This luscious mirror glaze cake is an easy way to create a no-bake chocolate mousse cake covered by a shiny red mirror glaze made from white chocolate. The texture of the mousse along with the mirror glaze will make the perfect sweet treat to warm you up in the winter months.
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What are Mirror Glaze Cakes?
Mirror glaze cakes refer to any cake that is topped with a mirror glaze, which is known for being super shiny and reflective. The mirror glaze topping should appear very glossy, almost as if it were a mirror. The resulting look of mirror glaze cakes is visually stunning and stands out among typical cake toppings.
Mousse cakes with mirror glaze are a typical pair, but you can add a mirror glaze to almost any cake. This recipe will teach you how to make mirror glaze for cakes, whether cake or mousse based.
What is Mirror Glaze made of?
Mirror glaze contains water, heavy cream, sugar, and either cocoa powder or melted chocolate. The most important ingredient to a mirror glaze is gelatin, which gives the glaze its trademark shiny texture and smoothness.
This recipe uses condensed milk, which is often used for a mirror glaze to ensure thickness. This chocolate mousse cake has a white chocolate mirror glaze so it can shine in a festive red color vs. a chocolate color. You can even make mini mousse cakes with mirror glaze if you prefer.
What does this Mirror Glaze Cake taste like?
This mirror glaze cake tastes of rich and creamy white chocolate mirror glaze. Once your fork goes beneath the glaze, you’ll taste a decadent, yet light chocolate mousse. The combination of white chocolate glaze with chocolate mousse makes for a super-rich and creamy dessert that will add some pizazz to any special day.
If you are looking for more decadent treat ideas then check out this easy chocolate cherry dump cake recipe and our favorite red Ombre cake!
Mirror Glaze Mousse Cake
Equipment
🥘Ingredients
Mousse Cake
- Cocoa Powder
- Hot Water
- Bittersweet Chocolate
- Heavy Cream
- Granulated Sugar
- Salt
Mirror Glaze
🔪Instructions
Mousse Cake
- Whisk the cocoa powder and hot water and set aside.
- Melt the chocolate and set aside.
- Whisk the heavy cream, sugar, and salt until peaks form.
- Whisk the cocoa mixture into the melted chocolate.
- Fold the cream mixture into the chocolate.
- Pour the mousse into a springform pan and chill overnight.
Mirror Glaze
- Soak gelatin sheets in cool water.
- Combine sugar, corn syrup, and water in a saucepan until sugar dissolves.
- Remove from heat and whisk in the gelatin, followed by the sweetened condensed milk.
- Pour mixture over white chocolate and combine.
- Cool glaze until it is 94 degrees F and add food coloring.
- Put mousse cake on wire rack with baking sheet. Then, pour mirror glaze over the cake.
- Allow the glaze to set for about 10 minutes before serving. Add any additional decor, if desired.
💭Tips and Tricks
- Using gelatin sheets in your mirror glaze is a great idea, but if you use powdered gelatin as we did with this recipe, make sure that the gelatin completely dissolves in the warm water before adding in the other ingredients. This way, the mirror glaze will be smooth and without any granules.
- It’s a good idea to make the cake (especially if it is a mousse cake as this recipe is) the day before making and adding the mirror glaze. Totally freeze the cake or mousse so the mirror glaze goes on perfectly.
- A springform pan is a good choice here, especially if you are making a mousse base since it will not want to come out of a traditional cake pan. You can wrap the outside of the springform pan in tin foil to stop any minor leakage while the cake chills. Once you release the mousse, the sides will gently pop off and you will get a mousse cake in one piece!
FAQ
Do Mirror Glaze Cakes taste good?
Mirror glaze cakes taste wonderful and are known for being sweet, but not overly so. It is recommended to add some kind of chocolate (whether traditional or white chocolate) to your mirror glaze, because a mirror glaze with gelatin and no chocolate just won’t be as rich and won’t have as delicious a taste.
Do you frost a cake before adding Mirror Glaze?
You don’t have to frost a traditional cake before adding a mirror glaze, but you do need to make sure the cake is frozen solid so the warm glaze will not disturb the texture of the cake or be affected by it. This recipe involves mousse cakes with mirror glaze, so it still has to be frozen, but doesn’t require a frosting layer.
How do you make a Galaxy Mirror Glaze?
