Fresh Strawberry Glace

Fresh strawberry glace is one of those vintage finishing touches that turns an ordinary frosted cake into a knockout dessert. Sliced ripe strawberries get tossed with sugar and left to macerate for thirty minutes, which draws out their natural juice and turns it into a fragrant pink syrup. A short three-minute simmer concentrates the flavor, then the mixture is strained through a sieve, leaving you with a clear ruby-colored strawberry juice ready to be thickened.

A cornstarch-water-lemon slurry whisked into the strained syrup, brought back to a boil, and cooked four to six minutes turns the whole thing into a glossy, pourable glace that’s somewhere between a syrup and a soft jelly. Spread it warm over a frosted cake (the directions specifically pair it with Fresh Strawberry Frosting) and let it run dramatically down the sides. An hour of standing time and the glace sets just firm enough to hold its shape without slumping off the cake.

Pro Tips

• Use the ripest, reddest strawberries you can find. The color and flavor of the finished glace come entirely from the fruit. Pale berries equal pale glace.
• Strain through a fine-mesh sieve, not cheesecloth. You want clarity but you don’t need to press the pulp through. Gentle straining keeps the glace clear, not cloudy.
• Whisk the cornstarch slurry separately and pour it in slowly. Dumping cornstarch directly into hot liquid creates lumps you can’t whisk out.
• Apply while the glace is warm but not hot. Hot glace runs straight off the cake; cold glace won’t spread evenly.

Variations

• Use raspberries or a mix of summer berries for a different fruit glace.
• Add a splash of Grand Marnier or kirsch with the lemon juice for a grown-up version.
• Skip the cornstarch and reduce the strained juice by half for a thinner, looser pourable strawberry sauce.