Full Mirror Glaze Galaxy Cake recipe with colorful galaxy cake pop planets, a galaxy cake, a galaxy vanilla buttercream, and a galaxy mirror glaze. Outside a shiny and colorful galaxy mirror glaze and inside a galaxy cake with four different planets. Watch the video below.
Cake Pop Planets
Ok, let's jump into the recipe. We start with the cake pop planets. I chose the Sun, Earth, Uranus, and Neptune for my Mirror Glaze Galaxy Cake because their colors are the prettiest ones to me. We have 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.
I used the following colors: yellow, red, green, navy blue, purple, white, and Aztec blue (teal tone).
Add as much coloring as described on the package until you reach the color you desire. You can use gel or paste food coloring. I added a bit of white to every color to brighten up the color of the batter.
I recommend using a silicone cake pop mold for baking the planets. Spoon the colored batter alternately in the mold and give it a few swirls. Fill up until very slightly heaped.
Galaxy Cake
I decided to make a white cake because it is very bright and perfect for coloring and it has a great vanilla flavor. The recipes of the cake pops and the cake are straightforward to make sure to have full focus on the styling today.
Separate the batter into 4 bowls, 2 big ones, and 2 small ones. Add black and white to the two big ones. Pink into a small one and Aztec blue in the other small one. Lighten up with white if needed.
Alternately, spoon about ¼ of the colored batter into two 8" baking pans just until the bottom is fully covered. Divide planets in both pans and place them in the batter. Spoon remaining batter on top of planets. Swirl carefully to draw a pattern.
Galaxy Vanilla Buttercream
The vanilla buttercream is also pretty straightforward. You just need to mix butter with powdered sugar, then add vanilla, milk, and salt. The salt will cut down the sweetness a bit.
Divide buttercream into 4 bowls and color with black, blue, white, and pink. Spoon colored buttercream alternately into a piping bag.
Place the bottom cake layer with a cake board underneath on a turner. Then pipe buttercream on top of the bottom layer and smooth with a big offset spatula. Place the edge of the spatula horizontal on top of buttercream and spin cake around until it is leveled. Place top layer on top and frost the cake.
Pipe buttercream on top and the sides. 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 from the sides again and repeat until edges are smoothed.
Freeze cake for 1 hour until buttercream is very firm. This makes sure that your frosting isn't melting away while glazing the cake.
Galaxy Mirror Glaze
This is now the most exciting part of making a Mirror Glaze Galaxy Cake. It is super, super thrilling.
How will be the consistency? How will be the pattern? These are questions what will be running through your head when you make your first time a mirror glaze. But keep cool. Watch the video. I show how to glaze the cake that it turns out really beautiful. Just follow the steps in the recipe and the video.
You did a great job so far. You will rock the mirror glaze too!
For the mirror glaze I used the following colors: black, navy blue, Aztec blue, purple, pink, white. I also used black pearl dust.
Strain and divide mirror glaze in 5 bowls. 2 big bowls and 3 small bowls. Add Aztec blue and navy blue in the ratio 3:1 in one of the two big bowls. Add black and navy blue in same amounts in the second big bowl until you reach a very dark blue tone.
Add pink, purple, and a bit of Aztec blue (teal tone) to the 3 small bowls. Add a bit of white if anything is too intense to lighten up the colors.
Line a cookie or baking sheet with parchment paper. Place a vase upside down in the middle of the sheet and place the cold cake on top.
The glaze needs to be 90°F / 32°C 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 but 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. Smooth colors carefully by brushing with the big offset spatula over the top of the cake. Go with the lines on the cake.
Sprinkle a bit of black pearl dust and white food coloring on top with a brush. The galaxy cake will be even more beautiful.
Congratulations! You are a proud owner of an amazing looking homemade Mirror Glaze Galaxy Cake. You did a great job. Woohoo. Let's do the happy galaxy dance.
Looking back, it was exhausting, on some points overwhelming, super exciting, thrilling, we had a lot of fun, and it was just a special, not everyday project.
