Frostings, Fillings, and Glazes

Once you’ve baked your cake, you can cover it or layer it with various frostings, fillings, and glazes. A glaze is usually a thin coating applied hot to the outside of a cake, while a frosting is thicker and richer and is spread in between the layers and sometimes also on the outside. The most commonly used frostings and fillings are buttercream, mousseline (pastry cream with butter beaten in), and whipped chocolate ganache. Other fillings aren’t really frostings but are preparations such as chocolate mousse, Bavarian creams, fruits, jam, or whipped cream that are used to cover and layer cakes. Most of us are in the habit of using only one filling for our cakes, but a cake can be made more dramatic by using two or more.