This is a full Mirror Glaze Galaxy Cake tutorial showing how to make colorful galaxy cake pop planets, galaxy cake batter, galaxy vanilla buttercream, and galaxy mirror glaze. By the way, have you seen my Pink and White Cake with red hearts?
Step-by-step video tutorial
How to Make Cake Pop Planets
Food coloring
I use the following colors for the cake pops: yellow, red, green, navy blue, purple, white, and Aztec blue (teal tone).
I chose to make the Sun, Earth, Uranus, and Neptune for this recipe. I use yellow and red for the Sun, green and blue (and white if desired) for the Earth, teal and white for Uranus, and purple with white for Neptune.
Add as much food coloring as described on the package until you reach the desired color. You can use gel or paste food coloring.
Tip: Additionally, I add a bit of white food coloring to every color to brighten up the color of the batter.
Cake pop mold
I recommend using a silicone cake pop mold to bake the planets. Alternately spoon the colored batter into the mold, making a few swirls with the tip of a knife or toothpick. Fill up until slightly heaped.
Tips for Making the Cake Batter
Note: I chose a white cake for this recipe because it's a very light batter and perfect for coloring but you can use your favorite vanilla cake as well.
Divide the cake batter into 4 bowls (2 large bowls and 2 small bowls). Add black food coloring in one of the large bowls, white in the other, pink in one of the small bowls, and aztec blue in the other small bowl. Stir until evenly colored.
Alternately, spoon about ¼ of the colored batter into two 8" (20cm) cake pans just until the bottom is fully covered. Arrange the baked cake pops on top of the batter in the two cake pans. Spoon the remaining batter on top of the planets to cover them completely. Then carefully run the tip of a knife through the batter to draw a pattern. Be careful not to mix up the colors too much.
Notes on the buttercream
The buttercream is regular vanilla buttercream with food coloring. Be sure to use a food coloring that's suitable for cake batters, buttercreams, icing, and icing. I recommend using gel or paste food coloring.
Divide the buttercream between 4 bowls and tint with black, blue, white and pink. Spoon the colored buttercream alternately into a piping bag or onto the cake and frost the cake with an offset spatula.
Tips for frosting the cake
- Be careful not to mix the colors too much while frosting the cake.
- Freeze the cake uncovered for 1 hour, until the buttercream is very firm. This will ensure your frosting doesn't melt while applying the mirror glaze.
How to Successfully Make a Mirror Glaze
The mirror glaze is the most challenging part of the recipe. But don't worry; I have a few recommendations on what to do before you tackle the glaze.
- Watch the video. Familiarize yourself with the process by watching the video multiple times and thinking the process through in your head. Analyze what you see, how I apply the glaze, what the consistency of the glaze is, etc.
- Plan and prepare everything in advance. Read the directions carefully to have all the ingredients and tools ready when you need them.
- Use a food thermometer. It's an invaluable investment and gives you peace of mind that the glaze is at the right temperature to be neither too thick nor too thin.
Colors needed for the mirror glaze
Divide the mirror glaze among 5 bowls. 2 large bowls and 3 smaller bowls. Add aztec blue and navy blue in a 3:1 ratio in either of the two large bowls. In the second large bowl, add black and navy blue in a 1:1 ratio until you have a very dark shade of blue.
Then add a little pink food coloring to one of the small bowls, purple to the second bowl, and aztec (teal) blue to the last bowl. Add some white if any of the colors have become too intense or too dark.
How to apply the mirror glaze
- Line a cookie or baking sheet with parchment paper and place a vase upside down in the center of the sheet. Make sure the diameter of the vase or jar you use is smaller than the cake. Then place the cake on top.
- The glaze must be 90°F / 32°C so that it is neither too thin nor too thick. If your frosting is too hot, let it sit until it has cooled slightly. Otherwise the frosting will not stick to your cake and will be too runny. If the frosting is too cold, it will be too sticky and you won't be able to pour it over your cake. In this case, heat in the microwave for a few seconds.
- Pour the aztec/navy glaze into the black/navy glaze and carefully draw in a few swirls without mixing the colors. Pour the glaze over the cake, starting in the center and moving the bowl in a circular motion to the edges of the cake while pouring and let drip over the sides until the cake is fully glazed.
