Mirror glaze

making chocolate mirror glaze

This weekend I am making 4-inch palet d'or cake desserts for family members and friends.  One of the most satisfying parts of making these is the mirror glaze finish.  It looks so elegant, and everyone figures it must be very complicated ... but it's not.  Here's how you do it.

Start by soaking leaf gelatin in water.  Just plop it in and let it sit while you do the next step on the stove.  Water, cream, and sugar are mixed in a saucepan and heated to a boil.  Then cocoa powder is whisked in.  The better the cocoa powder, the better the flavor.  (My favorite to use for this glaze is Cacao Barry Extra Brute cocoa powder which I also use on a regular basis for other desserts as well.)  Then the heat is lowered so that the mixture stays at a gentle boil.  For 15 minutes or so, it is left alone and gradually it reduces down a bit.  Put a spoonful on a plate and run a finger through it, and if a trail is left, then it has reduced enough and can be removed from the heat.  At this point, you reach into the bowl of water and lift up the soft leaf gelatin and wring the water out of it.  The gelatin immediately goes into the saucepan with your reduced mixture and you whisk it thoroughly.  It dissolves and disperses quickly and easily ... a great benefit in using leaf gelatin.

palet d'or with chocolate mirror glaze finish

At this point, the glaze is ready for pouring.  If it is poured over a frozen dessert, then even as hot as it is, it immediately beings to set as the excess runs off onto a tray below.  And the finished product is beautiful, shiny and elegant, and draws the eye of everyone in the room.  Takes a bit of time, but not too much.  Requires knowing the process, but it's not complicated.  And so enjoyable to eat.  I'm making an extra palet d'or this weekend for my own feasting.  I can hardly wait to dig in.  Good night to anyone who reads this.  I hope you have sweet dreams of chocolate and cream and everything else that we find so enjoyable in our favorite desserts.