This Mirror Glaze Galaxy Cake is truly out of this world. It is
- very special
- so so so beautiful
- fun and exciting
- damn delicious
Happy galaxy cake baking!
If you make this Mirror Glaze Galaxy Cake recipe, leave a comment, rate it and tag a photo #alsothecrumbsplease on Instagram! Would love to see your snap!
You may also like How to make a Rainbow Cake, The Best Homemade Croissant Recipe, Homemade Brownie Recipe From Scratch, Chocolate Cheesecake Recipe, or click here to see all things sweet.
Mirror Glaze Galaxy Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Galaxy Cake Pop Planets
- 3 eggs
- ½ cup granulated white sugar (100g)
- ½ cup butter, soft (113g)
- 1 cup flour (120g)
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
Galaxy Cake
- 1 cup milk, room temperature (240ml)
- 6 egg whites, room temperature
- 2 ¼ cups flour (270g)
- 4 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ¾ cup butter (170g)
- 1 ¼ cups granulated white sugar (250g)
- 1 vanilla bean* (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
Galaxy Vanilla Buttercream
- 1 ½ cups butter (340g)
- 4 ½ cups powdered sugar, sifted (540g)
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 vanilla beans* (or 2 tsp vanilla extract)
- 2 tbsp milk
Galaxy Mirror Glaze
- ¾ cup cold water (180ml)
- 7 ½ tsp powdered gelatin (35g)
- 2 cups white couverture chopped (12 oz / 350g)
- 1 ½ cups granulated white sugar (300g)
- ⅜ cup water (90ml)
- ¾ cup light corn syrup (245g)
- ¾ cup sweetened condensed milk (230g)
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.
Video
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Hi Sabine, thanks for sharing this! I’m excited to try this for my son’s birthday. I have a question about the butter you’ve included: does this recipe use unsalted or salted butter? Thanks!
Hi Mia, I use unsalted butter for this recipe. Good luck!
Can you advise which flour you use, is it plain or self raising?
Plain flour is what I used.
I’ve baked the cake but would like to freeze it until I want to glaze it in about a week will this be ok?
Thanks
Yes, absolutely.
Also I’m unable to buy corn syrup can you recommend an alternative please?
I'm sorry, unfortunately, corn syrup is an essential ingredient for the fluidity of the glaze.
Did you bake your cake pops until they were completely done or a little underdone? I read another recipe/post where the baker left the cake pops a bit undercooked then froze them so they wouldn’t be too dry or over baked when added to the main cake. Does it make a big difference?
I baked them until they were completely done, but you can bake them about 2 minutes shorter to have them a little underdone.
I never comment on food blogs ever but I had a hell of a time finding a recipe to trust and follow to make this type of cake. I only made the glaze part and it came out perfect. I used Ghirardelli white chocolate chips and omitted the cornsyrup. Everything else stayed the same. I also had two 8inch rounds and this amount of glaze covered it. My son loved his 5th birthday galaxy cake and I'm so grateful for this recipe!!
Beautiful cake! I will be making it for my boyfriend for his acceptance to the astrophysics faculty in the university 😀
How do I know which chocolate is "couverture"? Is there a specific brand? Thanks!
If it is couverture, it stands on the package. You usually find it in the baking department as it is special chocolate for baking. But you can go with every high-quality white chocolate bar that is suitable for baking and tenderly melting. Do not melt chocolate chips because they don't melt so beautifully as it needs to be.
What kind of gelatin? Does it matter?
I use regular animal gelatin for this recipe. I didn't try this recipe with any vegan gelatine substitution yet.
I only used the mirror glaze portion of this recipe but it turned out great! I’ve been intimidated to try but this was simple with stunning results. Thank you!
Do I have to use Couverture or can I substitute with melting chocolate discs?
I really suggest using couverture for the glaze because it's so crucial that the chocolate stays smooth when it cools down a bit. Some brands of regular baking chocolate start hardening and crumbling once they cool down. I hope that helps!
Would you mind sharing where you purchased the silicone cake pop mold? I would like to purchase one.
I bought it on Amazon. I hope that helps.