Chocolate glaze is a thin, pourable chocolate coating used to finish cakes, pastries, and doughnuts, made by melting chocolate with a liquid such as cream, corn syrup, or coffee to keep it glossy and pourable as it sets. It differs from chocolate ganache, which uses cream alone and is often thick enough to spread or pipe, and from chocolate frosting, which contains butter and powdered sugar. Once poured over a baked item and set, it forms a thin, glossy shell rather than a soft coating.