Make a simple and easy cake glaze without using butter to cover cakes, sweet breads and even cupcakes plus four flavor variations.
These cake glazes are so quick and easy to make and add a delicious finish to any cake or dessert.
These glazes are perfect for frosting bundt cakes or drizzling on pound cakes. It’s also great to add to single-layer cakes, cupcakes (when you don’t want a lot of frosting on your cupcakes), sweet breads, cinnamon rolls, cookies and more.
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Hey there! Before you scroll, there’s lot’s of important stuff in the post!…including the FAQ section, which may answer any questions you might have about this recipe. Enjoy!
You don’t have to worry about making a complicated glaze for a cake. Maybe you just want to make a quick drip glaze or drizzle for a cake or sweet bread and you just don’t want to decorate something. An easy and basic cake glaze is the perfect solution.
This is the perfect, delicious option for a beautiful and tasty finish to your cakes. With four different flavor options here, you’ll definitely find the perfect glaze to top your cakes using just a few ingredients.
Glaze flavors in this post:
- Vanilla Cake Glaze
- Chocolate Cake Glaze
- Lemon Cake Glaze
- Almond Cake Glaze
By the way, if you want lots of additional tips on how to frost a bundt cake, see this post here: How to Frost a Bundt Cake
Remember that you can use them on other desserts, not just cake.
Ingredient notes:
Now let’s talk a little about just some of the ingredients in this glaze. (The printable list of all ingredients are in the recipe card below.)
Confectioner’s sugar: Each of the glaze recipes calls for confectioner’s sugar (powdered sugar). This is what will make the glaze sweet and thicken up the glaze.
Vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste: You’ll use vanilla extract in most of these recipes, except the lemon. It’s a really good flavor enhancer.
Cocoa powder: The chocolate glaze does require unsweetened cocoa powder. It adds more chocolate flavor than melted chocolate chips.
Lemon juice: For the lemon glaze, lemon juice is used instead of milk. You can use fresh or bottled lemon juice.
Almond baking emulsion: This is a really good addition to this glaze and will give it a slight almond flavor. Now, almond emulsion is different than almond extract and I think it tastes a lot better.
You can find the almond emulsion I use here: LorAnn’s Almond Emulsion
(Make sure to check out the FAQ section below in this post for ingredient and substitution questions.)
How to make these glazes:
Let’s talk a little about how to make a simple and easy cake glaze. (The printable instructions are in the recipe card below.)
Step 1:
In a mixing bowl, add all of the ingredients for the particular flavor of glaze you want.
Step 2:
Mix the ingredients well with a fork first, then switch to a whisk and mix until smooth.
It really does help to start mixing everything with a fork first. If you start off using a whisk, it sort of clogs it up and makes it hard to mix up.
Step 3:
Next, check the consistency of the glaze. The good thing about this glaze is that you can adjust it to what you need.
If it’s too thick for drizzling, add more milk a teaspoonful at a time then mix after each additional teaspoon.
If it’s too thin, add a ¼ cup of confectioner’s sugar at a time and mix well.
Step 4:
Once the desired consistency has been reached, drizzle or spoon over cooled bundt cakes, pound cakes, sweet breads, cooled cupcakes, single-layer cakes, cookies, brownies, cinnamon rolls, etc.
Step 5:
Always make sure to cover the bowl when you’re not using the glaze as it will firm up and form a crust over it when open to the air.
(Remember that the instructions will also be in the recipe card below.)
Tips & FAQs:
Yes. Feel free to change up the flavoring by adding different types of extracts, flavorings, or juice. Be careful not to add too much liquid though as adding a lot will thin down the glaze too much.
Yes, this glaze can be made with a dairy-free milk alternative like coconut milk, soy milk, almond milk, etc.
Drizzle, spoon or pour this glaze over cooled bundt cakes, pound cakes, sweet breads, cooled cupcakes, single-layer cakes, cookies, brownies, cinnamon rolls, etc.
