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Desserts Cakes Cake Decorating

Basic Vanilla
Cake Glaze
With Flavor
Variations
By Diana Rattray
Updated on 07/26/21
Tested by Tracy Wilk

The Spruce

178 RATINGS

Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 0 mins
Total: 10 mins
Servings: 8 servings
Yield: 2 cups

3 COMMENTS Add a comment

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A basic cake glaze is the perfect

icing for a tube cake, Bundt cake, or
coffee cake, and so versatile that
you can even drizzle it over muffins,
cinnamon rolls, or quick bread. It is
delicious and easy to make, calling
for just confectioners' (or
powdered) sugar, butter, and milk.
The glaze hardens when it sets,
creating a beautiful, sweet
decoration that you'll use often in
your baking adventures.
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This recipe is very quick requiring

only a few minutes of your time. By
making the glaze from scratch, you
can adjust the amount of milk and
confectioners' sugar to create the
perfect drizzling, dipping, or
frosting consistency for your needs.
While this basic icing is vanilla-
flavored, there are several
variations you can make to match
whatever baked good it will glaze.
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Milk or water can be used in the

recipe; if you use water, make sure
it is hot so the glaze is not too
thick. This recipe yields 2 cups,
which should be enough to glaze
one cake or eight individual
pastries. You can easily double the
recipe if needed.

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Pastry Glaze Recipe Come
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A Note From Our Recipe
Tester
"This simple glaze is perfect to
garnish any cake, doughnut, or
pastry needing a finishing
touch. After giving your pastry
a drizzle or full glaze, allow it
to sit a few minutes to harden
and create a thin vanilla shell.
This recipe is customizable to
your taste and can be thinned
with more liquid if needed."
—Tracy Wilk

Ingredients

■ 2 cups confectioners' sugar

■ 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) butter,

melted

■ 2 to 4 tablespoons milk (or hot

water, for desired consistency)

■ 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

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Nutrition Facts (per serving)

164 6g 28g 0g
Calories Fat Carbs Protein
Show Full Nutrition Label
(Nutrition information is calculated
using an ingredient database and
should be considered an estimate.)

Steps to Make It

01 Gather the ingredients.

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02 Sift the confectioners' sugar

into a medium-sized bowl.

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03 Add the melted butter, 2

tablespoons of milk or hot
water, and the vanilla to the
confectioners' sugar. Stir to
blend.

04 Beat with an electric mixer

until smooth and creamy,
adding a little more milk or hot
water if necessary to reach the
desired consistency.

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05 Drizzle the finished glaze over

a cooled cake, quick bread,
coffee cake, cupcakes, or other
desserts. Serve and enjoy.

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Tips
■ Cool the cake or pastries
completely before glazing.
Warm baked goods will
make the glaze too runny
and it may soak into the
crust, making the cake
soggy.

■ Brush away any loose

crumbs on the cake or
pastries before decorating.

■ If a cake is particularly
delicate, put it in the freezer
for 20 to 30 minutes before
frosting.

■ Put a sheet of wax paper

under the rack when you
glaze a cake. The wax paper
will catch drips and make
cleanup much easier. You
might even be able to reuse
some of the drips if they are
crumb free.

■ It might be quicker to dip

cupcakes or mufcns in the
glaze rather than spreading
or drizzling.

Recipe Variations
■ Toasted nuts: Before the
glaze hardens, sprinkle with
chopped toasted pecans or
other nuts.

■ Cinnamon sugar: When

glazing a spice cake or
cinnamon rolls, sprinkle the
glaze with cinnamon
sugar while it's still soft.

■ Richer and creamier glaze:

Use heavy cream in place of
the milk.

■ Citrus glaze: substitute

orange or lemon juice for
the milk and vanilla and add
about 1/2 teaspoon of cnely
grated zest.

■ Mocha glaze: Mix in 2

teaspoons of instant coffee
granules, 2 tablespoons of
unsweetened cocoa powder,
and 1 ounce of melted
unsweetened baking
chocolate.

■ Strawberry icing: puree or

mash 1/4 cup of fresh or
frozen sliced strawberries.
Combine the melted butter
and confectioners' sugar
with the strawberry puree.
Add 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
extract. Add more
confectioners' sugar or
some milk as needed for
spreading or drizzling.

■ Chocolate glaze: increase

the butter to 6 tablespoons
and melt with 2 ounces of
unsweetened chocolate.
Reduce the vanilla extract
to 1 teaspoon.

■ BuOer-rum glaze: add 1 1/2

teaspoons of rum davoring
and omit the vanilla extract.

■ Tinted glaze: Add a little

food coloring to the glaze.
Gel food coloring is
preferred because it's not as
duid as the liquid variety.
Just 1 or 2 drops should do;
mix it in and add more if
needed.

How to Store
Leftover glaze can be stored in
the refrigerator for up to one
week in an airtight container.
You can also freeze the glaze
in freezer-safe containers or
zipper bags for up to six
months. Either way, let the
glaze come to room
temperature and whip it before
using.

How Long Does a

Cake Glaze Take to
Dry?
The confectioners' sugar
sweetens the glaze and makes
it set up to a hard finish. The
amount of time this takes
depends on the consistency; a
glaze with less liquid will dry
faster. Most glazes should dry
within 30 minutes.

What's the Difference

Between Icing and
Glaze?
The terms icing and glaze are
often used interchangeably,
and they are made the same
way by combining
confectioners' sugar with
liquid. Technically, icing is
thicker than a glaze, but not as
thick as frosting, and can be
drizzled or spread over baked
goods. A glaze is the thinnest
of the sweet toppings and
easily pourable. With this
recipe, you can actually make
either a glaze or icing by
varying the consistency.

R E A D N E X T: Wake Up to 15
Delicious Cinnamon Rolls and
Sticky Buns

Recipe Tags:

Cake Cake Glaze

Dessert

American

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