- Using small spoons, pour lines of the teal, purple, and pink glaze onto the cake. Finish the pattern by gently stroking the top of the cake with the large offset spatula. I recommend working the spatula in the direction of the lines on the cake for the most beautiful effect.
- Sprinkle some black pearl dust on top of the cake and spritz small drops of white food coloring on top with a brush for the perfect finish.
FAQs
Yes, the cake planets are baked twice. Although I don't find the cake pops too dry, they are definitely not moist after baking them twice.
Yes absolutely. Feel free to use your favorite vanilla cake recipe instead of the white cake batter used in this recipe.
You can bake and frost the cake ahead of time and refrigerate until ready to serve. However, I recommend glazing the cake the day you serve it, as the mirror glaze loses its perfect shine over time.
More Celebration Cakes to Try
Recipe
Mirror Glaze Galaxy Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Galaxy Cake Pop Planets
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup granulated white sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Galaxy Cake
- 1 cup milk, room temperature
- 6 large egg whites, room temperature
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 4 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 ¼ cups granulated white sugar
- 1 vanilla bean* (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
Galaxy Vanilla Buttercream
Galaxy Mirror Glaze
- ¾ cup cold water
- 1.25 oz powdered gelatin
- 12 oz white couverture chopped
- 1 ½ cups granulated white sugar
- ⅜ cup water
- ¾ cup light corn syrup
- ¾ cup sweetened condensed milk
Instructions
Galaxy Cake Pop Planets
- Microwave butter for about 15-20 seconds until very soft and a bit melted. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350°F / 175°C.
- With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment, mix eggs on medium-high speed until combined for about 1 minute. Add sugar and mix until light and creamy for about 2-3 minutes. Add butter and mix until creamy. In the end, add flour, baking powder, and salt and mix until fully combined and smooth.
- If you want to make the same planets like me, separate batter in 6 bowls and color with navy blue, purple, green, Aztec blue (teal tone), yellow, red, and white. Use gel or paste food coloring. Depending on your food coloring brand, add a few drops to your batter until you reach the desired color. If you want to use more of one color and less of another, consider the required amount of batter per color while separating into bowls. I added to every portion a bit of white to lighten up the colors.
- Use a 20 cake pop mold. Spoon red and yellow batter into a few mold for the sun (the side of the mold without the holes). Blue and green (with a bit of white if desired) for the Earth, teal with a bit of white for Uranus, and purple with a bit of white for Neptune. Fill until level with a very slightly heaping and draw a few swirls with a skewer. Place the second side of the cake pop mold on top (the one with the hole) and close tightly. Bake for about 18-20 minutes. I baked mine for 20 minutes. Let cool in the mold until you are done with the cake batter. Set aside.
Galaxy Cake
- Line two 8-inch baking pans with parchment paper by cutting 8-inch circles for the bottom and about 2-3 inch wide strips for the sides. Use very less baking spray underneath the paper that it sticks to the pan for easier filling.
- In a small bowl, whisk milk and egg whites until combined. Set aside.
- In another small bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt and stir to combine. Set aside.
- With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment mix butter and sugar on medium speed until creamy and combined for about 1-2 minutes. Add vanilla* and mix until combined. Mixing on low speed, alternately add dry and wet mixtures, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. I added the dry ingredients in 3 batches and the wet ingredients in 2. Mix until smooth and combined.
- I used 4 colors for the galaxy cake batter. Black, white, pink, and Aztec blue (teal tone). Divide batter into 2 big and 2 small bowls. Add black food coloring and white food coloring in the two big bowls and pink and a bit of Aztec blue in the two small bowls. Add white if you want to lighten up the colors.
- Spoon about ¼ of the colored batter alternately in the two pans equally until the bottom is covered. Gently draw a pattern. Be careful that you don't mix up the colors. Place 10 cake pops planets in each pan. Spoon remaining batter on top of the planets. Bake for about 27-30 minutes until a toothpick centered in the middle comes out clean (don't pick inside a cake pop). Let cool in pans for about 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Galaxy Vanilla Buttercream
- Mix butter with a whisk attachment on medium speed until creamy for about 2 minutes. Add 1 cup sugar at the time and mix on low speed until combined. Add salt and mix to combine. Mix in vanilla* and milk until smooth and fully incorporated. Divide buttercream into 4 bowls. I used black, white, blue, and pink. Add white to lighten up the colors if desired. Spoon the colored buttercream alternately into a piping bag.
