--- title: "Glaze: what it means in cooking — Tiny Plates" description: "A glaze is a thin, shiny coating brushed or poured on food, from sugar icing on cakes to jam on tarts and sticky sauces on meat. Here is how to make one." url: "https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/glaze" --- # Glaze A glaze is a thin, shiny coating brushed or poured on food, from sugar icing on cakes to jam on tarts and sticky sauces on meat. Here is how to make one. Also called Glazing, Glazed. A glaze is a thin, glossy coating on food. In baking it is often powdered sugar mixed with liquid, poured over cakes, cookies and doughnuts, where it sets into a smooth shell. Warm jam brushed on fruit tarts is a glaze too, and so is [egg wash](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/egg-wash) on bread. In savory cooking, a glaze is a sticky, sweet sauce brushed on meat or vegetables near the end of cooking. ## How to do it For a simple sugar glaze: 1. Sift 125 g (1 cup) [powdered sugar](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/powdered-sugar) (icing sugar in the UK) into a bowl. 2. Add 2 tablespoons of milk, water or lemon juice. 3. Stir until smooth. Add more liquid a teaspoon at a time until it is thick but pourable. 4. Pour or spoon it over a cooled cake and let it set for 20 to 30 minutes. For a fruit tart glaze, warm apricot jam with a splash of water, strain it and brush it on the fruit. For meat, brush on a sweet sauce in the last 10 to 15 minutes of cooking. ## How to tell it is done A sugar glaze should flow slowly off a spoon and leave a ribbon that disappears in a few seconds. A savory glaze cooked in a pan is ready when it [coats the back of a spoon](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/coat-the-back-of-a-spoon). ## Common mistakes * Glazing a warm cake. The glaze melts and runs off. Wait until it is cool. * Adding too much liquid at once. A few drops change a sugar glaze a lot. * Brushing a sugary glaze on meat too early. Sugar burns over high heat. Wait until near the end. * Not sifting the sugar. Small lumps show in the finish. ## In recipes "Glaze" can be a noun, the coating, or a verb, the act of coating. A glazed ham or carrots are cooked with a sweet coating that has been [reduced](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/reduce) until sticky. Unlike [frosting](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/frost), which is thick and fluffy, a glaze is thin enough to pour. "Mirror glaze" is a very shiny gelatin glaze poured over chilled mousse cakes. ## Recipes that use this technique 15 recipes from the sites we collect. * [![](https://www.skinnytaste.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Lemon-Poppyseed-Cupcakes-22.jpg)Lemon Poppy Seed Cupcakeswww.skinnytaste.com · 50 min](https://www.skinnytaste.com/lemon-poppy-seed-cupcakes/) * [![](https://www.onceuponachef.com/images/2021/10/Pumpkin-Scones-20-1638x2048-1.jpg)Pumpkin Sconeswww.onceuponachef.com · 35 min](https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/pumpkin-scones-spiced-pumpkin-glaze.html) * [![](https://www.onceuponachef.com/images/2019/03/Kentucky-Butter-Cake.jpg)Kentucky Butter Cakewww.onceuponachef.com · 80 min](https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/kentucky-butter-cake.html) * [![](https://www.onceuponachef.com/images/2018/12/Lemon-Poppyseed-Cake-15-scaled.jpg)Lemon Poppy Seed Cakewww.onceuponachef.com · 95 min](https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/glazed-lemon-poppy-seed-cake.html) * [![](https://www.onceuponachef.com/images/2022/11/chocolate-tart-102.jpg)Chocolate Tartwww.onceuponachef.com · 90 min](https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/chocolate-tart.html) * [![](https://www.onceuponachef.com/images/2019/04/Lemon-Pound-Cake-10-scaled.jpg)Lemon Pound Cakewww.onceuponachef.com · 85 min](https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/lemon-buttermilk-pound-cake.html) * [![](https://www.onceuponachef.com/images/2020/05/Lemon_Blueberry_Pound_Cake-scaled.jpg)Lemon Blueberry Pound Cakewww.onceuponachef.com](https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/lemon-blueberry-pound-cake.html) * [![](https://minimalistbaker.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/BBQ-Black-Bean-Burger-SQUARE.jpg)Smoky BBQ Black Bean Burgerminimalistbaker.com · 105 min](https://minimalistbaker.com/smoky-bbq-black-bean-burger/) * [![](https://minimalistbaker.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/vegan-donuts-google.jpeg)Espresso Glazed Vegan Donuts (No Pan Required)minimalistbaker.com · 160 min](https://minimalistbaker.com/espresso-glazed-vegan-donuts-no-pan-required/) * [![](https://pinchofyum.com/tachyon/2012/12/gingerbread-3.jpg?fit=150%2C225)Gingerbread Loaves with Lemon Glazepinchofyum.com · 50 min](https://pinchofyum.com/gingerbread-loaves-with-lemon-glaze) * [![](https://pinchofyum.com/tachyon/lemon-muffins-square.jpg?fit=225%2C225)Lemon Muffins with Chia Seeds and Honey Glazepinchofyum.com · 30 min](https://pinchofyum.com/lemon-muffins-chia-seeds-honey-glaze) * [![](https://minimalistbaker.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Vietnamese-Spring-Rolls-SQUARE.jpg)Vietnamese Spring Rolls with Crispy Tofuminimalistbaker.com · 30 min](https://minimalistbaker.com/vietnamese-spring-rolls-with-crispy-tofu/) ## Related terms * [Egg washEgg wash is beaten egg, often thinned with water or milk, brushed on dough before baking. It gives a shiny, golden crust and glues seeds and seams.](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/egg-wash) * [FrostTo frost is to spread a thick, creamy layer such as buttercream over a cooled cake or cupcakes. Here is how to get a smooth coat without crumbs.](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/frost) * [GanacheGanache is chocolate melted into hot cream. Change the ratio and it becomes a glaze, a whipped frosting or firm truffles. Here are the ratios to use.](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/ganache) * [Powdered sugarPowdered sugar is sugar ground to a fine powder for frosting, glazes and dusting. In the UK it is icing sugar, in the US also confectioners' sugar.](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/powdered-sugar) * [ReduceTo reduce is to simmer or boil a liquid uncovered so water evaporates, leaving a smaller amount that is thicker and more intense in flavor.](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/reduce) * [Coat the back of a spoonA sauce that coats the back of a spoon is thick enough to cling in an even layer and hold a line drawn through it. It is the classic test for custard.](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/coat-the-back-of-a-spoon) [More in baking and dough](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/category/baking-and-dough)[Every term from A to Z](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary)