Does Anyone Glaze Their Cakes?

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Posted by Theresa111 • 10/13/09
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Glazing, once mastered, is a perfect way to change up a familiar cake and an inventive way to create dinner party desserts and holiday surprises.

The trick to pouring a glaze is timing, consistency and the temperatures of both the glaze and the dessert you are coating.

The best way to accomplish this is to use a sheet pan with a wire cooling rack inside. The pan catches the overflow.

If you are glazing with chocolate, it must be in TEMPER which means at a perfect temperature, so it will not crystalize. There are literally pages written about this subject and it takes practice to get chocolate to this stage. It's also how truffles are made.

Cakes, desserts, Glazing

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0 votes

Theresa111 (10/13/09)

The next time you bake a sheet cake, after it cools down enough, take a second sheet pan turn it over, place parchment paper on top of the cake and the upside down sheet pan, top side to touch the parchment paper. Holding both pans, lift and carefully flip the cake over so now the top of the cake is sitting on the top of the reversed sheet pan. It is now sitting atop the bottom side of the second sheet pan.

Place into freezer and allow to freeze completely then after frozen, place another parchment paper on top and wrap with plastic wrap. The cake can be stored until you are prepared to ice it or to glaze it, cut it or to cut a few portions at a time and utilize the cake this way. From experience, it is much easier to cut an iced cake with a hot knife while it is partially defrosted, than it is to try to ice each portion individually.

For this example, allow the cake to freeze half-way. Boil water, enough to carefully pour into a cylindrical container. This is for dipping your long serrated knife. You dip your knife, you wipe your knife dry between each and every cut. Using a ruler, mark off the cake and cut entirely into sections. Remove the portions you want to use. For petit fours, I suggest you cut 2" X 2" OR 1 1/2" X 1 1/2" . Place the cakes apart onto the wired rack and while partially frozen, pour the glaze to cover the top and all sides. the faster you get, the easier it becomes. Take a small spatula and slide it beneath the cakes to loosen them, right after they have set a little bit. You do this so the cake will not stick to the rack.

Garnish or decorate your little cakes. Plate the desserts or petit fours and serve. If you glazed with chocolate do not place in the refrigerator. You glaze with chocolate right before it is time to eat. If you ice or glaze with an icing glaze or cover with fondant before decorating, you may freeze to set up and then cover with parchment paper on top before you wrap with plastic wrap. The frozen cakes should be good for three to four weeks. Remove thirty minuted before you apply your garnish or decoration and present for service.

You can prepare many desserts ahead of your event and pull them out as you need them. Have fun with this technique.

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1. 0 votes
  
  sugarpies (10/18/09)
  
  Cutting cakes into squares or slicing for icing...
  
  Dental floss. Just use plain dental floss and pull it through the cake. Slices neatly and without having to "saw".
  
  For petit fours or cake squares, just put the cake on a wire cooling rack and use the floss to slice down through the cake.
  
  I recommend the non-flavored variety.
2. 0 votes
  
  Theresa111 (10/19/09)
  
  Gert's Mama's Pound Cake it is so perfect it needs no glaze. I have half the cake in the freezer. I am going to cut a slice, spread some raspberry puree I made Saturday afternoon and spray it with some fresh whipped cream. i am a lucky, lucky girl.
3. 0 votes
  
  sugarpies (10/20/09)
  
  That turned out beautifully! I like the raspberry puree idea! Also, a bit of lemon curd might be nice on it as well.
0 votes

amybyrd21 (10/14/09)

I make truffles at christmas and use to make alot of chocolates but since I cant eat them any more I dont make them as much. As far as the cakes I just either put frosting on them or the kids eat them plain.

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1. 0 votes
  
  Theresa111 (10/14/09)
  
  Truffles are so much fun. My husband like it when we are ready to roll ganache into little balls.
2. 0 votes
  
  amybyrd21 (10/14/09)
  
  I have to do that when no one is home or else I dont have any left. I have a recipe for chocolate covered cherries where they have to sit for a week or two so the inside turns out right. I cant make them as they wouldnt make it that long.
0 votes

sugarpies (10/14/09)

I almost always use glazes on pound cakes. By far my favorite is a simple lemon glaze on the "Gert's Mama's Pound Cake" that I posted here on the site.

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0 votes

Nutritioulicious (10/17/09)

Thanks for the glazing tips. I baked a cake for my first time ever (love to cook, but had never baked before), and it called for a glaze on top. Wish I had known about the wire rack trick...next time I will definitely remember that. I'll be posting the recipe soon!

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0 votes

bgbigc (5/28/11)

I like to use pie fillings to glaze my cakes they have the name Black out cakes and they are great for parties. I have also frosted my cakes with cheesecake fillings.

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1. 0 votes
  
  Theresa111 (5/28/11)
  
  Carl, Blackout Cakes (do they have liquor in them?) that is definitely different. Which flavors do you like? But Cheesecake fillings? Trying to figure that out. Fillings or toppings?