Chocolate Glaze: Tips & Techniques

[Swisskaese]

They have liquid glucose at this British store in Belgium, see the PDF product list:

http://www.stonemanor.uk.com/Home.htm

[Dave the Cook]

For that matter, can't you make your own invert sugar (that's what all of these suggestions are) with table sugar, heat and acid? I would think cream of tartar, citric acid or ascorbic acid (vitamin C) could be used.

[JustKay]

Hi AlainV, corn syrup is quite expensive here in my country and I've recently discovered (actually nightscotsman told me in this thread) that liquid glucose is a good substitute for corn syrup. I've recently made nougats using liquid glucose instead of corn syrup and it worked fine. I have tried substituting with Lyle's golden syrup in recipes before but like you said, it tasted like too much sugar-y.

Edited June 16, 2004 by kew (log)

[AlainV]

Thank you so much for your replies so far.

I find it incredible that I have to go to an American forum to know the existence of a British Supermarket in my own country !

I will be back with other questions !

[dexygus]

Hi Everyone,

I'm looking for a shiny or somewhat shiny dark chocolate glaze for cakes that will be refrigerated. It should not set too hard, and definitely should not crack. I've been using Alice Medrich's Sarah Bernhardt Glaze and her Glace l'eau. They've worked ok, except that though the recipes state that they will be shiny, mine never really are. And they both are a little thicker than I'd like. Though that could be because of the chocolate I use. Guittard gourmet bittersweet, which is a little thick when melted. Another problem is that the glaze sometimes breaks, so my ideal glaze would also be less temperamental.

The chocolate glaze from Francois Payard's book looks like a possibility, but I have yet to try it. It's just chocolate, cream and corn syrup. Has anyone tried it?

Oh, and since this is the first topic I've started, I guess it's a good time to introduce myself.

You can call me Dexygus. I've been lurking for about 6 months. I've actually made a handful of posts, but mostly in other forums. I've been a baker/pastry cook for about 4 years, and am nowhere near calling myself a pastry chef. I've worked at a couple restaurants doing desserts, and one bakery doing bread. I'm currently a pastry assistant at a catering company in the San Francisco bay area,

and I also have an illegitimate baking business on the side. Yes, I know I'm taking a chance with the law, but eh, rules, shmules. Reading this forum has been entertaining and enlightening, and highly addictive. Thanks for reading this.

Edited July 2, 2004 by dexygus (log)

[bripastryguy]

welcome

Ah Glaze.................

To Ganache or not to ganache? The chocolate glaze FP uses is very similar to the ganache I use regularly at my shop. It does set alittle, but disipates and will leave a nice coating, not shiny. If you would like the recipe let me know amd I'll post it. On the other hand if you want shiny, but very FRAGILE look for Michael L. Chocolate Glacage, love the stuff but not the easiest to work with but the result is worth it.

Hope this helped

Brian Fishman

[Wendy DeBord]

Welcome dexygus, I'm glad you desided to join in!

I typically use ganche to coat cakes, but it does loose it's shine when chilled. I haven't found a chocolate mirror glaze that I like better then ganche. Some of them are a pain to make or too thin or lacking real flavor: where as my ganche is always on hand, easy and tastes good. It's sort of a trade off, which non-perfect product best fits your working needs.

I haven't tried Payards glaze recipe yet, but I'd bet that its good. So far I can highly reccomend almost every recipe in his book, theres not too many left that I haven't tried. They all work perfectly and rather simply too. The recipe you mention is a ganche with corn syrup to add shine.........but I bet it does dull out when cold like other ganches.

Have you made other glazes and ganches then the two you mentioned from Medrich? Ganche doesn't typically crack or set up too hard. I'm not that familar with Medrichs' recipes to be certain, but I would guess that those aren't the most ideal glazes for cakes which are flexible.

[dexygus]

Brian and Wendy,

Thanks for the responses. It looks like I might give the Payard glaze a try. It sounds like I need to put in a lot of effort to get the perfect shiny glaze that I want. I've used several recipes over the years that required cooking, and I don't really want to deal with that at the moment. Oh well.

Wendy, which Payard recipes stand out for you? I love his lemon tart. No stovetop lemon curd required.

[Wendy DeBord]

Payards standout recipes:

One thats been hugely popular for me is his hazelnut tart that I reworked. I use my own sweet tart shell, fill it with his caramel and fried salted pecans, top with chocolate mousse then a layer of whipped cream. I finish it with a ganche and caramel drizzle, more fried pecans and a good sprinkle of sea salt. I use his caramel filling all the time in many other applications so I always have a huge bowl of it around.

I use his frozen coconut souffle recipe as my all around frozen souffle recipe and just change out the flavors.

His coconut tuiles, his pistachio-almond tuiles....terrific

His tea cakes are very nice, both the apricot and the pinapple ones. I change out the fruits and add in whatever I have on hand-they always are good.

I liked his apple cake but I cut back on the rum. It tastes best the second day or later.

His coconut pineapple tart is good, so is the apricot almond raspberry tart. I also liked his rum raisin almond tart, caramel-walnut tart and apple financier tart.

His pink chanpagne and raspberry granite was terrific.

I recall recently reading someone that mentioned his gateau basque and said it was their favorite.

Back to your search for glaze........I think the recipes containing gelatin probably give you the most shine, but I think they lack flavor and I do like a thicker coating.

