In article >,
Goomba > wrote:

> Ok, made a really *really* nice little banana-poppy seed cake tonight
> from the Technocolorkitchen website. It calls for a lemon glaze. Easy,
> right? Yet why on earth can I never get my cake glazes to thicken up and
> look like the pictures...? Mine remain too liquidy wet even after adding

The glaze in the photo is probably made from non-edible components for
the express purpose of looking good in a photograph.

--
Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
Holy Order of the Sacred Sisters of St. Pectina of Jella
"Always in a jam, never in a stew; sometimes in a pickle."
http://web.me.com/barbschaller, updated May 27, 2011

Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> Goomba wrote:
>
>> Ok, made a really *really* nice little banana-poppy seed cake tonight
>> from the Technocolorkitchen website. It calls for a lemon glaze. Easy,
>> right? Yet why on earth can I never get my cake glazes to thicken up and
>> look like the pictures...? Mine remain too liquidy wet even after adding
>
>The glaze in the photo is probably made from non-edible components for
>the express purpose of looking good in a photograph.

That's likely true.

There are many types of cake glaze, some hard and brittle, others soft
and pliable, some thick and opaque, some thin and transparent, and
some translucent, all with different textures. Commercial bakeries
use all sorts of additives to achieve different glazes and to
stabilize them. The culinary term glaze without some sort of modifier
is pretty meaningless. I've found that the best way to use the basic
powdered sugar, flavoring, coloring, and liquid glaze is to apply it
to fully cooled baked goods, best at least the next day so that excess
moisture in the baked goods can dissipate before applying (fresh/moist
cakes simply don't glaze well), and best to apply shortly prior to
serving. Whenever I'd drizzle the basic glaze on sticky buns I'd have
to reglaze the next day (yesterday's will have run onto the pan), same
with dusting baked goods with plain powdered sugar, has to be applied
just before serving. Adding cream of tartar to a glaze makes it more
stable. With freshly baked moist cakes it's best to use a butter
glaze like the type I recommended... the same basic glazes one applies
to crisp cookies don't work well with cakes. Anyone who has ever
bought glazed donuts will notice how the glaze has deteriorated by the
next day... a donut shop is a good place to view several types of
glaze... by the end of each day the donuts made that morning are
considered stale and tossed, their glaze has also deteriorated way
past being fit for sale.