Image is for illustrative purposes only.
This is a bright, fruit-based mirror glaze made from raspberries and strawberries, thickened with a little starch and set with gelatine. It pours in a thin, glossy sheet over frozen mousse cakes and entremets and sets to a clear, deep red shine with a fresh berry flavour that is sweet and slightly tart rather than sugary.
Unlike a chocolate-based glaze, this one tastes of the fruit itself, so it works well over vanilla, white chocolate, yogurt or berry mousses. A touch of citric acid lifts the flavour and keeps the colour lively, and a few of the sieved raspberry seeds can be stirred back in at the end if you like the look of them suspended in the 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: 378
Number of Units: 2
Unit Size: 20 cm round mousse cake or entremet
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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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300 |
1.3 cups
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Water
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B
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50 |
1.8 ounces
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Frozen Raspberries
Frozen raspberries are whole ripe raspberries snap-frozen soon after picking. They break down easily when heated and give a strong colour and a sharp, fresh berry flavour, which makes them ideal for glazes, coulis and purées where fresh fruit would be costly or out of season.
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thawed |
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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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7.5 |
1.5 teaspoons
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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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F
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50 |
1.8 ounces
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Frozen Strawberries
Frozen strawberries are ripe berries picked and frozen at their peak, so they carry full flavour and colour all year round. They break down easily when heated and are ideal for syrups, glazes and purées where the fruit will be cooked and strained anyway.
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thawed |
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G
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14 |
0.5 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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H
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15 |
0.5 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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I
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14 |
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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J
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15 |
1 tablespoon
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Water
for soaking the gelatine
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cold |
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K
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1 |
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Citric Acid
Citric acid is the natural acid found in lemons and other citrus fruit, sold as fine white crystals or powder. A small pinch sharpens the flavour of sugar syrups and helps stop them crystallising during storage.
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756
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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.
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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 |
Soak |
Sprinkle I (gelatin) over J (cold water) in a small bowl and stir once so all the powder is wetted. Leave it to stand. |
Gelatine swollen into a stiff, sponged paste; add a spoonful more water if any powder is still dry |
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2 |
Boil |
Put A, B, F, C, D and E (water, frozen raspberries, frozen strawberries, caster sugar, glucose syrup and lemon juice) into a saucepan and bring to the boil over medium heat, stirring so the sugar dissolves. |
Fruit collapsed and the syrup boiling steadily |
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3 |
Mix |
Whisk G and H (modified starch and icing sugar) together in a small bowl, then whisk in a ladle of the hot fruit liquid to make a smooth slurry. |
No lumps of starch left |
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4 |
Thicken |
Pour the slurry back into the boiling pan while whisking, and let it boil for about one minute. |
Glossy and lightly thickened, coating the back of a spoon |
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5 |
Dissolve |
Take the pan off the heat and stir in the soaked gelatine and K (citric acid) until completely dissolved. |
No specks of gelatine visible in the hot glaze |
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6 |
Blend |
Blend the glaze with a stick blender if it is not smooth, then pass it through a fine sieve. Stir a few of the sieved raspberry seeds back in if you like them in the finished glaze. |
Smooth and free of skin and pulp; keep the blender head under the surface to avoid whipping in air bubbles |
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7 |
Colour |
Check the colour and adjust with a few drops of red food colouring if the berries have not given enough depth. |
Even, deep red with no streaks |
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8 |
Cool |
Cover the surface with cling film touching the glaze and let it cool. |
Down to about 30–35°C (86–95°F), thick but still pouring freely |
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9 |
Glaze |
Stand a frozen mousse cake on a rack over a tray and pour the glaze over in one steady movement, letting the excess run off. Lift onto the board before it sets. |
An even, mirror-like coat with no bare patches |
Important Notes
This half batch makes about 756 g of glaze, enough for two 20 cm mousse cakes including the run-off that always collects in the tray below. The chef's own note on this recipe is to blend the glaze if it is not smooth, sieve it, and then stir a few of the seeds back in for effect.
The cake must be frozen solid and the glaze around 30–35°C for a clean, even coat; too hot and it slides off, too cool and it sets in ridges. Glaze that runs into the tray can be strained and re-used. Store the glaze in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a week and re-warm it gently over a water bath, without stirring hard, before using it again.
Tools & Arrangements
Kitchen scales, a medium saucepan, a whisk, a small bowl for soaking the gelatine, a stick blender, a fine sieve, a jug, a thermometer, a cooling rack and a tray to catch the run-off.
