Drop of Disney

The first thing that struck me when watching WALL-E was how beautiful space looked. I’ve always been intrigued by space. Not to the point where I wanted to be an astronaut, but certainly enough that I loved looking up at the stars, studying the planets, and pouring over images sent from different satellites and the space station.

There’s something very magical and intriguing about the way the space looks and I loved how the contrast of the dark sky and the light stars, and the swirls of other colors that float through the Milky Way was captured in the film. Space wasn’t the only thing I liked about the film, as I was soon captured by the adorable robot WALL-E, his lady friend EVE and their mission to return human life to Earth.

As much as I like WALL-E, I had been having a hard time thinking about how I could work him into a bake but that all changed when I saw a video about a galaxy mirror glaze. Just like I when I watched the movie, I was immediately captured by the mix of colors, the white stars, and how much it looked like space. I knew it would be perfect for a WALL-E themed cake.

Mirror glazes have become super popular and there are a lot of different colors and styles to choose from. The majority of them have a base of white chocolate that is then colored, mixed with gelatin, and poured over a cake to create a glossy, smooth, and shiny glaze. While they can be hard to do, if you take your time and read through everything, it’s definitely possible to make a gorgeous glaze.

As the base for my mirror glaze, I decided to make my favorite chocolate cake with marshmallow icing. You can use any cake recipe that you’d like but it’s really important that the icing is smooth and sets well, so I would recommend this marshmallow frosting or a regular buttercream frosting. After making and assembling the cake, make sure to put it in the freezer so that it’s nice and cold when you pour the glaze onto it.

The hardest thing for me to find was the white chocolate as the cocoa butter percentage is not always listed on the package. It’s very important that you use white chocolate that is over 30% cocoa butter as it will affect how it melts and combines with the other ingredients. I ended up using Valrhona White Chocolate pieces with 35% cocoa butter that I found on Amazon, which worked really well. The only other ingredient that can be tricky to find is gelatin sheets. Most of the stores around me only had the gelatin powder so I also needed to order gelatin sheets from Amazon. I used these silver grade gelatin sheets, that also worked great.

When making the glaze, make sure to prep everything in advance so that you can easily transition from step to step as often times you’ll need to move a bit quickly. When using the food coloring, make sure to stir gently to avoid air bubbles and when combining all of the colors into one large bowl, stir just enough to get some swirls but not too much that all of the colors fully combine.

Once you’re ready to pour the glaze onto the cake, place the cake onto a cake stand or inverted plate, which is itself on top of of a sheet pan. There should be a lot of leftover glaze and you’ll want to the pan to catch the excess. When I poured the glaze, I moved the bowl in a circular motion, which allowed me to make different swirl patterns on the top while still making sure the sides were covered.

To add WALL-E and EVE to the galaxy, I used a couple of Disney trading pins that had been washed and sterilized. Since WALL-E and EVE are so detailed, I found it easiest to use something pre-made instead of trying to free hand the characters with frosting or another edible material.

I am so happy with how this cake turned out and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did!

Disclaimer: Links in this post are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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WALL-E Galaxy Cake

Soar across the galaxy with WALL-E and EVE with this delicious chocolate mirror glaze cake!

Course Dessert

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Servings 10 servings

Ingredients

Chocolate Cake

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 ¾ cup flour
• ¾ cup cocoa powder
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water

Marshmallow Frosting

• 1 ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 7.5 oz jar of marshmallow fluff or creme
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Galaxy Mirror Glaze

• 300 ml water
• 300 grams granulated sugar
• 395 grams sweetened condensed milk
• 15 sheets gelatin
• 740 grams white chocolate, over 30% cocoa butter, chopped
• black gel food coloring
• navy gel food coloring
• light blue gel food coloring
• purple gel food coloring
• pink gel food coloring
• white gel food coloring

Equipment

• 2 9-inch cake pans
• icing spatula
• immersion blender
• pastry brush
• WALL-E & EVE pins or other decorations

Instructions

Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray two 9-inch cake pans with cooking spray and line bottoms with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and baking powder.
3. Add in eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla; beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
4. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin and runny).
5. Pour into prepared cake pans.
6. Bake 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
7. Cool 10 minutes in the pans before transferring to a cooling rack.
8. Wrap each cake in wax paper and place in freezer bags. Freeze for at least 8 hours.
9. Frosting
10. Just before you’re ready to assemble the cake, make the frosting.
11. On medium speed, beat butter until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
12. Add in marshmallow fluff and beat on low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds.
13. Gradually add in sugar and vanilla and beat on medium speed until fluffy. Make sure not to overbeat the frosting as it will become tough.

Cake Assembly

1. Remove cakes from freezer. Using a serrated knife, trim the tops of the cakes so that they are flat.
2. Place one of the cakes on a cake stand or on an inverted plate. Place a large spoonful of frosting onto the top of the cake and spread with an icing spatula to make an even layer of frosting.
3. Place the second cake on top of the frosting layer and frost the rest of the cake, making sure to keep the icing smooth.
4. Place cake in the freezer to keep cold while you make the glaze.

Mirror Glaze

1. Place the chocolate pieces into a large heat safe bowl. Set aside.
2. Bring the water, sugar, and condensed milk to a boil in a small pot, stirring constantly. Let boil for 1 minute and then remove from the heat.
3. Place the gelatin sheets in a large bowl with 8 cups of cold water. Let bloom for 5 minutes, then wring out the excess water.
4. Mix the gelatin into the the sugar mixture, stirring until gelatin is dissolved.
5. Pour the sugar mixture over the chocolate and let sit for 2-3 minutes, allowing the chocolate to melt.
6. Using an immersion blender, carefully blend the chocolate and the sugar mixture. Try not avoid air bubbles by not lifting the blender too high up.
7. Pour the glaze through a fine mesh sieve and into a large bowl to remove excess air bubbles.
8. Pour the glaze into 5 different microwave safe bowls (1 large bowl and 4 smaller bowls).
9. Color the largest bowl with a couple squirts of black and navy food coloring, stir until the color is distributed evenly.
10. In the next bowl, add a squirt of the navy food coloring and stir.
11. In the next bowl, add a squirt of the light blue food coloring and stir.
12. In the next bowl, add a squirt of the purple food coloring and stir.
13. In the next bowl, add a squirt of the pink food coloring and stir.
14. When you are ready to use the glaze, make sure each one is between 90-96 F. Microwave bowls if necessary.
15. Pour the navy, light blue, purple, and pink glazes into the large bowl with the black and navy glaze. Swirl gently with a spoon.
16. Remove cake from the freezer and place a cake stand or inverted plate. Place stand or plate over a sheet pan to catch excess glaze.
17. Carefully pour the glaze over the cake, swirling the bowl around the cake as you go. Make sure the tops and sides are all covered.
18. Dip a pastry brush into the white food coloring and fling it onto the cake to create small stars.
19. Place WALL-E and EVE decorations on the cake.
20. Take a knife and run it along the bottom of the cake to cut off any excess glaze drippings.
21. Place cake on cake stand or plate and serve. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Recipe Notes

Adapted from Tasty