Frost the cake
- Place bottom cake layer with a cake board underneath on a turner. Pipe a thin layer of buttercream on top. Even with a big offset spatula by placing the edge of the spatula on top of the cream horizontally and spin the cake around. Place the second cake layer on top. Pipe remaining buttercream on top and the sides until the cake is fully covered. Level the top with the spatula like you did with the bottom cake layer until buttercream is smooth and even.
- To level the buttercream on the sides, plant the spatula next to one side uprightly and spin the cake around. Take care that you keep the same angle while spinning the cake around. Smooth the edges by leveling the top again and push frosting very slightly and carefully to the edges. Then level the edges on the sides again and repeat until edges are smoothed.
- Freeze cake with the board underneath for about 1 hour that the buttercream is very firm and doesn't melt away while glazing.
Galaxy Mirror Glaze
- Add ¾ cup of water and gelatin in a small bowl and stir to combine. Let bloom for about 10 minutes. It needs to be firm to touch.
- Place chopped couverture in a big bowl and set aside.
- In a small saucepan bring sugar, ⅜ cup water, and corn syrup over medium heat to a boil and simmer for about 2-3 minutes. Remove from stove and stir in bloomed gelatin and condensed milk until combined. Pour over couverture, cover with a towel and let stand for about 2 minutes.
- Mix with a handheld emersion blender until smooth, and no lumps remain. Strain and separate mirror glaze in 5 bowls. Two big ones, and 3 smaller ones. Add Aztec blue and navy blue in a 3:1 ratio in one big bowl. Add black and navy blue in equal amounts to the second big bowl. In the 3 small bowls, add purple, pink, and Aztec blue (teal tone). Add white to brighten up the colors if needed.
Glaze the cake
- Line a cookie or baking sheet with parchment paper. Place a vase upside down in the middle. Remove cake from the freezer and place on top of the vase.
- The mirror glaze needs to be 90°F / 32°C while glazing that it is not too thin and not too thick. Use a candy thermometer. When your glaze is too hot, let it stand until it cools down a bit. This will go very fast. Otherwise, the glaze doesn’t stick to your cake and is too runny. When the glaze is too cold, it is too sticky, and you can’t pour it over your cake. In this case, warm it up in the microwave for a few seconds.
- Pour the blue from the first big bowl into the very dark space blue in the second big bowl. Give it a few gentle swirls and draw a pattern. Don't mix up the colors. Pour over cake beginning on the top and then let drip over the sides until the cake is fully glazed. Drip with a spoon a few lines of teal, purple, and pink on top. Go with the lines of the light and dark blue pattern.
- Brush with a big offset spatula over the top of the cake to smooth the colors. Sprinkle a bit of black pearl dust and white food coloring on top of the cake with a brush.
- Let dry for about ½ hour then transfer to the fridge and chill for 2 hours. Cut cake with a very warm knife (warm with hot water then dry) for best cutting results. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days.
Notes
Video
You can find the video in the post above. If you don't see a video, please check your browser settings.
Sherrie V.
My cake pops floated to the top of the pan. How do you keep them on the bottom. I used regular cake mixes with a little extra flour added to them. Any suggestions?
Sabine
I'm sorry I've never experienced anything like this. The cake batter in this recipe is thick enough to cover the keep the cake pops where they are placed as in the pictures shown.
Sherrie V.
Next time I’ll make the batter thicker. I ended up putting the planets in cupcakes, which worked well.
Nicole Pearce
This looks marvelous! The person I'm making it for doesn't like buttercream or cream cheese frosting... would whipped frosting work okay? I've looked around but I haven't been able to find an answer.
Sabine
Unfortunately, the whipped cream frosting would not stay firm when you pour the warm glaze on top. I'm sorry!
Jessica Weimer
Thank you Thank you! I am so not a baker, I can’t ev n frost a cake and write happy birthday on it without our it looking like a toddler did it! But my son wanted this cake for his 13th birthday, so my I tried it out. I thought it was going to be a disaster, but it turned out really good! Your directions were so easy to follow, even for someone who usually has a hard time understanding recipes. I have pictures of mine, but don’t know how to upload.
Sabine
Thank you so much for your feedback, Jessica! I'm so happy that it was a success! You can share your photos on your Instagram account. Please tag me in the photo that I can see it 🙂 Have a wonderful day!
