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–+ servings

Glaze Tutorial - Icing 101

4 photo collage showing glaze/icing on cakes and a cookie.
Learn how to make a perfect glaze/icing for whatever your needs!
Caro @ Caroline's Easy Baking Lessons
Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Serving Size 1 batch*

Equipment

  • Digital scales or measuring cups
  • Measuring Spoons (⅛-1 teaspoon)
  • Small-medium bowl
  • Sieve
  • Metal Spoon
  • Palette knife (or butter knife, optional)
  • Cocktail Stick (optional)

Ingredients

For Basic Glaze:

  • 125 grams Icing Sugar (1 cup, 4½ oz Powdered or Confectioners' Sugar)
  • 4 tsp Water (at least 20ml, ⅔ fl oz, see notes below)*

For Pink Mango Glaze:

  • 125 grams Icing Sugar (1 cup, 4½ oz Powdered or Confectioners' Sugar)
  • 10 drops Mango extract (Foodie Flavours brand, optional, see below)*
  • 4 tsp Strawberry Macerated liquid (or other red fruit, see notes*)

For Orange Glaze:

  • 125 grams Icing Sugar (1 cup, 4½ oz Powdered or Confectioners' Sugar)
  • 1½-2 tsp Orange Extract (optional but gives flavour)
  • 4 tsp Orange Juice (at least 20ml, ⅔ fl oz, see notes*)
  • zest of 1 Orange (optional)

Chai Spiced Glaze:

  • 125 grams Icing Sugar (1 cup, 4½ oz Powdered or Confectioners' Sugar)
  • 4 tsp Milk (at least 20ml, ⅔ fl oz, see below)
  • 5 drops Chai Spice Extract (Foodie Flavours brand, or ½ - 1 tsp Mixed Spice (Pumpkin Spice) or Cinnamon)

Almond Glaze:

  • 125 grams Icing Sugar (1 cup, 4½ oz Powdered or Confectioners' Sugar)
  • ½ tsp Almond Extract
  • 4 tsp Water or Milk (at least 20ml, ⅔ fl oz, see notes)

Chocolate Glaze:

  • 125 grams Icing Sugar (1 cup, 4½ oz Powdered or Confectioners' Sugar)
  • 3 tsp Cocoa Powder (1 tbsp)
  • 4½ tsp Water or Milk (at least 22½ ml, ¾ fl oz, see notes)

Chocolate Orange Baileys Glaze:

  • 1 tsp Baileys Orange truffle Liqueur (or other liqueur. Plus ingredients for chocolate glaze as above & 3/4 tsp orange extract (optional). Add the Baileys before the water/milk).

Instructions

For A Basic Thick Spreadable Glaze:

  • Start by sieving the 125 grams Icing Sugar into a small-medium bowl.
  • Start by adding 1 teaspoon (tsp) of the 4 tsp Water (not all at once), and mix through the sugar. It will still be dry, but only add another 1 tsp of the water. Mix in and push down on the sugar with the back of a metal spoon. Repeat this across the bowl, making the sugar take on more liquid.
  • Now add ½ teaspoon (tsp) of the water and mix in well, with the back of the spoon like before. Add another ½ teaspoon (tsp), mix and add ¼ teaspoon (tsp) of the water. Repeat with the ¼ teaspoon (tsp) until you have a very thick paste-like mixture (will all be clumping together, see video or step-by-step instructions above for more visuals).
  • Once at the paste-like stage, add more water in ⅛ teaspoon amounts until you have a thick but spreadable glaze. Test with a palette knife or butter knife, spreading onto some baking paper. It should spread easily with no drips.

For A Thick But Controlled Glaze:

  • For a glaze that is thick, can create drips, but in a very controlled manner, make the icing as above. Then add more water (or other liquid), using a ¼ teaspoon at a time. Test the glaze by lifting some up on a spoon, high above the bowl & watching how it flows & falls. It should be thick but be able to run down slowly. if it does, but also clumps together, beat really well by hand until a steady stream.
  • It will also leave a thick trail on the surface of the glaze. You can test the consistency by spreading on an upturned small ramekin & observing the slow flow (it should also not have any drips pooling at the bottom). You can also control the glaze & drips further, by using a cocktail stick to encourage it to fall where you want - for example down bundt cake groves.

