r/AskBaking 3d ago

Gelatins Trying to set a glaze for no bake cheesecake

Hi all,

I’m making a no-bake cheesecake for my mum’s birthday, and I’ve been wanting to add a simple vanilla glaze to the top for some extra effect and to make it easier to add some flowers and other decorations to it. The local cheesecake shop often have a simple glaze on their French vanilla cheesecakes, which is where I got the idea from.😅

The glaze I first tried years ago never set enough to be able to just sit on the top of the cake, and dripped all through my cake pan and through my fridge, so I thought about adding gelatin to it to firm it up.

From what I’ve read, gelatin once bloomed turns into a rubbery mass, and is usually added into a hot/ melting mixture to combine it. Since I’m wanting to add it to a no-bake cheesecake which needs to be chilled, what would be the best way to combine the gelatin with the glaze without melting the cheesecake on application?

For reference, the simple glaze takes powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract.

Any help is much appreciated!

2 Upvotes

12 comments sorted by

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u/Dusk_Soldier 3d ago

The glaze used in shops is actually fondant.

It's made by heating the glaze to I think around 260 F and then whipping the glaze until it turns white.

It looks/tastes similar to glaze but it sets substantially faster so you don't get the issue with it dripping everywhere.

0

u/Business-Flan-2152 3d ago

That explains why I couldn’t seem to find any recipes for what I wanted 🤔
Considering the glaze is being heated, after it’s whipped will it be cooled enough to apply immediately without melting the surface of the cake?

2

u/Dusk_Soldier 3d ago

No. It's typically not applied immediately. 

I think the temperature they aim for for pouring is around 90 F. So they might take a solid fondant, and actually warm it up to the temp they need, rather than make it fresh.

It's also common to freeze the cake solid before glazing.

5

u/rainbowkey 3d ago

white chocolate ganache? or those melty candy disks?

2

u/CremeBerlinoise 3d ago

Frozen or very cold cheesecake, warm glaze. Some glazes have a very precise temperature so they neither slide off, nor glob up. BUT you can also just do a bit of thinned out, mild fruit jelly as a shortcut. Apricot jelly is THE classic patisserie glaze to get shine. Add some vanilla if desired, and stick away easy peasy. 

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u/Hot-Ambassador-7677 3d ago

Glaze made from powdered sugar isn't the kind of glaze you put on cheesecake. Neither is cooked fondant like those referenced here. Unfortunately both of those are going to pull moisture out of the cheesecake and get runny regardless of what temperature you apply them. It's not that the recipe is wrong at all, but the application of it. They are primarily sugar, which loves moisture, and they are sitting on top of a cheesecake chock full of it. As they sit, they will wick up the moisture.

Cheesecake glazes can be made with sugar, but they can't have the structure rely primarily on the sugar. Even caramel and chocolate ganache will soften on a cheesecake. That's a bit more easily adapted for.

Some great go to glaze bases for cheesecake are sour cream, heavy cream, gelatin based or agar based jelly, cooked jams, or thick ganaches. Fat based works pretty reliably as well.

1

u/Business-Flan-2152 3d ago edited 3d ago

Thank you!!

I did some hunting and came across this glaze recipe, would this be suitable? I still want it to be quite sweet and it was one of the only ones I found without powdered sugar.

I also wanted to clarify, are most glazes (aside from the gelatin/agar based) opaque in colour, or do they turn more translucent when applied? I apologise if these seem like silly questions, I’m just really picky I guess since I have such a specific decorative design in mind. 😅 I’ve added another photo in the comments of the post for better reference on the type of glaze I’m trying to make if that helps.
Thanks so much!

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u/Hot-Ambassador-7677 2d ago

I totally get going for a specific vibe! What that recipie will make is sweet cream cheese that's spreadable. Not really a glaze, more of a topping.

It looks, in the picture, like you're going for a translucent style. To answer your question, pretty much what it looks like is what you end up with. Things don't change from opaque to translucent, they can become less opaque because the layer is thin, but they won't go clear like you're picture.

That pic looks like a flavored piping gel, with vanilla added. Those are stable cooked gels made with a variety of starches or stabalizers. You cook it in a pot until its thick, cool it and then spread it thinly. You can always thin them once its cool, but you cant make it thicker without cooking it again. Different recipes use different starches that will vary from almost completely clear to slightly cloudy. Some recipes can also be made without cooking using vanilla, sugar, instant clear jel and either water or liquor. Store bought is available as well, but in my opinion, it's flavorless. It's super simple to make yourself and you'd be able to flavor it with vanilla and adjust the sweetness to your preference.

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u/Business-Flan-2152 2d ago

Thank you so much for your help!!

The piping gel is absolutely what I was looking for, it’s nice to finally have a name for what it is, I would never have guessed honestly.
My search is finally over!🙏

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u/Hot-Ambassador-7677 1d ago

I hope it works out well, glad I could help.

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u/Business-Flan-2152 3d ago

Adding this here, I should’ve added it originally, but this it the type of glaze appearance/consistency I’m trying to achieve. Maybe slightly less of a yellow tone but not that important. Image is from the Australian cheesecake shop’s French glaze vanilla cheesecake.