Galaxy Cakes Are The Out-Of-This-World Dessert Your Next Dinner Party Needs

If you're looking to bring a bit of out-of-this-world beauty to your next celebration, there's a stellar cake that has been making the rounds on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. The Galaxy cake, as it's known, can be any flavor or shape, as it's not defined by classic cake characteristics. Instead, this cake is defined by its show-stopping, glossy mirror glaze that depicts a view of outer space. 

This dazzling dessert first began making the social media rounds in 2016, popping up at about the same time Star Wars was relaunching its third era of movies. It even made an appearance in a recent season of "The Great British Bake Off," when contestant Abdul Sharif made his own galaxy mirror-glazed cake. Like Sharif's cake, many double down on the intergalactic looks with cake truffle "planets" dotted on the top. But what's so fantastically simple about this cake is that really only needs one element: a smooth mirror glaze. So how should you go about making your own?

The start of a good galaxy cake begins with a sturdy baked cake, thinly frosted in buttercream, or with a smooth mousse. You need a smooth surface before you can apply the glaze as it will be loose and liquid before pouring it on, and will show any bumps or crumbs. You'll also want to thoroughly chill the cake and frosting too, as the glaze goes on warm (around 90 degrees).

Most mirror glazes contain a blend of gelatin, melted chocolate, and corn syrup. Other ingredients can include sugar and sweetened condensed milk, each one used to add glossiness and sweetness. Once you've blended together the ingredients until completely smooth, you'll divide up your mirror glaze into several bowls to begin adding separate food dyes. A traditional mirror glaze is a plain chocolate one, but for the galaxy glaze, white chocolate is used to create a blank canvas for the black, blue, and silver nightscape. 

The largest amounts of mirror glaze should be dyed the base color of dark blue or deep navy, with smaller amounts getting glitzy silver, bright teal, or even bright pink. Once you pour over the dark blue base, you'll drizzle and swirl bits of the brighter colors to create cosmic spirals. White can be flecked on with a fine-tipped paintbrush. You'll need to let the glaze set for about 2½ hours, but after that, you'll have a beautiful galaxy cake worth the hype.