Image is for illustrative purposes only.
This is a bright, tangy lemon mirror glaze, thickened with modified starch and set lightly with gelatine so it pours in a smooth, glossy sheet and holds its shine once it is cold. Fresh juice and zest do all the flavouring work, so it tastes clean and sharp rather than sweet, and the colour is a soft lemon yellow.
Use it over chilled or frozen mousse cakes, entremets and tarts where you want a mirror finish and a lift of citrus against a creamy filling. It keeps well in the fridge and is re-boiled and cooled back down to pouring temperature each time it is used, so one batch can cover several cakes over a few days.
Ingredients
The weights in the recipe table below will yield the following 'weight per unit' and 'number of units'. If you would like to change the recipe to cater to a different 'weight per unit' and/or 'number of units',
you can use the Recipe Calculator Tool below the ingredients table.
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Weight Per Unit: 132
Number of Units: 6
Unit Size: 24 cm round mousse cake, glazed top and sides
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WEIGHT
(grams)
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ALTERNATIVE METRIC
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INGREDIENT
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IMAGE
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CONDITION
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A
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200 |
0.8 cup
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Water
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B
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200 |
0.8 cup
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Fresh Lemon Juice
Fresh lemon juice is the juice squeezed from whole lemons and strained of seeds and pulp. It gives a natural sharpness and aroma that bottled juice cannot match, and roughly three medium lemons will yield the amount needed here.
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strained |
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C
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25 |
0.9 ounce
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Lemon Zest
Lemon zest is the thin, brightly coloured outer layer of the lemon skin, removed with a fine grater or zester without taking the bitter white pith underneath. It holds the fruit's aromatic oils and gives a fresh citrus lift to batters and creams.
fresh
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finely grated |
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D
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200 |
7 ounces
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Sugar
Sugar is the generalized name for sweet, short-chain, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. They are carbohydrates, composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. There are various types of sugar derived from different sources. Simple sugars are called monosaccharides and include glucose (also known as dextrose), fructose and galactose. The table or granulated sugar most customarily used as food is sucrose, a disaccharide. (In the body, sucrose hydrolyses into fructose and glucose.) Other disaccharides include maltose and lactose. Longer chains of sugars are called oligosaccharides. Chemically-different substances may also have a sweet taste, but are not classified as sugars. Some are used as lower-calorie food substitutes for sugar described as artificial sweeteners.
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E
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90 |
3.2 ounces
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Glucose Syrup
Glucose syrup, also known as confectioner's glucose, is a syrup made from the hydrolysis of starch. Glucose is a sugar. Maize (corn) is commonly used as the source of the starch in the US, in which case the syrup is called "corn syrup", but glucose syrup is also made from potatoes and wheat, and less often from barley, rice and cassava.
Glucose syrup containing over 90% glucose is used in industrial fermentation, but syrups used in confectionery contain varying amounts of glucose, maltose and higher oligosaccharides, depending on the grade, and can typically contain 10% to 43% glucose. Glucose syrup is used in foods to sweeten, soften texture and add volume. By converting some of the glucose in corn syrup into fructose (using an enzymatic process), a sweeter product, high fructose corn syrup can be produced.
43 DE
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F
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20 |
0.7 ounce
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Modified Starch
Modified starch is a corn or tapioca starch that has been treated so it thickens smoothly and stays stable when acid, sugar and freezing are involved. In a glaze it gives body and shine without becoming cloudy or watery; plain corn starch can be used instead, though the set will be a little softer.
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G
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20 |
0.7 ounce
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Pure Icing Sugar
Pure icing sugar is also made from pulverised granulated sugar but contains no cornflour. For everyday cooking, icing sugar mixture does the trick; the only place where pure icing sugar is a must is when making royal icing, modelling fondant and the like.
