Dessert Glaze

A dessert glaze is a shiny, smooth coating with which the surface of cakes, pastries, gingerbread, doughnuts, and other bakes is covered, giving them an appetising gloss, a finished look, and additional flavour, and protecting them from drying out. A glaze is the final touch that turns a simple dessert into an aesthetically attractive one.

There are countless kinds of dessert glaze. Sugar (icing) is the simplest, of icing sugar and a liquid (water, juice, egg white), setting into a smooth white or coloured crust. Chocolate glaze and ganache give a rich shiny coating. Especially striking is the mirror glaze (glaçage miroir) based on gelatine, chocolate, and glucose, which sets so smooth and shiny that light reflects in it — with it modern mousse cakes (entremets) are covered. There is also fondant glaze, fruit glaze (of apricot jam for shine), and royal icing (for decorating gingerbread). The glaze is applied by pouring or dipping the item, often onto a well-chilled surface so it sets evenly. Besides beauty, the glaze adds flavour — sweet, chocolatey, fruity. It is an important tool of the confectioner, working at the boundary of flavour and visual art, making a dessert complete.