Mirror cake yes or no

[jtbosslady101]

Soooo you guys I'm going to try to bake a galaxy cake aka mirror cake.... looks pretty cool and it goes with my son'a theme soooo question is .... does it taste good since it does have gelatin in it? Heard mixed reviews on taste. Comes out beat looking but taste is over all very important to a group of 5 year olds?

 

[misschief]

Five year olds? I wouldn't go through the hassle for a group of kids who won't appreciate it. Go with tried and true.

 

[jtbosslady101]

Lol .... I have that kind of kid that can names random **** like all the names of the galaxies that live within loud solar system lol he the only 5 year old in first grade .... but he knows my love for challenges so it's mostly for him. I really want to try it Bc it looks like soooo much fun to make BUT the taste thing that I've heard ppl talk about has been getting to me

 

[brianshaw]

Misschief... sometimes kiddie parties is more about impressing the other mommies than it is about pleasing the children. And sometimes there are smart children with sophisticated taste!

Go for it, JTbosslady!!

 

[flipflopgirl]

My extended family and friends (and cannot forget the many rants on CT) know where I stand on the issue of kids bday cakes.

IMO these milestone celebrations are all about the making of memories and in a perfect world mommies who bake their kids bday cakes (plus take manymany pix AND post on social media) are saints.

Just asking our opinions shows you are already halfway there /img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif.

Believe me you will literally rock that little boy's world with nothing more than a box of cake mix (his choice of course) some canned frosting and sprinkles.

Esp if the bday boy gets to crack a couple of eggs and put the sprinkles on.

Yes you will be sorely tempted to "help" because half have too many sprinkles and the rest have only one or two but try to control any adjustments you may want to make...because to that kid....everything is beautiful.

I always suggest cupcakes with some sort of surprise filling and a huge glob of icing so sweet it makes your teeth ache.

5 year olds are all about the icing and from what I see re the mirror technique may be a disappointment in that department.

Nothing to stop you from using the mirror technique and showing off your skills for the mom's who stay for the festivities.

Dress a mommies table with a nice cloth and display that beautiful creation on a pedestal cake plate then serve along with beverage of choice....IMO you have not lived until you have sipped a Cosmo from dainty bone china teacups lolol.

mimi

 

[brianshaw]

Kids out here where I live seem to prefer Costco cake.  Especially the one with the brightly colored balloons made with so much food coloring that it turns the tongue, lips, and anything else it touches bright colors. 

 

[jtbosslady101]

As I am thrilled for your comments, your lack of understanding of the question is getting away from topic of what the question really stated. Does the gelatin in the mirror cake make the cake taste bad? I bake a cake every year something different then the last, in which he picks out what I bake. Last year it was coconut cake. We remember birthdays or years better. Like "hey mom remember year of the coconout cake , man that was a good." Idk why ppl down moms who want to bake a nice cake. It may not be "costco" cake but it's good cake made with love. Even My 5 year old understands that

 

[flipflopgirl]

Gelatin is more of a texture than a flavor.

mimi

 

[flipflopgirl]

Sorry...if that came across a bit snarky.

Over the years I have made countless bday cakes.

I have also fixed about a zillion (at the last minute) when it didn't come out as planned.

Thought to save you the panic attack but it looks like you have it covered.

Carry on...

mimi

 

[brianshaw]

Nobody is "downing a mom who bakes a nice cake". Just having a discussion and sharing opinions, and maybe a bit of joviality. I've done both... and I'm a Dad. Personally, I always preferred a cake made by mom.

As Mimi said, gelatins is more about looks than taste. Some folks have an aversion to gelatin. I don't understand that but it happens. Know your audience...

 

[foodpump]

There are other methods of getting a shiny glaze on a cake.

The one I will use is ganache, cream and chocolate with corn syrup for shine. It tastes great and looks great.

The mirror glazes have not much tsste to them. As others have noted, the texture is what is noticed, and to me it is like a layer of sunburned skin that you peel off.

Hope this helps.....

 

[jtbosslady101]

Thank you food pump! Anyway you could send me the instructions on how to use the ganache? ----> [email protected] .... And to Brian Shaw cool I'll leave your opinion as it is ..an opinion

 

[beelost]

I like the taste of gelatin. Another thing,  you won't even feel it mixed with other ingredients

 

[aching4baking]

The gelatin glaze itself is almost flavorless aside from general sweetness, and a very faint chocolate flavor if you use white chocolate. After the excess runs off, the mirror layer is actually pretty thin, all you taste is your crumb layer (which is absolutely necessary to achieve a smooth finish).

That being said, a good looking and controlled mirror glaze is not an easy thing to achieve, and I would recommend doing test cakes before you apply it to the "hero" cake. For practice you can just buy a cake with a similar texture to what you are going to make (poundcake, angel food cake), some ready frosting for the crumb layer, and apply your mirror glaze to that.

You can also make mirror finish with pectin instead of gelatin – pectin tastes kinda fruity. But you will need a recipe that uses pectin – it's not a 1 to 1 substitution.

Vlad

 

[cakesbysk]

Mirror cake,  can you flavor it gelatin,  so you get a flavor,