Mirror Glaze Cherry Cake

I’ve been intrigued with mirror glaze cakes ever since they started popping up on my instagram feed years ago. There is something so satisfying about the glassy, reflective finish. Aesthetically, it’s not typically my style to create something quite so glitzy and glam, but sometimes ones inner Liberace needs to come out. The technique alone was calling me, I just had to understand how it was done. I have to admit it was simpler than I imagined. I hunted around for a recipe for the mirror glaze and landed on one by my friend, Phillip Fryman of Southern Fatty. His differed from many on the internet because he uses glucose syrup, instead of corn syrup. They are typically interchangeable and you can really use either for this recipe, BUT glucose is WAY thicker and I thought that may be a nice advantage in the glaze coating the cake well. I think my assumption was right, because the glaze was thick and clung to the cake like a champ.

I often see mirror glaze cakes done in several psychedelic colors, spiraling together on the cake, like candy colored marble, but my cake was inspired by the bright red sour cherries my dad picked for me off of his tree, so I went with the simplicity of one color. The success of the mirror glaze cake is in the finish. If you can see yourself, then you’ve won the day. Not only could I see my reflection, but I captured a video of the clouds passing by out the window as reflected off my cake! It is so cool and you can see that and watch me make the cake in my instagram video.

Oh, the cake under the mirror glaze is a no-bake cherry cheesecake.

Mirror Glaze Cherry Cake

Cherry No-Bake Cheesecake & Crust Recipe – I used my no-bake strawberry cheesecake recipe, but replaced the strawberries with the sour cherries from my dad’s tree. I didn’t do the separate layer of fruit topping, but you could*. I used an 8-inch Cake Hemisphere Pan (the pan I used was silicone, but I actually think this one is more useful and cheaper) to create the bombe shape, but you could do the cake in any shape and pour the glaze over the top.

Follow the directions for the cheesecake, but pour the batter into a hemisphere cake pan that is lined with plastic wrap. I forgot the plastic wrap and it was a serious pain in the butt to get the cake out of the pan. If you line it in plastic first, it is easy peasy to pop the cake out of the pan, then you can carry on with your life and the recipe.

Once the cake is fully set, add the crust by gently pressing the mixture onto the cheesecake. Press until it is as smooth and flat as possible. Set the cake in the freezer, to make sure the crust sets and the cake is super cold before glazing with ganache and the mirror finish.

When ready to finish the cake, invert onto a 8-Inch Cardboard Cake Circle and set the cake on a wire rack, over a baking sheet that is lined with parchment paper. Set this in the freezer until the ganache and mirror glaze are ready to go.

White Chocolate Ganache Layer ~ this gives the cake a smooth coating, before pouring the mirror finish over it, so you don’t see any bumps or lumps under the mirror finish.

8 ounces Real White Chocolate (use a REAL chocolate, NOT COATING chocolate)

1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

Heat the cream to a gentle simmer, turn off the heat, pour in the chips and swirl them together. Let the chips sit in the hot pan for 3 minutes, then gently stir together until perfectly smooth. Cool to room temperature, this can take 30-60 minutes. Once it is room temperature, pour the ganache over the very cold cheesecake. Once the whole thing is covered, as seen in my Instagram video, return the cake, still on the rack, to the freezer until the ganache is set. Once the ganache has set, run a hot knife blade along the bottom to clean up any drips.

Mirror Glaze Recipe – Watch my mirror glaze cake video on instagram to see me make the glaze. I used Phillip’s recipe and it worked out perfectly. I highly recommend you use an Instant Read Thermometer, because pouring the glaze when it is just the right temperature makes all the difference in how it covers the cake. Set the cake on something that will set it way above the surface of a baking sheet lined with parchment. I used a 6-inch soufflé dish, a large can of pineapple (or anything) will do as well. Once the glaze has cooled to 90°F, Carefully pour it over the cake, making sure the whole thing is well covered. Place the cake, still sitting over the pan into the refrigerator. Once the glaze has set, cut the drips off with oiled shears, as seen in my Instagram video.

Super Red Soft Gel Paste – if you want multiple colors, separate the glaze into several bowls and add the colors to it. Then pour those colors into a single large bowl, without stirring and pour them over the cake in the same way as I said above.

You can see my hand reflected in the cake, along with the passing clouds in the window. See my video on instagram to get the full drama of the mirror finish.

*If you want to add the layer of cherry topping, which would create an intense red layer to your cake, just pour it over the cheesecake, once it has set up. Let the cherry topping layer set fully before adding the crust over that. Be sure to leave enough room in the pan for this extra layer, which means you may have a bit of cheesecake batter leftover, which you can just pour into little ramekins.