Coating a Cake with Hot Icing

Before coating a cake with hot icing, the cake should be sealed in one of two ways: First by coating the cake with half of the icing, refrigerating the cake until the icing hardens, and then covering with a second coat; or, by “crumb” coating the cake with a thin layer of frosting such as buttercream (use the same frosting that is in the cake), chilling the cake until the coating hardens, and then pouring over the hot glaze. Place the cake on a cake rack set on a sheet pan so you can reuse the glaze that runs off the cake. Allow the glaze to harden before serving.