cream – 30 grams;
- Cocoa powder – 2.5 teaspoons;
- Butter – 20 grams.
Cooking process:
- Mix sugar and cocoa powder, pour into a saucepan with thick walls.
- Pour in sour cream, lightly whisk and place the mixture on low heat.
- Stirring, boil the mixture.
- Remove from heat, cool slightly and melt a piece of butter in the mixture, stir and cover the prepared cake. Refrigerate.
Glaze with condensed milk
Chocolate glaze based on condensed milk - very sweet, plastic, sticky. Serves as an optimal basis for further decorating the cake with mastic, icing figures and gluing parts.
Ingredients:
- Cocoa powder – 20 grams;
- Butter – a teaspoon;
- Condensed milk – 1 glass.
Cooking process:
- Mix condensed milk and sifted cocoa powder in a thick-walled bowl.
- Place over low heat, boil and cook for no more than one minute, always stirring.
- Cool the boiled mixture slightly, then add a piece of butter and stir it into the glaze.
- Cover the cake and leave it to cool for a few hours.
Ganache
This French chocolate frosting recipe is different in that it does not use powdered sugar or pure sugar. Real high-quality white or milk chocolate gives all the sweetness to the filling.
Ingredients:
- Chocolate – 180 grams;
- A glass of 35 percent cream;
- 50 milliliters of liqueur (like Baileys).
Cooking process:
- Bring the cream to a boil in a thick-bottomed saucepan.
- Chop or break the chocolate.
- Remove the cream from the heat and immediately dip the chocolate pieces into it.
- Stir until they are all dissolved. Pour liqueur into cooled ganache.
- You can also use dark chocolate instead of white. In this case, the best flavoring will be rum or cognac, and the process for preparing all varieties of ganache is identical.
Colored chocolate icing
Chocolate-based cake coatings don't just have to be brown or white. To decorate cakes, you can prepare colored icing with the addition of food coloring.
Alexander Gushchin
I can’t vouch for the taste, but it will be hot :)
Content
Many housewives love to prepare homemade desserts. Cakes or a cake with chocolate icing will delight adults and children, especially if you strictly follow the recipe. Glazed white or dark chocolate will be an excellent option for decorating bird's milk desserts, sponge cakes and other homemade baked goods.
How to make chocolate frosting for a cake
In order for the fudge to be the desired consistency, it is important to determine for what purpose it is planned to be used. The technology depends on whether you want to obtain a matte or glossy mixture. Classic chocolate cake frosting is easy and quick to prepare. Each housewife has her own recipes and secrets for making fondant for pies and cupcakes, but you can take into account a few basic rules on how to prepare chocolate icing for a cake:
- The consistency should not be very thick or liquid. The ideal option would be a creamy mass, because it is more convenient to apply to the product. This mixture will harden faster.
- If the mixture turns out to be very liquid, it is recommended to add a spoonful of powdered sugar. If it is too thick, dilute with a spoon of warm water.
- It is better to make the powder yourself from sugar using a coffee grinder. The finished powder must be further sifted.
- If you replace the water with lemon juice, the chocolate icing for the cake will turn out to be sour, which will add an unusual taste to the sweet dish.
- If you want a meatless option, just melt the slab.
- Many recipes call for adding butter for extra softness.
- If you apply berry or fruit jam to the product before glazing, the mixture will lie in a perfectly even layer.
Chocolate glaze - recipe
You can make the mixture from confectionery bars or cocoa, depending on which chocolate glaze recipe you like for the cake. The resulting composition can be used for applying inscriptions, joining cake layers, and decorating. An experienced housewife knows that glazed pies always look more attractive than unglazed ones, so it's worth spending a few minutes preparing the composition. The classic base involves the use of sugar, cocoa, milk or water.
Below are several photo recipes describing how to make chocolate icing for a cake. Before using, it is recommended to cool the fudge a little so that it does not spread over the dish. If using buttercream, cool the mixture further. It is better to distribute with a brush. A little vanillin, rum, cinnamon or cognac will add a special taste.
