Just like any finishing touch, the application of glaze to your patisserie creations, will take your product to the next level! A qualitative patisserie glaze gives your cakes a reflective and mesmerizing surface, and also keeps the cakes fresh during the shelf life (to avoid drying out). Additionally, you can add more visual and textural experience by adding colours, flavours, inclusions like nuts, pralinés, … The key to obtaining an optimal result, lies in the technique to apply the glaze onto your cakes, as a poor application of glaze could negatively impact your creation. Continue reading to know about the top tips to perfectly apply a glaze.
Importance of the support
The support for application of glaze also plays a very important role in obtaining an optimal result. When the mousse cake is too firm or too dry, you might experience a glazed surface with air bubbles. Similarly, if your mousse cake surface is extremely glossy or humid on top, you have a high risk of your glaze sliding or you risk air bubbles again. A pro-tip to avoid your glaze from drying out is to ensure the mousse cake is kept to set in a freezer, with a temperature of minus 20° degrees constantly, without opening the freezer, which could lead to the outer layer of the mousse defrosting & frosting again. When the outer layer of the mousse is exposed to different temperatures, the surface can either become too dry or too humid leading to the glaze sliding off or air bubbles on top.
In case your glaze needs to be heated
Heat up the required amount of glaze in the micro-wave or “au bain-marie”, avoiding direct heat, that could potentially damage and impact the stability or the visual aspect. Respect the temperatures mentioned on the packaging for an optimal viscosity to apply the glaze.
Mix out the air bubbles
Mix your glaze using a hand blender with variable speed. Avoid using the blender with a unique high speed as it could lead to the creation of extra air bubbles. The quality of the blender construction is important, because a blender which has a blade vibrating while mixing, will create air bubbles.
Which application technique to choose?
There are different ways to apply your glaze, find out what works best for your creations.
- With a Ladle: This technique is suited for both small and large product applications, but this technique involves the risk of dripping some glaze from the bottom of the ladle onto your cake and causing a slight mess.
- With a jug: The method of application using a jug, is best suited for big applications due to the large amount of glaze that is flowing out of the jug. This method could also potentially be used for small applications, but could lead to utilizing more glaze than needed.
- With a Piping bag: The technique of applying the glaze with a piping bag is very well adapted for small applications; this technique is fast, precise and allows you to save the excess glaze. This technique could also potentially be used for larger applications, with a dedicated design.
- Dipping: This technique is best adapted for small applications or individual application with complex shape, however it comes with the risk of over glazing.
Pro tips
- Always use a clean spatula and clean it between each application to avoid marks on the glaze.
- Make sure that the edge of your spatula is sharp, flat and not damaged or deformed, as using a damaged spatula could lead to an irregular application in terms of quantity.
- Once out of the freezer, you may want to round the top edge of the mousse cake (eg. by going over it with a warm object or gloved hand) before applying the glaze, to make sure the glaze flows smoothly to the sides while covering the edge.
- Do not use your glaze directly after blending, let it set before application, as this will increase the stability.
- Before applying the glaze, the mousse surface should be as smooth as possible. As the glaze is a high water activity product and if applied to a very dry or very wet surface, it could lead to a diminished shiny effect or you could face issues with the stability/holding of the glaze.
Now that you have mastered the art of Glaze application, lets seek some inspiration on how to customize your glaze to create your signature finish, click here!
