The Glaze  

La Glassa - A Velata

The outside of many pastries is covered with a light layer of glaze prepared with confectionary sugar and lemon juice and butter.

The sourness of the lemon juice should  counterbalance the sweetness of the confectionary sugar and to make chocolate glaze, use bitter cocoa to archive a pleasantly delicate and balanced taste.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup confectionary sugar
• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Add more if needed.
• zest of 1 medium lemon
• 2 teaspoons of butter

Preparation:

Mix all the ingredients in a heat resistant bowl to form a thick and uniform paste. Then cook it in a double boiler, turning continuously, until smooth and soft. Sprinkle with sifted additional confectionary sugar if the glaze is too liquid; add more jiuce if the glaze is too dry. You can add food coloring.
To make chocolate glaze, do not use lemon juice or zest, use milk instead, add a pinch of vanilla and 2 tablespoons of bitter or unsweetened cocoa.