From cocoa
The recipe presented in the photo will tell you how to cook a delicious plastic mass for decorating confectionery products. When it hardens, you will get a thick, glossy crust. To prepare such a mass, it is recommended to take dark varieties of cocoa powder and high-quality butter. Chocolate cocoa glaze is suitable for coating cupcakes, sweet pies, pastries or desserts with a creamy consistency, such as soufflé.
Ingredients:
- milk – 4 spoons;
- butter – 50 g;
- cocoa – 1 spoon;
- sugar – 4 spoons.
Cooking method:
- Melt the butter over low heat.
- Add granulated sugar and milk to the saucepan.
- Cook until sugar is completely dissolved.
- Sift cocoa powder through a sieve and add to milk mixture.
- Warm everything up for about two minutes.
- Cool the mixture before decorating the pie.
From cocoa and milk
Many recipes call for using cocoa powder with milk, sour cream or cream. This combination of ingredients makes the coating shiny, soft, and dense. There are many photo recipes that provide different proportions of products. By experimenting, you can constantly obtain glazes from cocoa and milk of different shades and tastes. Coconut shavings, nuts, and confectionery topping will add originality.
Ingredients:
- milk – 3 spoons;
- vanillin;
- granulated sugar – 5 spoons;
- cocoa powder – 6 spoons;
- butter – 50 g.
Cooking method:
- Combine all ingredients in an enamel bowl.
- Cook in a water bath, stirring the mixture constantly.
- Check readiness by dropping a little glaze onto a saucer. The drop should freeze immediately.
Made from chocolate
The easiest way to make icing is to melt a bar of dessert chocolate. You can use white, milky or dark varieties, depending on personal preference. Chocolate icing is a quick way to decorate a product (as in the photo). For the recipe below, you need to take a bar with a cocoa content of 72%.
Ingredients:
- milk – 5 spoons;
- chocolate without additives – 100 g.
Cooking method:
- Break the tiles and place them in a greased bowl. Water cannot be added.
- Add milk to ensure the desired density of the coating mass.
- Place the bowl of food in a water bath.
- Heat until completely melted at 40 degrees. Stir the mixture constantly with a dry spoon until it melts.
Made from white chocolate
If you are making a homemade cake for a special occasion, you can use white chocolate for the frosting. With this coating the dessert will become truly elegant. The mixture is suitable for decorating rolls, cakes or butter jelly. White chocolate icing for the cake can be prepared with cream, condensed milk, and vanilla. Below is a classic recipe with photos.
Ingredients:
- powdered sugar – 180 g;
- white chocolate – 200 g;
- milk – 2 spoons.
Cooking method:
- Break the tile and place in a bowl.
- Place the container in a water bath.
- Add powdered sugar.
- Pour in a spoonful of milk.
- Stir the mixture constantly until you get a thick, homogeneous paste.
- Remove the bowl from the stove.
- Add a spoonful of milk.
- Beat the mass with a blender.
- Use the product while it is still hot.
With sour cream
The mass prepared according to this recipe will be thick, with a characteristic sour taste. Cocoa cake frosting with sour cream is suitable for dense homemade cakes or you can coat it with traditional sausage and nuts. It will not drain or sugar, but will immediately form a beautiful mirror-like surface. If desired, you can additionally decorate the product with butter cream, nuts, and candied fruits.
Ingredients:
- sour cream – 2 spoons;
- cocoa – 2 spoons;
- powdered sugar – 4 spoons;
- vanilla sugar - half a teaspoon;
- butter – 1 spoon.
Cooking method:
- Combine powder, sour cream, vanillin and cocoa in a bowl.
- Place on low heat.
- Cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Remove bowl from heat.
- Add butter, stir.
- Apply to cakes until cool.
Mirror
Glaze looks especially beautiful and festive on homemade pies. prepared with a special syrup or with the addition of a small amount of gelatin. This mass freezes very beautifully on the surface of the product. If the glaze comes out with bubbles, you can pass it through a sieve before applying it to the cake. You will need a thermometer: you can use the mass when it has cooled to 35 degrees.
Ingredients:
- glucose syrup – 150 g;
- water – 135 ml;
- sugar – 150 g;
- condensed milk – 100 g;
- gelatin – 15 g;
- chocolate – 150 g.
