Mirror Glaze Recipes

Steps:

• Bloom the gelatin by pouring 3 tablespoons of cool water into a small bowl and sprinkling the gelatin evenly over top. Allow the gelatin to sit until it has absorbed the water.
• Place the white chocolate, sweetened condensed milk and white food color into a medium heat-proof bowl.
• Combine the sugar, corn syrup and 1/4 cup of water in a small saucepan. Stir gently to ensure that the sugar is moistened. Heat the mixture over high heat until boiling and allow to boil for a minute or two until the syrup is clear. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the bloomed gelatin. Pour the syrup and gelatin mixture into the bowl of chocolate and milk and allow to sit for 30 seconds before stirring until smooth.
• Use an immersion blender to emulsify the glaze, making sure that the head of the blender stays below the surface of the glaze. This will ensure your glaze doesn't become aerated. Pour the glaze through a fine sieve if there are any lumps or air bubbles.
• Color the glaze with powdered food colors by separating the desired amount of glaze into individual containers and stirring in the color. Mirror glaze should be poured when the temperature reaches 94 to 95 degrees F.

Steps:

• Boil the water, sugar, and condensed milk in a pot for 1 minute, then remove from heat.
• Bloom the gelatin sheets in 8 cups (2 liters) of cold water for 5 minutes, then wring the gelatin sheets of excess water and mix into the sugar mixture.
• Pour the liquid over the chocolate, letting it sit for 2-3 minutes to allow the chocolate to soften.
• Using an immersion blender, carefully blend the chocolate and the liquid, making sure that you are not blending in air bubbles by lifting up the blender too high. It's okay to go slow, just make sure it's all blended with as little bubbles as possible, which will show up in the final product.
• Sieve the mix into a large jug or vertical container to remove any excess bubbles. If there are still bubbles, continue to sieve back and forth. A trick to remove air bubbles from the surface is to manually pop them with a toothpick or to press cling film into the surface and remove the bubbles.
• Separate the glaze into different containers and color them to your desire.
• We used red and white for this cake. Blend the coloring with the glaze until the color is distributed evenly, then cover each container with the cling film, pressing the film into the glaze to ensure that there is no skin when you are ready to use the glaze.
• When you are ready to use the glaze, make sure each one is around 90-96°F, then pour the colored glazes back into one container. Swirl them if you'd like, then glaze your cake!

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray two 8-inch cake pans with baking spray and line the bottoms with parchment rounds.
• Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Beat the granulated sugar and butter in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 4 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to medium low; beat in half the flour mixture, then all of the milk and then the remaining flour mixture until just combined.
• Separate the batter into 6 different bowls and tint one bowl red, one orange, one yellow, one green, one blue and one purple. Transfer each color to a separate disposable pastry bag or resealable ziptop bag. Pipe half of the red batter into the center of one of the prepared pans, then pipe the remaining red batter into the center of the second pan. Pipe half the orange batter into the center of the red batter in the first pan, then repeat with the remaining orange batter in the second pan, tapping the pans gently as needed to level out the batter. Repeat with the remaining colored batter until all the batter is piped and both cake pans are about half full.
• Bake, rotating the pans halfway through, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cake comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Transfer the pans to a rack and let cool 10 minutes, then invert the cakes onto a wire rack and cool completely.
• To decorate: Using a serrated knife, level the top of each cake layer. Spread a small amount of Buttercream Frosting onto an 8-inch cake board. Place one cake layer onto the cake board bottom-side up. Add about 1/2 cup of frosting to the top of the cake and smooth to an even layer. Invert the second cake layer over top of the frosting layer. Using an offset spatula, frost the cake with an even coat of frosting. Refrigerate to set and chill, about 3 hours.
• Place the chilled cake onto a wire rack fitted inside a baking sheet. When the Mirror Glaze is the proper temperature, pour the colors together into a single container for a swirled effect. Pour the glaze over the cake, then let it stand to set before transferring to a cake stand.
• Combine the confectioners' sugar, butter and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until mostly incorporated. Add the vanilla, increase the speed to medium high and mix until smooth. Adjust the consistency with milk as desired.
• Whisk together the gelatin and 3 tablespoons water in a small bowl; set aside to bloom.
• Combine the granulated sugar, corn syrup and 1/3 cup water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is clear, about 2 minutes.
• Remove the saucepan from the heat and whisk in the bloomed gelatin to dissolve. Add the white chocolate and let stand 1 minute to melt. Add the condensed milk and combine with an immersion blender until emulsified and smooth.
• Divide the glaze into bowls and color as desired. When the glaze is between 75 and 80 degrees F, it is ready to pour.

