Image is for illustrative purposes only.
A bright, tangy mirror glaze made with fresh lime juice, sugar, glucose and a little starch, set softly with gelatine. It pours in a thin, even sheet over a chilled cake and dries to a clear, glassy finish with a sharp citrus flavour that cuts through sweet mousses and creams.
Use it over mousse cakes, entremets and cheesecakes, or as a shiny top layer on slices and tarts. The colour is adjusted with a few drops of green and yellow so the glaze reads as lime without looking artificial, and the whole batch can be made ahead and re-warmed when you are ready to glaze.
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.
Note: The Recipe Calculator Tool is available to subscribers.
Weight Per Unit: 767
Number of Units: 1
Unit Size: batch, enough to glaze two 20–24 cm mousse cakes
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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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Lime Juice
Lime juice is the fresh juice squeezed from limes. It is sharper and more aromatic than lemon juice and gives both the flavour and part of the acidity that helps a mirror glaze set with a clean, bright taste.
fresh
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strained |
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B
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200 |
0.8 cup
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Water
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C
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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.
caster
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D
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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.
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E
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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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F
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20 |
0.7 ounce
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Icing Sugar Mixture
Icing sugar mixture, also known as confectioners' sugar or powdered sugar, is pulverised granulated sugar crushed together with a small amount (about three percent) of cornflour. This icing sugar is great to use when making icing for kids' birthday cakes or dusting sweet treats.
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G
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15 |
0.5 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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H
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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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I
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1 |
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Green Food Colouring
Food colouring is a concentrated edible dye sold as a liquid, gel or paste. Only a few drops are needed, and gel colours are preferred in glazes because they tint strongly without thinning the mixture.
a few drops, to tint
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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.
a few drops, to tint
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767
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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 G (gelatine) over H (cold water) in a small bowl and leave to stand without stirring. |
Gelatine fully swollen and spongy, no dry powder left |
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2 |
Mix |
In a separate dry bowl, whisk E and F (modified starch and icing sugar mixture) together. |
Evenly blended so the starch will not lump |
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3 |
Heat |
Put A, B, C and D (lime juice, water, caster sugar and glucose syrup) in a saucepan and bring to the boil over medium heat, stirring until the sugar and glucose have dissolved. |
Clear and boiling |
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4 |
Thicken |
Whisk the starch and icing sugar blend into the boiling liquid in a steady stream and keep whisking for about 1 minute. |
Thickened, glossy and clear, with no starchy taste |
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5 |
Dissolve |
Take the pan off the heat, let it stand for a minute, then stir in the bloomed gelatine. |
Gelatine completely dissolved, no lumps |
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6 |
Colour |
Add I and J (green and yellow food colouring) a drop at a time, stirring after each addition. |
An even, fresh lime tone; do not overdo it |
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7 |
Strain |
Pass the glaze through a fine sieve into a jug and press out any skin or bubbles on the surface with cling film laid directly on the glaze. |
Smooth and free of bubbles |
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8 |
Cool |
Let the glaze cool to about 30–35°C (86–95°F) before use. |
Thick enough to coat the back of a spoon but still pourable |
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9 |
Glaze |
Set the well-chilled or frozen cake on a rack over a tray and pour the glaze over in one steady movement, starting in the centre and working out to the edges. |
Even, mirror-like coating; let the excess drip off before moving the cake |
Important Notes
This half batch makes about 765 g of glaze, enough for two 20–24 cm mousse cakes with a little to spare for the run-off. The cake must be very cold, ideally frozen firm, and the glaze about 30–35°C, or it will run off too thin or set in ridges. Glaze in one pass and do not go back over the surface. Any glaze that drips onto the tray can be strained and re-used. Keep leftover glaze covered in the fridge for up to a week and re-warm gently in a microwave or over hot water, stirring without beating in air, then cool again to working temperature before use. The spreadsheet carried no method or tips of its own.
Tools & Arrangements
Kitchen scales, medium saucepan, whisk, small bowl for blooming the gelatine, fine sieve, jug for pouring, thermometer, cooling rack and a tray to catch the run-off, cling film, palette knife.