Cooking method:
- Pour gelatin into 65 ml of water.
- Place sugar, syrup, water in a bowl.
- Place on low heat.
- Stir the mixture constantly until the sugar dissolves.
- Place the broken chocolate, condensed milk, and gelatin in another bowl.
- Pour in hot syrup. Beat with a blender and cool to the desired temperature.
Made from chocolate and cream
The presented recipe is a classic, so it definitely won’t let novice cooks down. Chocolate frosting made from cream and chocolate will make even the simplest cake gourmet. To cook the glaze you will need a little time and a standard set of products. The chocolate bar for the recipe can be milky, white or dark. Thanks to the cream and butter, the mixture will turn out shiny, plastic, and thick.
Ingredients:
- chocolate – 100 g;
- cream 30% - 3 spoons;
- butter – 40 g.
Cooking method:
- Break the chocolate bar and place in a clean, dry bowl.
- Place in a water bath.
- Add oil.
- Stir the mixture until it has a homogeneous consistency.
- Whip the cream.
- Gently mix the cream with the chocolate mixture.
With butter
One of the easiest and most proven methods for preparing a composition for glazing confectionery products is chocolate icing made from chocolate and butter. You can choose chocolate according to your taste, but prefer the option without additives. If you want to decorate the dessert with nuts or berries, place them on top of the icing.
Ingredients:
- semi-sweet chocolate – 125 g;
- butter – 50 g;
- heavy cream - 3 tablespoons.
Cooking method:
- Place ingredients in a metal bowl.
- Heat in a water bath, stirring.
- Refrigerate before use.
Made from milk chocolate
This recipe is suitable for those who are going to please their household with cakes, muffins, and rolls made from thin dough. The fragrant milk chocolate icing for the cake will be sweet, with an original aftertaste. The surface of the glazed cake will be matte, and if you want to achieve a mirror shine, you need to add oil to the composition.
Ingredients:
- low-fat cream – 150 g;
- chocolate – 180 g.
Cooking method:
- The tile is broken and placed in a bowl.
- Add cream.
- Heat over low heat until a homogeneous mass is obtained.
How to frost a cake with chocolate icing
It is important to know not only how to prepare a mixture for decorating a pie or cupcake at home, but also how to properly pour the sweet mixture into the product. Glazing is a simple procedure: even a novice housewife can decorate a cake. The main rule is that the chocolate cake should cool slightly, but not thicken, so that the composition does not start to flow off the cake or turn into a lump.
It is recommended to decorate the cake with chocolate icing using a rubber brush. If you are making a dessert with a dense dough, try using apricot or peach or strawberry jam for an additional layer of lubrication. Coat the cake and leave for several hours.
After this, you need to put the cake on the wire rack and you can start decorating it: pour chocolate over it, leveling the surface with a spatula or rubber brush. If desired, the product can be additionally decorated with nuts, berries, and confectionery toppings. Cool the pie for several hours in the refrigerator or on the balcony.
Video
Found an error in the text? Select it, press Ctrl + Enter and we will fix everything!Decorating cakes
30 min
350 kcal
5/5 (2)
We often bake cakes that need to be beautifully decorated at the very end of the process, but making the frosting seems too complicated and time-consuming to us. Sound familiar? I also asked myself this question until my family’s experience came to the rescue.
Grandma cooked for decades tasty and thick glossy chocolate glaze for filling a cake made from cocoa or from chocolate and butter, milk, sour cream or cream according to a recipe from an old Soviet cookbook. I also learned from her how to cook white chocolate glaze according to the classic recipe for spring sponge cake made from chocolate, cocoa powder and milk, to quickly and easily handle the design of the product.
It turned out that glazing a cake is not such a difficult process: an excellent gommage for a cake is made from a slab of chocolate pancakes and cream or milk. What kind of chocolate you will make from - dark, milk or white - this is how the gommage will turn out.
Today I will share with you simple recipes for chocolate icing so that you can just as easily decorate your cake at home and not be afraid that you won’t succeed.
How to cook and make glossy chocolate glaze for topping a cake from cocoa powder or regular chocolate? Experienced chefs say that the secret of the recipe super shiny chocolate mirror glaze for any cake lies on the surface: you should be in a great mood and have enough free time. Rushing and stress will prevent you from making a great frosting.