For A Thick But Pourable Glaze:

  • Continue adding ¼ teaspoons (tsp) at a time, mixing well in-between each addition.
  • When lifted, the icing will still have a thick stream, but flow a little faster and the trail on the surface will be a little less defined & will fade after 1-2 seconds.

For A Pourable Glaze/Drizzle:

  • For a thinner glaze, good for a drizzle across a traybake cake for example, add in more liquid ⅛ teaspoon at a time until you have a thinner glaze.
  • It will fall quicker and in a thinner stream & the trail on the surface will vanish very quickly.

For A Very Thin Pourable Glaze:

  • For an even thinner icing, that you can use to completely coat a cake before covering in something else (like coconut), thin the glaze with more liquid in ⅛ teaspoon amounts.
  • The glaze will run very quickly in a very thin stream and any trail on the surface, will vanish immediately.

For A Coloured Glaze:

  • If using a food colouring, add to the icing sugar before adding any liquid. Use coloured liquid such as macerate strawberry liquid, or orange juice, by adding in place of the water.
  • If using zest for colour speckles, add once the glaze is prepared.

For A Flavoured Glaze:

  • Add extracts to the sugar before adding any other liquid.
  • For spices such as chai, add half to the sugar when sieving, & add more to taste once the glaze is ready.

For A Chocolate Glaze:

  • Add the 3 tsp Cocoa Powder, sieve together with the 125 grams Icing Sugar & prepare for any thickness of glaze you require.
  • Note, it will need a little more liquid because of the cocoa powder.

Using The Glaze:

  • See the video for how to use the different glazes, as well as photo examples before this Recipe Card.

Storing The Glaze:

  • The glaze can be made ahead of time and covered well with cling/film/plastic wrap or in an air-tight container at room temperature, for up to 5 days.
  • Note that it will thicken and harden over time and need gradually thinning when you come to use it. For information on freezing icing/glaze, for up to 3 months, read FreezeIt.Co.uk's freezing icing article.

Video

Notes

Sugar - UK name is Icing Sugar, US equivalents are Powdered Sugar and Confectioners' Sugar.
Liquid - use water, milk, orange juice or macerated fruit liquid (such as using the pink glaze from strawberries).  ***Note you can not be exact with the amount of liquid needed, and will also vary depending on what consistency you require.  I have stated minimum amounts, that are to be added very gradually.  Run out of liquid and just use water or milk.
4 photo collage of using strawberry liquid from macerating to make pink glaze and orange juice and zest for icing, with text 'photo 8'.
Flavouring - flavour with vanilla extract, almond, orange, lemon, mango extract.  Or use some powdered spices, zest or even orange juice for the liquid.
Foodie Flavours Extracts - highly concentrated, used in drops.  Recommend pineapple, mango, chai, pumpkin spice & coconut. If using other brands, use in measuring spoons.  Check out Foodie Flavours website.
Extra close shot of a golden bundt cake, with pink glaze, mango and strawberry pieces surrounding it.
Colouring - use food colouring (paste or gel), use macerated fruit water, jam, curd, orange juice or spices to naturally colour the glaze.  SugarFlair brand are good.
Recipe Yield - hard to say in volume due to different thicknesses, but at least 130g (4.5 oz).  Enough to cover the top of a 8-9" traybake, top 12 cupcakes, (with some small drips).  And the chocolate glaze is enough to fill & top 12 mini bundt cakes.  Can easily be halved, double, tripled etc.
Check out the video above and the step-by-step instructions & photos, before this Recipe Card, as well as for FAQs.
Extra close shot of heart shaped Scottish shortbread with white glaze and orange zest on top, and a star shaped one with star cut out centre in a pale orange glaze topping.🎂☕Buy Me A Coffee (if you would like):
https://buymeacoffee.com/caro.easybakinglessons
Nutritional Information - I am not a qualified nutritionist and all values are approximate.  Based on making a basic glaze from icing sugar & water, no flavouring, as above & one batch.  Add these amounts to your cake or cookie nutritional information, remembering to divide by the number of cakes/cookies/servings it is used on.   Values calculated via MyFitnessPal.com.
 
Nutrition Facts
Glaze Tutorial - Icing 101
Serving Size
 
1 batch*
Amount per Serving
Calories
499
% Daily Value*
Sodium
 
1
mg
0
%
Carbohydrates
 
125
g
42
%
Sugar
 
125
g
139
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.