[dexygus]

wow, wendy, thanks for all the input on payard.

as for the glaze, i don't think i've ever heard of putting gelatin in a chocolate glaze before. does it give any adverse texture to the set glaze? hmm, i'll have to look into that.

thanks again.

[Ganache]

To make it it shuny again gently go over top with a blow torch(not touching it of course) I just melts it enough to get the shine back. A ganache with corn syrup in it usually works good although I always just make a regular ganache & heat it up

[JustKay]

I almost always use ganache to frost my cakes coz it's about the easiest frosting, plus my customers love the taste and the elegance of smooth shiny chocolate frosting.

I've tried quite a few ganache recipes but I find the recipe in Chocolate, by Nick Malgieri, HarperCollins, 1998 the best. It's simply 1lb of dark chocolate to 1C of cream with 1/4C liquid glucose added to it for smoothness.

I crumb coat my cakes with the warm ganache and then let it set in the refrigerator. At the same time, the ganache left at room temperature will cool and thickened slightly.

Then when it's still pourable, I frost the cake. I use no tools to smooth the ganache, just tilt and swirl to achieve a perfect smooth topping, and let the ganache drip and cover the sides.

I have refrigerated these cakes with no cracking. The ganache will also set nicely but not hard. It's very yummy too.

When taken out of the fridge to room temperature, I will make sure my room's airconditioning is switched on so that there's no drastic temperature change (because I live in a very hot climate). As the cake comes to room temperature, it will have some beads of moisture so I always put a slow fan near the cakes to 'dry' them at the same time. So far, this works great for me.

Hope this helps.

And btw, I am just a homebaker.

Edited July 4, 2004 by kew (log)

[JustKay]

as for the glaze, i don't think i've ever heard of putting gelatin in a chocolate glaze before.

Here's a link to a winning recipe that uses chocolate mirror with gelatine in the recipe.

Chocolate Mirror recipe with gelatine

[dexygus]

To make it it shuny again gently go over top with a blow torch(not touching it of course) I just melts it enough to get the shine back.

hi ganache,

i've thought about this technique, but i would imagine that the finish would become dull again. what has been your experience?

[dexygus]

I crumb coat my cakes with the warm ganache and then let it set in the refrigerator. At the same time, the ganache left at room temperature will cool and thickened slightly.

hi kew-

i've tried this as well with the medrich glazes. one problem i've had with the crumb-coat aspect is that since i'm making mousse cakes (3 layers cake sandwiching 2 layers mousse), the mousse tends to be slick and the ganache/glaze doesn't want to stick to it. very frustrating. if i freeze the cake, this lessens the problem, but then, the ganache/glaze firms up too quickly as i'm applying it to the cake. the last time i crumb-coated this particular cake, i used whipped cream which went on like a dream, but then i got paranoid about it getting too soft once i poured the glaze on. and actually, there were a few tiny spots where the whipped cream oozed out. <sigh> i guess i have to continue experimenting with crumb-coat AND glaze.

oh, and thanks for the info you pm'ed me. i'll look into it.

[RuthWells]

No matter how carefully I stir while making chocolate glaze, I end up with air bubbles. I've tried wapping the bowl against the counter (repeatedly), I've tried popping each bubble individuall after pouring (never again!). Does anyone have a method to share that can banish the bubbles?

Thanks!

[nightscotsman]

The key is to never create the bubbles in the first place. Stiring with a spatula or spoon is gauranteed to create bubbles. We use a small burr mixer (otherwise known as a hand blender) and make sure the blender head stays under the surface of the glaze while blending. No bubbles.

[choux]

You can also strain it before glazing through a fairly fine strainer. It doesn't quite get them all, but it eliminates a bunch of the bubbles.

[RuthWells]

The key is to never create the bubbles in the first place. Stiring with a spatula or spoon is gauranteed to create bubbles. We use a small burr mixer (otherwise known as a hand blender) and make sure the blender head stays under the surface of the glaze while blending. No bubbles.

←

How counterintuitive -- I would have thought that a stick (hand) blender would incorporate even more air. I'm doing it this way next time -- thanks!

[RuthWells]

You can also strain it before glazing through a fairly fine strainer. It doesn't quite get them all, but it eliminates a bunch of the bubbles.

←

I always mourn the amount of glaze left behind in my fine strainer when I do this.

[Drewman]

Use a dosing funnel. The air bubbles rise to the top while the glaze streams out the bottom. Perfect every time.

[culinary bear]

Try VERY gently blowtorching the surface - works splendidly with custards. tart fillings and other semi-liquids, and might be of use to you here.

[chefjillm]

I have used a blow torch, it works well as long as you are really careful not to actually torch the glaze. The sauce gun is my preferred method but I do not have one at work so the torch it is.

[pastrymama]

I also use a torch for air bubbles, but also to smooth out imperfections if I have accidently touched the surface and marred it. Also when I have glazed a full sheet of something and cut it into petit fours and want to add a garnish of nuts, cocoa nibs or chocolate curls on each piece and the glaze is already set up. I torch a few pieces, add the garnish then move on to a few more pieces. Quick and easy.

[nightscotsman]

I'm starting to wonder if we are all talking about the same type of glaze here? The chocolate glaze we use is a French style "glacage" that contains cream, sugar and cocoa set with gelatine. It stays glossy (and sticky) when frozen and defrosted. Very different from a pourable ganache type glaze made with chocolate.

In either case the stick blender method should work to eliminate bubbles (again, as long as you keep the head under the surface), but I think a torch would tend to burn the glacage glaze before it melted enough to pop the bubbles.