Mirror-glazed cheesecake recipe
A mirror glaze is a showstopping way to decorate a stunning dessert. For this cheesecake, gelatine is added to sweet chocolate sauce which helps it set almost instantly to a glossy shine when poured onto the chilled cake. This technique may seem tricky but is actually easy to do, just requiring a bit of patience to achieve a perfect finish.
See method- Serves 6
- 35 mins plus freezing and cooling
- 548 calories / serving
Ingredients
- 10g Dr Oetker gelatine, from a 12g sachet
- 70g condensed milk
- 100g caster sugar
- 140g tube Dr Oetker liquid glucose
- 100g Tesco Finest Swiss 85% dark chocolate
- 540g Tesco Finest Madagascan vanilla cheesecake (see Tip)
To decorate (optional)
- 10g Tesco Finest white cooking chocolate with vanilla, melted
- 5g gold confetti or gold edible glitter
Each serving contains
- Energy
- 2290kJ 548.0kcal
- Fat
- 28g
- Saturates
- 16g
- Salt
- 0.2g
- Sugars
- 47g
of the Reference intake
Carbohydrate 66.1gProtein 7.6gFibre 2.8g
Method
- Freeze the cheesecake for 2 hrs so it is cool enough to make the glaze set.
- Put the gelatine in a bowl and pour over 50ml cold water. Stir to combine, then set aside for 5 mins to thicken.
- Mix the condensed milk, sugar, glucose and 50ml water in a small pan, then set over a medium-low heat and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and stir through the gelatine mix.
- Put the dark chocolate in a large, heatproof bowl. Pour the condensed milk mix though a fine sieve over the top. Leave for 5 mins to melt. Fully submerge the blade of a stick blender in the mix and, holding the blender very still, blitz for 1 min until smooth and free from bubbles. Or, stir very gently to combine; avoiding beating any air into the mix.
- Leave to cool for 5-10 mins, stirring occasionally to stop a skin forming, until it reaches 33°C. If it goes below 30°C, heat in the microwave for 5-sec bursts to warm up. If making without a thermometer, watch the glaze closely and pour when it’s just starting to thicken, but still pours easily.
- Remove the cheesecake from the freezer and place on a wire rack set over a tray to catch excess glaze (see Tip below). Pour the glaze over the cheesecake in a circular motion from the centre until the top and sides are evenly coated.
- Allow to drip and set for 5 mins. If decorating, carefully drizzle the white chocolate over one side, then sprinkle with confetti or glitter to finish. Chill, covered, for up to 3 days.
- See more Dessert recipes
Tip
Cover the drip tray with clingfilm, then squeeze excess glaze into a zip-up freezer bag. Squeeze the air from the bag, then put in another bag. Chill for up to 7 days. Microwave in a bowl in 10-sec bursts until smooth to reheat.
Temperature is very important. Too hot and the glaze will run off your cake, too cold and it won’t pour. Use a digital thermometer and ideally pour when it’s between 30-33°C.
You can use any flat-topped unbaked cheesecake (homemade or shop-bought) for this recipe, it just needs to be about 22cm wide. Cheesecakes make a good starting point and are easy to chill, but as you get more confident you can try using this technique to coat other bakes. A smooth layer of buttercream over a sponge cake will give a flat surface for the glaze to cover.