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sifted |
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H
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18 |
0.6 ounce
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Gelatin
Gelatin or gelatine (from Latin: gelatus meaning "stiff", "frozen") is a translucent, colourless, brittle (when dry), flavourless foodstuff, derived from collagen obtained from various animal by-products. It is commonly used as a gelling agent in food, pharmaceuticals, photography, and cosmetic manufacturing. Substances containing gelatin or functioning in a similar way are called gelatinous. Gelatin is an irreversibly hydrolyzed form of collagen. It is found in most gummy candy as well as other products such as marshmallows, gelatin dessert, and some ice cream, dip and yogurt. Household gelatin comes in the form of sheets, granules, or powder. Instant types can be added to the food as they are; others need to be soaked in water beforehand.
powdered
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I
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20 |
1 tablespoons
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Water
for blooming the gelatine
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cold |
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J
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1 |
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Yellow Food Colouring
Yellow food colouring is a concentrated edible dye used a drop at a time. Combined with a little green it gives the fresh lime tone of this glaze.
lemon shade
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a few drops, to taste of colour |
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794
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Recipe Calculator Tool
Using this tool, you can alter this recipe for your own requirements. Use the two fields below to generate new weights for the ingredients above.
STEP 1. Enter your Custom Weight Per Unit
The 'Custom Weight Per Unit' is already loaded with the weight per unit for this recipe but can be changed if required. If all you wish to do is change the number of units (or servings), just leave the current weight per unit.
STEP 2. Enter your Custom Number of Units
This is the number of units (or servings) you want this recipe to yield.
STEP 3. Click Calculate
The new weights for your adjusted recipe will be displayed in the table above.
Method
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STEP
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ACTION
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DETAIL
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CONDITION
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1 |
Bloom |
Sprinkle H (gelatine) over I (cold water) in a small bowl and leave it to swell. |
Gelatine fully softened and spongy, no dry powder left |
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2 |
Mix |
In a separate bowl, whisk F and G (modified starch and icing sugar) together dry, then whisk in a little of A (water) taken from the weighed amount to make a smooth, lump-free slurry. |
Slurry smooth and pourable |
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3 |
Boil |
Put the remaining A, B, C, D and E (water, lemon juice, lemon zest, caster sugar and glucose syrup) into a saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. |
Rolling boil, sugar completely dissolved |
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4 |
Thicken |
Whisk the starch slurry into the boiling liquid in a steady stream and keep whisking as it comes back to the boil. Boil for about 1 minute. |
Glossy and lightly thickened, coats the back of a spoon |
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5 |
Dissolve |
Take the pan off the heat, add the bloomed H and I (gelatine and water) and stir until completely dissolved. Tint with J (yellow food colouring) a drop at a time. |
No gelatine grains visible; an even, soft lemon yellow |
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6 |
Strain |
Pass the glaze through a fine sieve into a jug to remove the zest and any lumps. Cover the surface directly with cling film. |
Smooth, clear glaze with no skin forming |
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7 |
Cool |
Let the glaze cool to about 30–35°C (86–95°F) before pouring. |
Still fluid and pours in a ribbon, not warm enough to melt the cake |
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8 |
Glaze |
Sit the well-chilled or frozen cake on a rack over a tray and pour the glaze over the centre in one steady motion, letting it flow over the top and down the sides. Tap the tray lightly and let the excess drain. |
Even, mirror-bright coating with no bare patches |
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9 |
Store |
Keep leftover glaze covered in the fridge. Re-boil it before the next use, then cool it back to pouring temperature. |
Re-boiled glaze smooth again and free of lumps |
Important Notes
This half batch makes about 790 g of glaze, enough for around six 24 cm round cakes. Always re-boil the glaze before using it again, then cool it back to about 30–35°C (86–95°F) so it pours thinly without melting the mousse underneath. The cake must be very cold or frozen and sitting on a rack over a tray so the excess can run off cleanly. Stored covered in the fridge, the glaze keeps for several days.
Tools & Arrangements
Medium saucepan, balloon whisk, small bowl for blooming the gelatine, fine sieve, pouring jug, digital thermometer, cooling rack set over a tray, cling film