Classic option
Kitchen appliances: Take a saucepan with a volume of about 800-900 ml, several deep container bowls of 300-800 ml each, a whisk, a sieve, a grater and a measuring cup. Also, making a good glaze requires a blender to thoroughly mix the glaze mass.
Chocolate icing that is prepared with sour cream or milk may burn or stick during the process. Make sure you take a saucepan with non-stick coating.
You will need
Instead of milk, you can take water or low-fat cream, and also sour cream with low fat content. However, remember that the classic recipe involves using milk.
Your wonderful chocolate glaze is completely ready! Now you can decorate the cake with it, since the chocolate mass does not require complete cooling; it is even better to pour it while it is still warm and remains fluid. To do this, place your baked goods on a metal wire rack and place them together on a wide dish.
Pour the glaze over the cake from the center, using a spoon to spread it over the entire surface of the cake. Then, without removing the grate or dish, place it in a cool place for an hour or two.
Video recipe for making classic glaze
How to make excellent chocolate glaze - pay attention to the detailed step-by-step video:
However, don't rush to the kitchen - I have another great recipe for you.
White chocolate option
Cooking time: 25-30 minutes.
Number of persons: for 1 cake weighing up to 1 kg, with a diameter of 30-45 cm.
Calorie content per 100 g: 350 kcal.
You will need
- 200 g white chocolate;
- 200 g powdered sugar;
- 30 g butter;
- 50 ml milk.
Can replace milk with water or other dairy products, but a smoother, thicker glaze is made with milk or cream only, so water should only be used as a last resort.
Cooking sequence
Ready! Pour the finished and still warm glaze over your cake or small pastries and let it sit for about 2 minutes at room temperature. During this time, you can sprinkle the top of the cake with crushed nuts or confectionery powder.
My mom often sprinkles the white frosting with grated dark chocolate and vice versa, but the final choice of the final cake decoration is up to you.
Video recipe for making white chocolate glaze
See how delicious the chocolate glaze turned out using this step-by-step recipe in this video! Let’s look, remember and begin to act:
Thank you for your attention! Finally, I would like to remind respected chefs about the cakes for which this glaze is ideal. The famous one, decorated with this sweet chocolate decoration, will remind you of childhood and youth, when we licked our lips only at its mention.
Also from our childhood and - now you can cook it with homemade glaze and thereby improve its taste.
Also prepare a more modern one and you will not only enjoy the taste of the well-known chocolate bar, but also pleasantly surprise your guests. At the very end of the list is simple and fast
Food should be tasty and visually attractive - that's obvious. The appetizing appearance of a dish makes us indulgent and we are ready to overlook small taste sins. Chocolate frosting is to a cake like a little black dress is to a woman - both should be at the ready to highlight the advantages and hide the flaws.
What is glaze
Gingerbread cookies, sweets, sponge cakes and cakes, Easter cakes and gingerbreads are covered with glaze. You can decorate the cake with cream roses or candied fruit, but many types of baked goods require icing.
This is a sweet frozen syrup. You can cover the entire surface or part of it with chocolate, or draw a flower on the gingerbread - it’s a matter of taste. Chocolate glaze made from chocolate or cocoa makes donuts and cakes even tastier and prevents baked goods from going stale. Marshmallows and chocolate-covered ice cream, glazed strawberries or glazed cheese curds can be prime examples of how they take on a new flavor when combined with chocolate.
Types of glaze
- Sugar. Even a child can mix powdered sugar with water, so this type can be considered basic. The glaze is 80% sugar and turns white when it hardens, although the syrup can be colored with juice.
- Confectionery. Consists of cocoa products, sugar and fat. This type of glaze is used in the food industry, but it is difficult to call it healthy due to questionable fats. Chocolate glaze made from cocoa, prepared at home, is a classic option, tasty and easy to prepare.
- Chocolate. In addition to sugar and cocoa, it contains cocoa butter - this is the usual composition of dark chocolate. White chocolate coating also contains milk fat.
