Looking for something sweet to top your pastries or dip fruit in? This orange glaze is vibrant and sweet…and it only takes 5 minutes to make! 

THE INGREDIENTS: 

Powdered Sugar: It wouldn’t be a glaze without powdered sugar! If you were to use white or brown sugar, you would get a grainy mess. Powdered sugar, which has much smaller particles, mixes perfectly into our cream, getting that sweet and smooth texture we love. If you increase the amount of powdered sugar in this glaze, it will be sweeter and thicker. If you reduce it, it will be thinner and less sweet. 

Cream: Cream may not sound much more different than milk, but it makes a world of difference when it comes to glazes! Cream’s thickness and fat content is what brings the glaze together. If you were to use milk, even whole milk, you instead get a watery mess that would require throwing out the whole thing and starting over…you can guess how we figured that one out! 

Orange Zest: To have orange flavor in a glaze, it is best to use zest over juice. Not only is juice’s flavor a little weaker, but it would risk turning the glaze into a watery mess. By adding zest, you get a very adjustable, bright orange or mandarin flavor. We recommend starting with the amount stated in our recipe, doing a taste test, and adding a bit more if desired! If you are looking for a glaze with a light orange flavor, start with half our amount stated and go from there. 

KEY INFORMATION: 

Can I Use Mandarins Instead of Oranges in Baking Recipes? Yes, mandarin oranges and oranges have a similar enough flavor that they are interchangeable. Keep in mind that you’ll need roughly 2 mandarins per orange, even up to 3. 

What Goes with Orange Glaze? Our Blueberry Mandarin Orange Cake, for one! Otherwise, consider putting orange glaze on top of fried donuts, cake donuts, cake pops, other cakes (like a pound cake), rolls or other classic pastries, such as danishes. You could even get out your favorite fresh fruit and dip it in! 

What’s The Difference Between Fruit Zest and Fruit Juice? Think of juice as the tartness/acid, and zest as the flavor! When you want that classic citrusy tang, you better make sure some juice ends up in your dessert. When you want to make sure “orange” comes to mind as you take a bite, you must include some zest. As the best of both worlds, we recommend including both the juice and zest in any dessert you’re making, unless it is a glaze (juice makes it too watery, in our opinion, before the tanginess starts having an impact).