Mirror Glaze Cakes: Mirrors You Can Eat!
Have you ever seen yourself… in a cake? Mirror glaze cakes bear their name well, as we’re talking about literally seeing your reflection in a pastry! Yes, they are so glossy that they reflect their surroundings… including you eating a piece of delicious cake! Let’s dive into what gives the finish its distinctive look and appreciate some of the prettiest mirror glaze cake designs internationally. If you like what you see, we’ll even show you where to get one of your own near you!
What Is a Mirror Glaze?
It is a cake covered with a glaze finish that is made of good quality white chocolate mixed with sugar, gelatin, water and often sweetened condensed milk. Together, these ingredients form a glaze, which bakers then mix with the colours of their choice.
The process of pouring the glaze over the cakes is worthy of an ASMR video: it is a highly precise, yet forgiving, and almost meditative activity. Once the cake is covered in glaze, the bakers then go on to make patterns on the surface or leave the color as is. And ta-da! You get the shiny mirror glaze cakes pastry chefs are raving about.
A mirror glaze ice cream cake with feathering effect and gold accents (Boréal Gâteau)
Temperature plays a big part in the making of mirror glaze cakes. The cake base must be frozen, and the glaze itself has to be poured at a particular temperature to yield a smooth, glossy finish and avoid lumps or runny frosting. The contact between the cold cake base and the hot frosting creates those beautiful swirls, marbling, and feathering.
Maybe you’ve seen mirror glaze cakes as individual pastries before (Andro Cakes)
The base for these cakes is often an entremet, a type of multi-layered mousse cake also gaining in popularity lately. The light and airy texture of the cake balances out the slightly gelatinous feel of the glaze. Some mirror glaze cakes are also made with a regular sponge cake base with a layer of buttercream frosting… which one are you tempted to try?
Mirror Glaze Cakes by Ksenia Penkina
Now, let’s look at some of the top mirror glaze cakes in the world. Kesenia Penkina’s creations are so appealing, they could have been featured in our post on beautiful cakes. Penkina’s cakes are both beautiful and carefully thought-out…without forgetting delicious!
Another style of mirror glaze cake by Penkina – look at her hand’s reflection! (Ksenia Penkina)
Despite their aesthetic appeal, Penkina affirms the success of her cakes lies in their taste. The young Canadian pastry chef’s main focus is on “the inside world of the dessert, understanding the chemistry behind it, and a process of product integration,” she shares in her interview with the Baker Journal.
One of Penkina’s colorful mirror glaze cakes in the glazing stage (Ksenia Penkina)
A self-described “glazing queen,” Penkina has a distinctive color palette and cake design style. The pastry chef, who teaches aspiring bakers as well, saw her glossy cakes go viral on social media. Penkina shares her love of desserts in other equally glossy ways, too! She has her own line of signature food colorings, and also published three books on how to make mirror glaze cakes and entremets.
Pav Taras’ Bold Mirror Cakes
Pav Taras is a French cake artist and pastry chef making some of the most impressive mirror glaze cakes out there. The combinations of colors, shapes, and patterns on Taras’ cakes are so bold and striking, you could forget you’re looking at a cake!
Taras’ creations combine original shapes as well as mirror glaze and velvet effects (Pav Taras)
You can tell Taras has fun baking his daring confections just by looking at them. The cake artist continuously innovates and experiments with various ideas, while taking his expertise in these cakes to a different level. The result: never two cakes that look, or taste, the same!
An original mirror glaze cake by Taras featuring a web effect (Pav Taras)
Like other mirror glaze experts, Taras is an entremets adept. Similarly to Penkina, the pastry chef has more than one trick up his sleeve. He also makes artisan chocolates, and gives online entremets classes. In them, he teaches the secrets behind his mirror glaze cakes. For instance, “it’s important to use high viscosity glaze to prevent different colours from blending into one shade” says Taras. One thing’s for sure, mirror glaze cakes are an artful pursuit!
Maja Vase’s Delicate Mirror Glaze Cakes
Last but not least in our tour of the mirror glaze cakes around the world is Maja Vase. The Danish self-described chocolate aficionado makes glazed cakes and desserts so intricate they look like crown jewels, or modern art pieces. Whichever one they look like to you, Vase’s creations sure would be right at home in a gallery! Except for the fact that the rule of looking but not touching would be difficult to follow…
An elegant raspberry chocolate layer cake by Vase (Maja Vase)
Over the years, the author of four cookbooks has developed a signature style that is very much her own. Although more simple than others, her mirror glaze cakes speak for themselves by their technical skill level alone. Each piece is carefully planned and executed, using only a few quality ingredients.
One of Vase’s more wicked creations: a blueberry brownie with a web glaze effect. You can also take a peek at the inside of an entremets (Maja Vase)
Now that you know everything about mirror glaze cakes, you might be tempted to try one of the glossy cakes yourself! Since we are what we eat, looking in the mirror today, who do you want to be? Will you have a colorful, bold, or delicate mirror glaze cake? Whichever style you go for, you can find your favourite mirror glaze cakes nearby here. Who knows, maybe you’ll discover the next top Canadian mirror glaze cake artist to look out for!