Basic rules for making glaze
There is nothing complicated about this, but homemade chocolate icing for a cake requires compliance with several rules:
- The consistency of homemade chocolate glaze resembles sour cream. It should not be too thick or liquid, then the mass will quickly settle into an even layer and not drain. You can thicken the glaze with a spoon of powdered sugar and dilute it with a small amount of hot water.
- If you need to glue the halves of the cake together, prepare a thick mass. Donuts and cupcakes are poured with liquid glaze.
- It is better to make powdered sugar yourself rather than buy ready-made ones. Grind the granulated sugar in a coffee grinder for several minutes; a cloud of sugar will rise from the finished powder.
- If the baked goods are very sweet, it is advisable to add lemon juice to the glaze instead of water or along with it. Pleasant sourness and aroma will make the taste even more interesting.
- The butter in the recipe ensures that the soft fudge doesn't crumble. Creamy chocolate frosting is great for cakes.
- The mass will settle into a perfectly even layer if applied to the jam.
- It is better not to make chocolate icing for a cake from porous chocolate.
- To make the color more saturated, you need to add a spoonful of cocoa powder to the chocolate.
- Liquid fondant can be applied in several layers with a brush. It is convenient to draw with icing using a pastry syringe.
Chocolate icing – top 5 recipes
All recipes are tested in practice and approved. You can diversify the taste by adding vanillin, cinnamon, a teaspoon of rum or cognac. The fondant should be cooled before application so that you can control how it spreads over the surface.
Before making chocolate glaze, stock up on a wide brush, kitchen silicone spatula or spatula. You can melt butter and chocolate bars in a water bath; you can also use a microwave in low mode for these purposes.
Cocoa glaze
Chocolate icing for cakes, rolls, pies and creamy desserts can be made from cocoa. The set crust will be glossy and dense if you use dark cocoa and quality butter. This is the simplest, most basic recipe.
Products:
- Milk - 4 tbsp. l.
- Butter - 50 g
- Cocoa powder -1 tbsp. l.
- Powdered sugar - 4 tbsp. l.
Preparation:
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat or a water bath.
- Add milk and powdered sugar while stirring vigorously.
- Cook until smooth.
- Carefully add cocoa, stirring the mixture so that no lumps form.
- Heat for 2 minutes.
- Cool slightly.
Pros: Making cocoa glaze is easy; it takes a long time to harden, so you can work slowly. The thick mass is easy to level.
Cons: May not harden and remain soft.
Glaze made from cocoa and cream (milk, sour cream)
Using dairy products is the simplest answer to the question of how to make cocoa chocolate coating soft and shiny. You can add crushed nuts, coconut flakes and other powders to a mass based on cream, sour cream or milk.
Products:
- Cream (sour cream, milk) - 3 tbsp. l.
- Powdered sugar - 5 tbsp. l.
- Cocoa - 6 tbsp. l.
- Butter - 50 g.
- Vanillin packet
Preparation:
- Mix everything in an enamel container.
- Heat in a water bath and cook, stirring, until the chocolate is smooth.
- If a drop of glaze on a dry saucer hardens quickly, the fudge is ready.
Pros: The glaze is delicious and shiny. It remains soft for a long time, so it is easy to spread evenly over the surface.
Cons: It may not freeze.
Dark chocolate frosting
The easiest way to make chocolate frosting for a cake is from a chocolate bar. Any unfilled variety will work, but the 72% dark chocolate coating will have a richer flavor.
Products:
- Milk - 5 tbsp. l.
- 100 gram chocolate bar
- Half a teaspoon of butter
Preparation:
- Grease the bottom of the container with oil.
- Break the chocolate bar and add milk.
- Melt over steam and stir for a few minutes.
- Apply the mixture warm; if it starts to cool, you can warm it up a little.
Pros: This is a well-hardening chocolate glaze, it should be applied warm. The taste depends on the type of chocolate.
Cons: The glaze layer may be fragile.
White chocolate frosting
White icing will make the birthday cake truly elegant and festive.
Products:
- White chocolate bar – 200 g
- Powdered sugar - 180 g
- 30 percent cream - 2 tbsp. l.
Preparation:
- Melt the crushed chocolate bar in a water bath.