Steps:

• Stir gelatin and 1/2 cup lukewarm water in a small bowl and let sit 5 minutes.
• Cook sugar, condensed milk, vanilla, salt, and 3/4 cup water in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture begins to bubble, about 4 minutes. Add bloomed gelatin and stir until dissolved.
• Remove from heat and add chocolate chips, stirring constantly, until melted. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl, then divide glaze among 3 or 4 bowls. Color each with food coloring as desired. Let cool, stirring occasionally to stop a skin from forming, until glaze is just cool enough to touch (100-95°F), 10-12 minutes.
• Pour half of color one into a large bowl, then pour half of color two into the center, followed by half of color three and half of color four, if using. Repeat with remaining glaze to form concentric circles of different colors in bowl.
• Set a chilled, smoothly frosted cake on a cake pan or overturned bowl set inside a rimmed baking sheet or large tray to catch drips. Pour colored glaze over, sweeping back and forth across cake as you pour, to form a marbled pattern. Resist the temptation to touch glaze once it's poured; it will start to set as soon as it hits the cold cake. Let glaze drip about 10 minutes, then clean up edges with a small offset spatula or butter knife. Transfer cake to a serving platter and chill at least 30 minutes or up to 1 day.
• Using a warmed sharp knife, cut cleanly through cake, wiping knife with a warm damp towel between each slice.

Steps:

• Spread the jam evenly into the bottom of a round 8-inch (20 cm) cake pan, then place one of the cake rounds on top. Freeze completely.
• In a 9-inch by 3-inch (23 cm 8 cm) by silicone round cake mold, pour ⅔ of the chocolate mousse then tap the mold on the table to release any air bubbles.
• Place the frozen cake & jam disc on top of the mousse, jam-side down. Press the cake down slightly, then cover it with the rest of the mousse.
• Place the 2nd cake round on top, pressing down until the mousse rises to the level of the cake.
• Carefully transfer to a freezer and freeze overnight. It is vital that the cake is 100% frozen through.
• Place a can on top of a baking sheet, then carefully unmold the cake onto the can. Make sure to work quickly and that the glaze is already prepared.
• When the mirror glaze is between 90 and 96°F (32 - 35°C) , pour the glaze over the cake in a circular motion, making sure to start in the center and work your way outwards.
• You only have one chance to glaze the cake, since the glaze will start to set due to the cold temperature of the cake, so do not pour a 2nd round of glaze after the first one.
• Enjoy!

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Butter and line the base of three 18cm sandwich tins with baking parchment. Beat the butter, sugar and vanilla together in a large bowl with an electric whisk for 8-10 mins, or until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift in the flour, baking powder and a pinch of fine salt, and fold in using a large metal spoon. Add just enough of the milk to create a dropping consistency.
• Divide the batter between the prepared tins and smooth the tops with a spatula. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 25-30 mins or until golden and firm to the touch. Leave to cool slightly in the tins, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• While the cake is cooling, make the buttercream icing. Beat together the butter, icing sugar and vanilla until pale and fluffy, beating in 4-6 tbsp hot water to loosen the mixture if necessary.
• Stack the sponges, spreading the buttercream over each one using a palette knife, then use the palette knife to roughly coat the outside of the cakes with the remaining buttercream to create a crumb coat. Chill in the fridge for 30 mins.
• Using more of the icing, spread it over the chilled cake using your palette knife so that there's an even layer of buttercream across the whole cake and over the top. Chill in the fridge for 2 hrs until set, or ideally overnight.
• To make the mirror glaze, soak the gelatine leaves in cold water for 5 mins until softened completely, then drain. Put the sugar, 200ml water and the condensed milk in a pan, whisk together, bring to the boil, then whisk in the drained gelatine leaves. Put the white chocolate in a bowl, pour over the sugar mix in the pan and leave for 1 min to melt. Whisk everything together, then divide into three bowls.
• Using the gel colourings, colour each bowl a different shade. Put one of the colours that you would like to use as an accent colour on top to one side. Stir all of the colours occasionally leaving them to sit until they reach 30-32C so they are thick enough to glaze the cake without being too thin and running off the edges. Once at that temperature, pour the remaining two colours on top of each other and stir slightly to marble them together.
• Place your chilled iced cake onto a cooling rack set in a deep tray (to collect the excess glaze). Pour over the mirror glaze which should be at 30-32C, allowing it to drip down the sides. Drizzle over the accent colour you've saved then, using a paint brush, flick over some gold lustre, if using. Leave it to set completely before slicing and serving. Will keep, in the fridge, for up to three days.