To use it later, just mix it again before using it. If the glaze has firmed up a bit, it can be popped into the microwave and heated for about 7 seconds at a time to loosen it up a bit.
Yes, those terms are generally used interchangeably.
You don’t have to sift the confectioner’s sugar, but it really helps prevent clumps if you sift it. If you do decide to sift, make sure to sift after measuring.
Yes you can add food coloring to this cake glaze. Gel food coloring is best because it’s more concentrated and you get a better color without having to add as much, but liquid food coloring will work as long as you don’t have to add a lot of it, which would thin out the glaze too much.
No, unsweetened cocoa powder is unsweetened and can be found on the baking aisle.
This glaze should be stored in an airtight container and can be kept at room temperature for several days.
Yes, you can make the glaze ahead of time, but make sure to cover it well with plastic wrap or add it to an airtight container as it will firm up and crust over when left out in the air. It can be kept at room temperature for a couple of days or in the refrigerator.
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Supplies used:
- Mixing bowls
- Whisks
- Vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- Almond emulsion (for the almond flavored glaze)
- Yellow gel food coloring (for the lemon flavored glaze)
Video:
coming soon…
Note About Recipe Measurements: I write recipes using volume (cups) measurements because here in the U.S., this is what people are more familiar with and I don’t want anyone to feel intimidated when baking. For metric/weight measurements, click the ‘metric’ button under the ingredients in the recipe card below. The weights are converted by a program, not me, and it’s just a best guess. I can’t guarantee that weighing the ingredients will produce the exact same results, since I test recipes using volume measurements.
Recipe:
Simple and Easy Cake Glaze (without butter)
Ingredients
For vanilla glaze:
- 3 cups confectioner’s sugar (sifted is best; sift after measuring)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or vanilla bean paste)
- ⅓ cup milk (can add more teaspoons as needed)
For the chocolate glaze:
- 2 ½ cups confectioner's sugar (sifted is best; sift after measuring)
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup milk plus 1 tablespoon (can add more teaspoons as needed)
For the lemon glaze:
- 3 cups confectioner’s sugar (sifted is best; sift after measuring)
- ⅓ cup lemon juice (optional: can add ¼ teaspoon lemon extract for extra lemon flavor plus lemon zest if desired)
- 1 drop yellow gel food coloring (optional)
For almond glaze:
- 3 cups confectioners sugar (sifted is best; sift after measuring)
- ½ teaspoon almond emulsion or extract (I use LorAnn's almond emulsion)
- ⅓ cup milk (can add more teaspoons as needed)
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Instructions
For all the glazes:
- In a mixing bowl, add all of the ingredients and mix well with a fork first, then switch to a whisk and mix until smooth. (If you start off mixing with a whisk, the glaze seems to clog up, so starting off with a fork first , then moving to a whisk makes things easier.)
- Once mixed, check the consistency. If it’s too thick for drizzling, add more milk a teaspoonful at a time and mix after each additional teaspoon. If too thin, add a ¼ cup of confectioner's sugar at a time and mix well.
- Drizzle, spoon or pour over cooled bundt cakes, pound cakes, sweet breads, cooled cupcakes, single layer cakes, cookies, brownies, cinnamon rolls etc.
- See the notes section for additional information on making this glaze, using it and storing it.
Notes
* The consistency will depend on many factors including how humid it is at your location. Adjust the glaze as needed by adding more milk or confectioner’s sugar.
* The glaze will get smoother if you sift the confectioner’s sugar after measuring it.
* Keep the glaze covered until it’s ready to be used as it will form a crust on the top and firm up a bit.
* To use this as a cookie glaze, you can add a tablespoon of corn syrup to the glaze and mix well. This will cause the glaze to firm up better on cookies. How to Store: This glaze should be stored in an airtight container and can be kept at room temperature for several days. For other questions: Make sure to check out the TIPS & FAQs for this recipe in the blog post, which should answer questions you may have about ingredients, substitutions and other questions. Nutritional values are an estimate. *This recipe card may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
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