A galaxy mirror glaze is made in the same way as a single-colored mirror glaze. You would separate the glaze into 4-5 different bowls and then add variations of galaxy-friendly color combinations to each.
Colors that work for a galaxy glaze are black, purple, different blues, green, pink, and white. You can have fun creating your own galaxy when you add one bowl to another and swirl up the colors. You’d pour the different swirl combinations over the cake and let it settle in whatever celestial pattern it decides upon.
How do you make a Mirror Glaze shiny?
Gelatin is the reason why mirror glaze has a noteworthy sheen. Ingredients like chocolate or white chocolate and/or condensed milk will add thickness to the glaze, but it is the gelatin that must be in liquid form which makes the ultimate mirror glaze cake shine on.
Should a Mirror Glazed Cake be refrigerated?
You can make your mirror glaze cake a few days in advance or store it in the refrigerator after it is made. Make sure to cover the cake with plastic wrap that touches the surface of the mirror glaze.
When you want to serve the cake, you can microwave it for 10 seconds at a time to bring back the sheen and get the texture of the glaze optimal for enjoying.
What is the best way to pour Mirror Glaze over a chilled cake?
The best method to pour your mirror glaze over a chilled cake is to make sure the cake (or mousse) is completely frozen. You can set the unmolded cake on a wire rack that you place into a baking sheet with sides.
You might also add foil on the baking sheet for easier clean up. When you pour the mirror glaze on, make sure it is at a temperature of 94 degrees F. If too cool, it will thicken and not pour and if too warm, it won’t create a good layer.
You can also pour a second layer on if the first layer is translucent. Once set, after 5-10 minutes you can trim the bottom sides and place your mirror glaze cake on a cardboard base for serving.
Mirror Glaze Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For Mousse Cake
- 2 TBSP cocoa powder
- 5 TBSP hot water
- 7 oz. bittersweet chocolate pieces
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream chilled
- 1 TBSP granulated sugar
- Pinch salt
For Mirror Glaze
- 2 TBSP powdered gelatin or 6 sheets of gelatin
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup light corn syrup or agave syrup
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup sweetened condensed milk
- 8 oz. chopped white chocolate or dark chocolate if making a chocolate mirror glaze
- Red food coloring or any color you like
Instructions
For Mousse Cake
- Whisk together the cocoa powder and hot water in a bowl until the cocoa is completely dissolved. Set aside.
- Melt the chocolate pieces in a double boiler (heatproof bowl set over a saucepan with approximately 1-2 inches of simmering water) or in 30-second increments in the microwave until melted. Stir and set aside for 5 minutes.
- With a stand mixer or hand mixer, whisk the heavy cream, sugar, and salt at medium/high speed for 1-2 minutes, until peaks form.
- Whisk the cocoa mixture into the melted chocolate until combined.
- Fold in half of the cream mixture until just combined and then fold in the remaining half of the cream and keep folding until the consistency of the mix is creamy and even.
- Pour the mousse mixture into a 7 to 9-inch springform pan that has been coated with cooking spray or canola oil and is lined with parchment paper. You can also wrap the pan in tin foil on the sides.
- Chill the mousse overnight in the freezer or refrigerator. Make sure the mousse is completely frozen before adding mirror glaze.
For Mirror Glaze
- Submerge the gelatin sheets in cool water for 5 minutes if using gelatin sheets.
- Combine sugar, corn syrup, and water in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to boil until the sugar is totally dissolved.
- Remove from heat and add the gelatin sheets or gelatin powder. Keep whisking until completely dissolved. Whisk in the sweetened condensed milk. Pour the mixture over the white chocolate. After about a minute, stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth.
- Set the glaze aside to cool, while making sure to stir occasionally until the glaze reaches approximately 94 degrees on a candy thermometer.
- Add the food coloring if using to the glaze and stir until desired color is reached.
- Take unmolded frozen mousse cake and put onto a wire rack with a baking sheet beneath. Pour the mirror glaze over the mousse cake. If too thin, you can pour a second layer after a minute to ensure an opaque glaze.
- Allow the excess glaze to set for about 10 minutes. Scrape any excess glaze from the bottom edges for a neat finish. If you want to create an accent color, leave a little glaze aside in white or whatever color preferred and pipe onto the set glaze. You can also add glitter, but if using glitter it’s best to add to the glaze before pouring onto the cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for a few days if not serving right away.
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