Easy Chocolate Glaze Icing (with cocoa powder)
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This gorgeously fudgy Chocolate Glaze Icing will fool you that it has no melted chocolate. In fact it’s incredibly easy and only takes about 10 minutes to mix up. It’s so versatile, foolproof and can be used on sheet cakes, cupcakes, doughnuts and add a little bit more milk to make it perfect for drip cakes. You’ll adore the rich chocolately flavour and the beautifully shiny finish which will transform any bake.
This is the Chocolate Glaze I return to again and again, even over a ganache and that’s because it’s so quick and versatile and still gives that thick fudgy chocolatey flavour. Plus it’s easier (I have no problem with my children whipping this up) and more economical. It sets softly rather than cloyingly firm so you can cut into your cake beautifully without it getting messy but also it doesn’t stick to your teeth.
A perfect recipe if you need to quickly decorate a large sheet cake or a bunch of cupcakes for kids parties. Plus it’s a simple swap of using dairy-free milk instead of whole milk which will make this dairy-free / vegan.
You only need 6 easy ingredients, all of which you would probably already have in your storecupboard / fridge.
I’ll show you how to make this in the quickest way possible and give you loads of ideas on how you can use it across all your baking. I guarantee you, this Chocolate Glaze recipe is a keeper!
Why You’ll Love This Chocolate Glaze Icing
- Quick. It’s a 10 minute recipe, less work than buttercream or ganache.
- Versatile. It works on so many different cakes and bakes that you’ll come back to this recipe again and again.
- Intense chocolate flavour. You might think that since this glaze doesn’t have chocolate – just cocoa powder, it might be missing in flavour. No way! It’s deep, rich and intense.
- No cracking. This chocolate glaze does not crack when you cut into it.
- Dairy-free and vegan. Of course you need to make sure to use a plant-based milk but that’s all you need to bear in mind.
Watch the Video
Sometimes it helps to see a visual of what I'm talking about. So watch the video to see what it looks like to make your Chocolate Glaze Icing.
Ingredients Needed
Icing sugar. (powdered sugar). Icing sugar dissolves easily into the milk, resulting in a smooth texture, whilst giving perfect sweetness.
Cocoa powder. As above this recipe uses Dutch-processed cocoa powder (which is the more common type in the UK – but do check the labels).
Milk. You can use whole milk or dairy-free milk if you need it to be.
Golden syrup. Use this in tandem with the icing sugar as it gives smoothness and a gorgeous gloss to the icing.
Vanilla extract. Since the main flavour is the chocolate in this glaze you can get away with using a lower quality vanilla extract. A regular supermarket brand will do just fine.
Salt. A little kick of salt in the icing really elevates the flavour and balances out the sweetness.
How To Make Easy Chocolate Glaze Icing
For full recipe instructions go to the recipe card at the end of this post.
Sift the icing sugar, cocoa powder and salt in a large bowl.
Warm the milk, vanilla and golden syrup in a small saucepan until the syrup has dissolved.
Gradually pour the warm milk mixture into the dry ingredients,
Whisk until smooth and just pourable. Add a little extra milk if needed.
Use to glaze cakes, doughnuts, biscuits or whatever you fancy.
Expert Tips
120g milk is enough for most uses. You might think it’s a bit thick but actually the glaze softens as it settles, and then it sets firm but soft. Use the extra 20g if you want an especially drippy glaze like using it for a drip cake or to drizzle over bakes.
I don’t recommend dipping your bake into the glaze (e.g. doughnuts) as it’s too thick, but instead spoon it over.
Spoon the glaze over the bake and use the back of a spoon or a small silicone spatula to smooth out.
You only need a small amount of the glaze on your bake, a little goes a long way.
FAQs
This recipe makes enough for 24 cupcakes, 12 doughnuts or a large 13x9 inch traybake.
Try and use the glaze straight after you mix it up. The longer you leave the glaze the more it will stiffen up and be harder to work with.
This chocolate glaze has a softly firm set. You can use a plant-based milk instead of the whole milk suggested in the recipe card. Spoon the glaze over your doughnut using a teaspoon and swirl to cover.
Uses for Chocolate Glaze
Cakes. Loaf cakes, sheet cakes, cupcakes, banana bread, gingerbread cake, chocolate swiss roll, madeleines.
Biscuits and Cookies. Delicious on shortbread, digestive biscuits, ginger cookies, sugar cookies instead of royal icing.
Doughnuts. This is lovely to use to dip your oven-baked doughnuts into or chocolate doughnuts or fried yeasted doughnuts (instead of a jam filling).
Brownies. Works with all kinds of brownies from classic to cookie dough.
Drip Glaze. Delicious on celebration cakes. You might like to thin it down a little with a splash more milk. If you’re thinning it down then it would be delicious drizzled over pavlova.
Desserts. Use it on a vanilla cheesecake, chocolate cheesecake or peanut butter cheesecake.
Eclairs and profiteroles. Once you’ve mastered your choux pastry then you’ll come back to this glaze for making lovely pastries.
More Chocolate Recipes You’ll Love
This Chocolate Fudge Buttercream is perfect for all kinds of cakes, cookies and desserts. It’s simple to make and produces thick, luscious and silky smooth chocolate buttercream which is excellent for piping and decorating. Rich with molten chocolate and intense cocoa.
This Chocolate Custard is a decadent pourable sauce that simply must be poured over your favourite chocolate cakes and desserts. It may look like the comfort dish you remember from school dinners but I assure you this custard tastes so much better. It’s not made with custard powder but cocoa powder and cornflour so it’s easy to make and richly flavoured.
An incredibly easy and heavenly Hot Chocolate Sauce which requires only 5 simple ingredients and less than 5 minutes work.
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Easy Chocolate Glaze Icing
Ingredients
- 300 g icing sugar
- 100 g cocoa powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 120-140 g whole milk
- 2 tablespoons golden syrup
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Sift icing sugar with the cocoa powder and salt into a large bowl.
- Pour 120g of the milk into a small saucepan and add the vanilla and golden syrup. Warm the ingredients until the golden syrup has melted.
- Pour the milk slowly into the dry ingredients and whisk together until smooth just pourable. You can add the extra 20g of milk if the mixture is still too stiff to pour.
- Spoon the glaze over your intended bakes and then allow to set for 1 hour.
- If you are decorating with sprinkles or something else then allow the glaze to set for at least 30 minutes before adding otherwise they will sink into the glaze.
