Perfect Glaze Icing Takes Patience. Here's How Long You Should Wait

Whether it's a donut or a cinnamon roll, these baked goods literally shine when you have a glossy and cohesive glaze on them. In the battle between glaze and frosting, glazes win over people who like to have a light layer of sugar in every bite, rather than a concentrated mountain of frosting. Whether it be an opaque, white glaze with a higher sugar content, or a thin, glass-like glaze that gives your bread a crunchy exterior, a glaze is a crucial addition that shouldn't be ignored.

The truth of the matter, though, is that home bakers and amateurs frequently tamper with basic glaze ingredients and get something far too runny or clumpy to glaze a loaf or cookie evenly. Even beyond simple glaze ratios, there's the issue of the temperature of your baked item and your timing. Glaze a lemon loaf that is still too hot from the oven and the glaze will run straight off; Grab something you glazed 20 minutes ago and you'll find that the glaze is still a sticky residue that gets on your fingers. How are you to fix this? Well, patience is key.

Yes, wait two hours for your glaze to solidify, recommends Recipe Tips. Obviously, this wait time may be altered depending on the temperature of your bread or cookie, the temperature of the room, and the viscosity of the glaze icing itself. Since glazes are made from powdered sugar or confectioner's sugar, which contains cornstarch, the more sugar is in a glaze, the thicker it will be. All in all, two hours is your safest bet; If you want a proper glaze that coats your dessert evenly, you'll have to wait long enough for the sugars to harden again.

If you want to hasten this wait time, you could put your glazed cake or donuts in the refrigerator — but doing so may cause your baked dessert to turn dry. In the case that you need a glazed dessert for an event or party, you should be baking it the day before and letting it cool sufficiently, then glazing it two to three hours before the event. If your room tends towards the warmer side, it might be ideal to keep your glazed cake in the refrigerator, or at least in a cooler area in your house if the glaze or cake are perishable. 

If you're confident about making a standard glaze, you can try to implement citrus or even alcohol into your glaze for a boozy finish. Our gingerbread cake has a boozy cognac glaze that complements the spiced ginger cake.