Fine Pastry and Cakes Glaze
Ingredients
Directions
Dip the surface of the pastry into liquid caramel.
Alternatively, sift granulated sugar thickly over the pastry immediately after removing it from the oven.
Melt the sugar down using a salamander or a red-hot shovel held closely to the surface.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Liquid caramel
- Adds a glossy, sweet, browned surface to the pastry.
- Granulated sugar
- Melts into a crisp, glassy, browned coating on the pastry.
The step that matters
Melting the sugar with a salamander or hot shovel. Sugar can scorch quickly when held too close or too long, turning bitter, while held too far away it will not melt into a smooth glaze. Steady, even heat at a short distance gives an even, glassy coating.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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