Depending on the jam or fruit you are using, fruity glazes tend to use less sugar as compared to other glazes, like chocolate. From a basic fruit glaze to an orange glaze recipe, turn your basic fruits and fruit jams into a glaze to perfect that professional-looking mirror sheen, or fancy drizzles on your cakes and other baked goodies.
1. The Basic Fruit Glaze
Ingredients
- 400 gm fruit (frozen or fresh, or 400 ml fruit juice)
- 200 gm sugar
- 240 ml water
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp cornflour
Instructions
- Wash, peel, and dice the fruits as necessary to make it easier for them to cook. Add them to a large saucepan with sugar, and lemon juice.
- Bring to a boil on high heat and make sure to stir well, frequently, while it comes to a boil.
- Once it starts to boil, reduce the heat to a low and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- The fruits will soften at some point, use a spoon to turn them into mush and release their flavors into the pan.
- Remove the pan from heat, after 10 minutes, and strain it using a fine mesh sieve into a bowl. Use the back of a spoon to extract as much juice as you can.
- Discard the solid bits trapped in the mesh and pour the drained liquid back into the pan. Let it bubble on low heat.
- While the liquid further cooks, whisk cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water in a small bowl to create a slurry and pour it back into the simmering pan of fruity juice.
- Once the cornflour is mixed in, increase the heat to high, and keep whisking the mixture until it thickens into a glaze. This takes approximately three to five minutes.
- Remove the glaze from the heat, pour it into a large bowl, and let it cool down.
- Trader the glaze into the refrigerator once it reaches room temperature until chilled. This glaze is perfect for topping cakes that aren’t on the sweeter side.
2. Orange Glaze
Ingredients:
- 60 ml fresh orange juice
- 330 gm powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp orange zest
Instructions:
- Wash the oranges first to remove any dirt, wax, and impurities from them. Using a fine grater, shred the orange peel.
- Cut the oranges into two and juice them. Then strain the juice through a fine mesh sieve to get rid of the pulp and seeds.
- Add the powdered sugar, fresh orange juice, and grated orange zest to a mixing bowl. Whisk the ingredients until smooth and the sugar is dissolved.
- If the glaze seems too thick, you can add a little more orange juice, until you reach the perfect consistency. If the glaze is too thin, add more powdered sugar and whisk until incorporated.
- Your orange glaze is ready, the perfect way to use it, is to drizzle it over baked goodies.
3. Apricot Glaze
Ingredients:
- 100 gm apricot jam (smooth)
- 1-2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp cognac (optional)
Instructions:
- Add apricot jam into a saucepan and heat it to make it easier to strain. Use a high-quality jam for the best results. Taste the jam to see if it needs sugar.
- Strain the jam through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any bigger pieces of apricot in it.
- Add the sieved apricot jam back into the pan along with sugar, and cognac. Adjust the sugar quantity based on how tart or sweet your jam is.
- Cook over moderate heat for three to five minutes, until it has thickened and it’s sticky.
Note: The apricot glaze needs to stay warm while you use it as a glaze because as it cools, it will thicken and turn into the same jam you had heated. You can store this glaze in a glass jar for later and reheat and use it whenever you need it.
4. Berry Glaze
Ingredients:
- 75 gm blueberries (can use mixed berries too), fresh or frozen
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 4 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions:
- Add the blueberries, butter, lemon juice, honey, and vanilla extract into a small saucepan. Heat over medium-high flame while whisking frequently.
- Keep cooking until the whole thing reduces, which should take about 10 minutes. Add a little more water in case it ends up reducing too much.
- Take off heat and pour into a a small container for easy pouring later.