ISO Thick White Glaze

[sadie]

Does anyone have a recipe for the thick, opaque, almost glaringly white, slightly glossy, white glaze that you see in pictures of pound and bundt cakes and sometimes find on bakery cakes and chelsea buns? My white glazes are never as white or thick as I'd like them. I'm looking for something that dribbles part way down the side of the cake without reaching the bottom and isn't translucent. I've experimented with many ratios of icing sugar to cream/whipping cream/milk, and tried adding corn syrup but I never seem to come up with the right consistency. Help!! Thanks.

Sadie

[mmtibbs]

Bump. Me too.

[funniegrrl]

I would think corn syrup would make it more translucent, not less.

The glazes I've always made with milk and powdered sugar always come out fairly white. I would think that with enough of the sugar, you'd get the look you want, although it'll be thick.

Why not take a different tack and make a white chocolate ganache? Or a poured fondant? Or simply a heated white icing? These are not things you'd find on cinnamon rolls, but will give the look you're after.

Check out this page on glazes on Baking911: http://www.baking911.com/decorating/cakes_glazes.htm

[Beth]

I always use powdered sugar with milk and a little vanilla. I sometimes use a little butter too so that it is more like a thin buttercream, but not that much butter. If you want it to remain thincker and white, make the glaze like a thin icing and make sure the cake is completely cooled when you put it on the cake. If you put it on a warm cake, it will thin and soak in.

[sadie]

Thanks to you both for your suggestions. I had thought about a pourable fondant icing but wondered if it might be a bit thinner than what I'm looking for. I think the answer may be a pourable icing with clear vanilla to keep it white rather than a glaze. I hadn't considered a white chocolate ganache but that could be a solution as well and a nice change from a powdered sugar frosting.

[annagins]

Sadie,

I have a few recipes which are opaque. Here's a base recipe which you can change around. Must make sure you add your cream (which is key) slowly -- one tablespoon at a time, until you get the right consistency.


Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon maple syrup (or corn syrup)
1/2 teaspoon maple flavor (or vanilla, or whatever extract
2-3 tablespoons heavy cream
1/8 teaspoon salt


Here's another one. It's more of a pourable icing (as is the other one) than a glaze.

3 ounces cream cheese (softened)
3/4 cup confectioner's sugar)
4 tablespoons whatever juice
3 or more tablespoons heavy cream

[sadie]

Thanks, Anna. I'll have a few opportunities to try these out over the next couple of weeks. I think part of my problem is that I'm not getting the consistency right....too much liquid. Do you warm your whipping cream or use it cold right from the fridge?

[annagins]

Thanks, Anna. I'll have a few opportunities to try these out over the next couple of weeks. I think part of my problem is that I'm not getting the consistency right....too much liquid. Do you warm your whipping cream or use it cold right from the fridge?

I just pull mine our out of the fridge and use it cold. And I also tend to mess up and add too much liquid. I guess adding the liquid slowly, tablespoon by tablespoon is key.

[mommycook]

Sadie......

I saw a glaze that looks like you described in the November 2005 issue of Bon Appetit. It is the glaze for their Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake. It uses powdered sugar and sour cream.

Here is a link to the recipe and a picture: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/233141

[Middydd]

Sadie, the frosting to drizzle over the Cranberry Bliss Bars reminded me of the icing you're looking for. I had to add more milk to get it to drizzle, otherwise it was very thick.

Drizzled Icing:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp milk
2 tsp vegetable shortening

[sadie]

Here is a link to the recipe and a picture: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/233141

Thanks for the link. The frosting in the picture looks much like what I'm trying to get. I've never tried a sour cream/confectioners' combo for a drizzle. It's worth a try.

[sadie]

the frosting to drizzle over the Cranberry Bliss Bars reminded me of the icing you're looking for
I haven't made these yet but have now added them to my Christmas list so I'll get a chance to try the drizzle. Thanks.

[Middydd]

If you do make the Cranberry Bliss Bars, my cake part was done 4-5 minutes before it was supposed to be. It was in a non-stick (but not dark) pan, and my oven was just calibrated so I'm pretty sure the temperature was spot on.

They're really good and so pretty. I used two Lindt white chocolate bars and had about a third of the second bar left over so I chopped it up pretty finely and sprinkled it over the top of the bars with the quarter cup of chopped cranberries.

[lisas3575]

This sounds kind of low-brow, but it's my T&T glaze-- just powdered sugar and enough water to get it to the consistency I want. It's kind of shiny on it's own, but you could add a few drops of glycerin (available at Michael's) to get that pretty glossy look.