- Add powdered sugar, add a spoonful of cream and cook until the mixture thickens.
- Add a second spoon of cream.
- Beat with a blender until fluffy.
- Use the glaze without waiting for it to cool.
Pros: Pleasant consistency and delicate taste.
Cons: It is easy to overheat during cooking, causing insoluble lumps to form.
Mirror glaze (option 1)
Chocolate mirror glaze looks very festive. Its preparation is somewhat more complicated than that described in previous recipes, but the efforts will pay off - the cake, sponge roll, souffle, cookies are transformed like Cinderella before the ball.
Products:
- Black or white chocolate - 50 g
- Cocoa - 80 g
- Cream 30 percent - 80 ml
- Water - 150 ml
- Powdered sugar - 250 g
- Gelatin - 8 g
Preparation :
- Soak gelatin in water. There are always detailed instructions on the packaging about time, temperature and volume of water.
- Mix sugar and cocoa powder in a saucepan, add water and cream.
- Heat the mixture over low heat. As soon as bubbles appear, remove from heat.
- Grind the cooled chocolate on a grater or in a blender.
- Add chocolate and gelatin to the mixture and mix well.
- Strain through a sieve and cool to room temperature.
- Place the cooled cake on a wire rack and cover with frosting.
- Place the cake in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.
Mirror glaze (option 2)
The recipe uses glucose syrup. The ingredient is well known to confectioners and experienced housewives, but most are hearing this name for the first time. This is a transparent and viscous product with the consistency of honey, it has a very pleasant caramel taste without sugary cloying. Confectionery glucose is produced from starch and sold in plastic containers. The syrup is used when baking baked goods so that cakes, rolls and pies do not go stale for a long time. Glucose in the glaze is needed for elasticity.
Products:
- Glucose syrup - 150 g
- Powdered sugar - 150 g
- Water - 135 ml
- Condensed milk - 100 g
- Chocolate - 150 g
- Gelatin - 15 g
Preparation:
- Pour gelatin into 60 ml of water
- Mix glucose syrup, powdered sugar and water in a saucepan.
- Heat the mixture over low heat. Stir until smooth and do not allow it to boil.
- In another container, melt the chopped chocolate.
- Add condensed milk and gelatin. Stir.
- Add hot syrup and mix vigorously, you can use a blender or mixer.
- Cool to room temperature. If time allows, place the bag of glaze in the refrigerator for several hours, then warm it up slightly by dipping it in hot water.
- Apply to a cooled surface.
Pros: Pronounced chocolate taste. The finished glaze can be stored in the refrigerator for several weeks. Before use, it must be heated to +37°C. The frozen glaze with gelatin does not crumble or stick.
Cons: If the technology or temperature conditions are violated, the glaze may not harden. You need to level the mass over the surface with clear, short movements, and this requires some experience.
How to apply chocolate glaze
Glazing is not a very complicated process, although it doesn’t always work out the first time. Even an imperfect layer of chocolate won't ruin your cake, and with experience you'll develop your own set of rules. We can warn you against the main mistakes of a novice pastry chef:
- Allow the glaze to cool and thicken slightly before applying, but do not wait until it clumps together.
- It is advisable to cover cakes made from dense cake layers with a thin layer of jam before glazing. Coat the sides and top with apricot or strawberry jam a few hours before frosting. Then place the cake on a wire rack and pour chocolate over it. Level the surface with a spatula or pastry brush. After this, place the finished cake in the refrigerator.
- It is more convenient to prepare the glaze in a water bath - this way nothing will burn and it will be easier for you to achieve a uniform consistency.
- Start applying the chocolate mixture from bottom to top and from edge to middle.
- First, apply a thin layer of chocolate, which will serve as the base for the finish. Cool in the refrigerator. After this, the second layer will lie flat.
- If uneven surfaces appear while applying the glaze, spray with water and smooth with a spatula.
- Glaze that is too thin can be thickened with a little flour.
A theoretical cooking course is necessary, but you will only gain real experience through practice. If the chocolate glaze is not perfect the first time you make it, don't be discouraged - this almost always happens. Practice on small cupcakes or buns, and very soon you will masterfully turn the cake into a work of confectionery art.