Baking
Mirror glaze cake made easy
‘Mirror, mirror, on the cake. Who’s made the most amazing bake?’ That would be… you, using Cake Angels’ super-easy, super-glossy...
‘Mirror, mirror, on the cake. Who’s made the most amazing bake?’ That would be… you, using Cake Angels’ super-easy, super-glossy and super-impressive Chocolate Mirror Glaze to create a finish so shiny you can see your face in it.
WHAT IS MIRROR GLAZE? A super-shiny cake icing that’s so glossy it reflects its surroundings, mirror glaze is a huge cake decorating trend, and finishing your bake off with mirror icing is one of the easiest ways to transform a basic cake into a showstopper. Mirror finish cakes are all about that super-shiny surface, and what you can see in it, so they’re best kept free of much extra decoration. We’ve seen some stunning mirror glaze cakes online that gave us lots of inspiration, and we’ve made a couple ourselves – one featuring a frilly-petalled peony which reflects beautifully in the glossy glaze (see our step-by-step guide below), and another that uses our Tiara Icing Cutters to create a fancy frame, just like the magic mirror of fairy tale fame. (Note: Preening fairy tale villains not required. Though they are a lot of fun.)
YOUR STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO A PERFECTLY REFLECTED PEONY Looks incredibly impressive, doesn’t it? Just don’t tell anyone it was this easy to make…
You will need…
- Cake Angels Glossy Mirror Glaze
- 8 Wilton® Icing Colours
- Renshaw Pro Modelling Paste
- Easy Peony Cutter Set
- … oh, and a cake to cover.
Bake your cake. Any cake. There’s enough mirror glaze in a single pot to completely cover an 8 inch (20cm) cake. We made a standard Victoria sponge, allowed it to cool, coated it with smooth buttercream icing and then chilled it in the fridge. Then we placed it on a wire rack above a baking tray and broke out the amazing glaze…
3 steps to mirror glaze heaven Microwave. Pour. Set. That’s it! Warm the mirror glaze gently in the microwave for 30 seconds – three 10-second blasts will do it, with a quick stir in between each – then pour it over your cake, ensuring it’s completely covered. Leave to set in the fridge for an hour and move on to fashioning the decorative flower and foliage for the top.
For a ‘frilling’ finish…
- Knead one 180g pack of Renshaw Pro Modelling Paste until soft then separate into two parts in a one-quarter/three-quarter split. Add a cocktail stick tip’s worth of ivory colouring from the 8 Wilton® Icing Colours to the larger part and continue to knead until the icing is an even, consistent colour.
- Roll some of the paste into a ball that’s narrower at the bottom, rounded at the top and sits in one of the ‘petals’ of the smaller cutter. Mark the top of the ball three times with the cutter to form a criss-cross effect.
- Dust your work surface with cornflour, roll out your coloured icing to 1-2mm thick, and cut out two strips of petals using the smaller cutter from the Easy Peony Cutter Set. ‘Thin’ the edges with the end of your rolling pin, then press the end of the pin into the centre of each petal to create a shallow cup shape.
- Using a frilling tool, work along the curved edges, rolling back and forth to create a crimp-edged effect.
- Add edible glue or water to the centre of each petal on the top row, fold in half, then add more ‘glue’ to the petal centres.
- Roll the first strip of petals tightly around the icing ball. Repeat with the second strip of petals.
- Using the larger cutter this time, repeat steps 3-5 with two more strips, then wrap both larger strips around the smaller ones to create a full bloom.
- Leave to dry in a cupcake case, then press a small brush between the petals to separate and shape them into the perfect peony.
- Take the uncoloured quarter of the icing. Add a tiny amount of the leaf green Wilton colouring and knead until the icing is an even shade of green. Roll out and use the leaf cutter in the set to cut out two leaves, then score to create ‘veins’. Position your leaves and peony on top of your mirror cake and serve the shine!
Mirror glaze the… less easy way Of course, if this all sounds a bit too much like cheating and you’d like to make your own mirror glaze icing from scratch – or want to explore the possibilities and get creative with different colours and designs – take a look at the mirror glaze recipe, hints and tips in our blog piece How to Make a Mirror Glaze.