Stephanie
I am preparing to make this for my daughter’s 11th birthday but can’t seem to play the video (the link doesn’t seem active). Will you please direct me to the video? Thank you!
Sabine
The recipe video is in the recipe card attached but it doesn't appear if you have a pop-up blocker. Here is the link to the youtube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8luZZDLDwOI Hope that helps!
Supriya
Hi Sabine,
I’m absolutely in love with your creation here and have gone through your video again and again.
I had recently made a moist chocolate cake for my son’s birthday party ( 30 kids and 40 adults) and the guests loved it. A Friend of mine asked me if I could bake a cake for her daughters birthday party. I’m Glad to do it.
Now, it’s a outer space themed party of 40 kids and 35 adults. After some research, I found your cake the best of all and want to make it without any doubts. I really don’t want to disappoint her since it’s a big party for her and she has trusted me on this ( I’m not a professional baker)
My worries are:
1) Can this be made with the moist chocolate cake recipe?
2) She needs a 4 kg cake ( about 70 medium sized servings; there will be cupcakes and cake pops too)
So , can I make a 2 tiered moist chocolate cake and hope it holds up and doesn’t collapse? She’s keen on moist chocolate cake.
3) can I do a 9” for base tier and a sphere globe cake for the second tier? Will it hold up?
I’m very sorry about the Long post, but thought it’s best to explain the thing for your understanding.
Thanks for reading.
You rock!
Sabine
Hi Supriya,
Thank you so much for your feedback! I'm happy that you like it.
1) Yes, absolutely. But consider that the chocolate batter won't allow you to color it as much as a bright cake. Maybe you make a white chocolate cake?
2) Okay, so you really should do a chocolate cake when it's her favorite. I'm so sorry but I have no experience in baking such big and high cakes. If the cake is too fluffy I can imagine that it's not that stable and could collapse. I think Google research would help you with this.
3) I'm sure it looks cool to place a globe cake on top of a base cake. But same as at 2). I really can't say anything to this. I just could guess because I've never done such a cake shape before.
Hope that helps!
Happy baking and good luck!
Sabine
Anisha
This is amazing and an awesome work of art. I was looking for a recipe for my nephews “outer space” themed birthday and I think this is the perfect cake. I can’t waot to recreate it. I also had a quick question. I was thinking of making a 6 inch cake instead of An 8. How do I tweak the ingredients? It would be really helpful. Thanks
Anisha
Sabine
Thank you so much! I’m sure he would love this cake for his birthday! Although I haven’t tried this recipe in 6 inch pans, I would go with 2/3 of the ingredients or better would be 3/4 but that doesn’t work out with the eggs. So yeah, I would go with 2/3. Hope that helps! Happy baking (:
Mark
Where can I find the video?
Sabine
If you have a pop-up blocker activated, the video isn't visible for you. Here is the link to the youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8luZZDLDwOI
Daisy
Recipe worked like a charm, I was nervous about the mirror glaze but it turned out great!
*I did end up with a bubble in the mirror glaze but I had to store the finished cake in the fridge so I think that’s why that happened.
*I do agree with the other comment about the cake tasting like corn bread, I made the planets and tasted them and decided to use a box cake mix for the cake and it turned out perfect. I also used cream cheese frosting instead of buttercream.
Thank you for the detailed instructions and videos!
Sabine
Thank you so much for your feedback, Daisy!
Maybe that happened because there might have been bubbles in the glaze from mixing?
That's great! I'm happy that my techniques also work with different cakes and frostings.
Have a great day!
Bess
Made this today for my son's 4th birthday. Great recipe and directions! Thank you so much
Sabine
I'm beyond happy that it turned out great! Happy birthday to your little sunshine!
Madison Monroe
I made this and it turned out beautiful! The taste however was not so great. It tasted more like a mild corn bread than a cake. I sadly will be tossing it! 🙁 Note sure if I did something wrong? I think I will try a different cake recipe next time with your decorating and color techniques! Thanks for posting.
Sabine
Hi Madison,
I'm happy that it turned out beautiful but also sorry to hear that the cake is not your taste. Although I can't say if you did something wrong, keep in mind that every taste is different. It does not taste like cornbread to me. I think the cake is very sweet.
Thanks!