"Tweaked" marshmallow fondant recipe

Now that I've been making marshmallow fondant for some time, I've tweaked the recipe, and it comes out perfect every time. Of course, if you're new at making fondant, it will take a little practice like anything else. A couple of things I really like about marshmallow fondant is that you can basically add any flavor you want to it while the marshmallows are in the "soupy" stage, and I love the easy handling of the fondant because of the elasticity of the marshmallows. I have tried several "ready to use" fondants, and I always go back to using the marshmallow fondant.

Marshmallow Fondant Recipe
1 lb. mini marshmallows (use a good brand, and make sure they are fresh)
2 T. water
2 tsp. corn syrup
flavoring
5-6 cups sifted powdered sugar
Crisco

Pour marshmallows into a large microwave safe bowl. Add the 2 T. of water and mix. Heat on high for 40 seconds, stir and heat again for 40 seconds, stir one more time and heat another 40 seconds. Stir well, and add desired flavoring and 2 tsp. corn syrup. This mixture will be "soupy." Add 1 cup of the powdered sugar and stir well. In the meantime, measure out 4 cups of sugar onto a well greased surface. I have a silicone mat that works really well, but any surface will do. Make a well in the center to pour marshmallow mixture into. With a greased scraper, scrape the marshmallow mixture out of the bowl into the "sugar well." Grease hands generously and knead in the powdered sugar completely, scraping the surface as necessary, and adding more Crisco to your hands if it becomes sticky. Continue to knead until very smooth and elastic. You know you have added enough sugar if your fondant does not spread when you let it set for a few seconds. It will depend on the humidity...you will need to add more sugar if you are in a humid climate. I never add more than 5 cups total because we are in a very dry area. Once your fondant is done, coat the entire fondant with a layer of Crisco and then put it in a zip-lock bag and let it rest at room temperature overnight. When you are ready to roll it out, put it in the microwave for a few seconds to soften it. (I usually do it for about 20 sec., but it will depend on your microwave.) Knead it a little to make it pliable, and then roll it out on a lightly greased silicone mat. The reason I love the silicone mats is because the fondant will stick to the mat until you peel it off. This makes it easier to get the correct placement on your cake and you can also roll it out thinner without it tearing. Some decorators roll fondant out with cornstarch if they don't have a mat, but that tends to dry out your fondant. If you use this method, you will just want to drape it over the rolling pin and then position it on your cake. Before you put the fondant on your cake, be sure to have a good layer of buttercream frosting so the fondant will adhere to the cake. Smooth the fondant out carefully with hands, cut off excess with a pizza cutter, and then smooth again. Again, remove any excess around bottom. You can also use a fondant smoother, but I prefer the control and feel of using my hands. 

Chocolate Marshmallow Fondant
1 lb. mini marshmallows
2 T. water
2 tsp. corn syrup
1/4 - 1/2 cup baking cocoa (regular for rich brown, special dark for dark brown)
4-5 cups sifted powdered sugar
Crisco

Follow the directions for the regular marshmallow fondant, except mix in 1/4 cup cocoa along with the corn syrup. Mix 1 cup sugar into marshmallow/cocoa mixture and then pour into remaining 3 cups of sugar. After completely mixed and kneaded, coat with Crisco and let rest overnight. At this point, your fondant will be a medium brown color. The next day when ready to use, soften your fondant in the microwave, and then you will want to grease your surface well, and add about another 1/4 cup cocoa (a little at a time) with very well-greased hands and knead it in until smooth and shiny, and desired color. Keep adding Crisco to your hands to work in the excess cocoa. 

Marshmallow fondant...very smooth and easy to handle

Chocolate fondant...my favorite...smooth and shiny...almost resembles chocolate ganache...tastes like a tootsie roll

Happy Birthday, Carissa!

Today is my youngest granddaughter, Carissa's 1st birthday. We had a party for her the week before they moved to Hawaii, and here is a picture of the cake I did for her. It was done in chocolate marshmallow fondant with a gumpaste bow. Baking cocoa is added to the soupy marshmallow mixture before adding the powdered sugar. It's yummy. The rest of the pink decorations were done in pink marshmallow fondant. The cake flavor was vanilla with raspberry mousse filling. I don't know which she enjoyed more...the cake or the ice cream.

Fondant Ribbon Cake...Learning new techniques

Even though this looks like a very simple cake, it gave me the opportunity to learn several new techniques, while at the same time tweaking my fondant recipe and techniques. I'll share some of what I learned. I learned allot by reading Janelle Smith's blogs and studying some of the tutorials that she had listed. First of all, I learned that it is easier to put fondant on a chilled cake. Janelle suggests filling and icing the cake and chilling it for a couple of hours. Then take it out of the refrigerator and spritz it with a little water, cover it with the fondant and chill it again. Take it out of the refrigerator a couple of hours before serving it. It will glisten a little from the condensation, but it is OK. This is especially good when you have a filling that needs to be kept cool. This particular cake was fudge marble with chocolate mousse filling. I also purchased a fondant smoother, which I liked using better than only my hand to smooth.

Making the fondant ribbon and bow was definitely an experiment. For the color I used used a shrimp color luster dust mixed with a little vodka (yes, I know you're thinking I went to a liquor store). Actually, I had the bride get me one of those little mini bottles of vodka because I told her that I would feel uncomfortable purchasing it myself. She was OK with that. Carol, at the local cake store where I get some of my supplies, showed me how you can intensify the color of the luster dusts by adding a clear alcohol, such as vodka. You use alcohol because it dries quickly. Anyway, after combining the luster dust with the vodka, I sprayed the fondant ribbon and bows with my airbrush. It gave it the pretty shiny finish I wanted. I had to add lots more sugar and a little meringue powder to the fondant dough to make the bows stiff enough. I think next time I make the bows I would maybe use gum paste instead of fondant, but the ribbon was OK. To make the blush color of the fondant that I covered the cake with, I added several drops of flesh airbrush color to the melted marshmallow mixture before adding the powdered sugar.

The bride furnished the round silver pieces that we used in the center of the bows. I still haven't gotten used to the idea of a finished wedding cake not having anything on top, but it was the look the bride wanted.

Here is the new fondant recipe I used from Janelle's blog. Just make sure you add enough sugar, make it the night before so it can firm up, and that you use plenty of cornstarch when rolling it out.

Marshmallow Fondant

1 bag mini marshmallows (16 oz.)
2 TBS water
2 tsp. corn syrup
5 to 5 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup shortening

Combine marshmallows and water in a glass bowl. Microwave for about 40 seconds at a time stirring in between until it becomes a soupy mixture. Stir in corn syrup. Mix in about a cup of powdered sugar. Pour mixture on work surface covered with about 3 cups powdered sugar and knead like bread dough. Coat hands with shortening frequently. Gradually add more powdered sugar as needed until the fondant is smooth and doesn't spread much when you let it sit for a few seconds. Careful not to add too much sugar or the fondant will be crumbly and hard. It's better to make it too soft. Wrap well with plastic wrap and let the fondant firm up overnight before using. If the fondant is stiff the next day, microwave it a few seconds to warm it up and make it more pliable.

Chocolate Fondant

1 bag mini marshmallows (16 oz.)
2 TBS water
2 tsp. corn syrup
4 to 5 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup shortening
a little less than 1/4 cup cocoa powder

After melting your marshmallows and water, stir in corn syrup and cocoa powder. To achieve a rich brown color, use Dutch Process cocoa. Hershey's makes some called Special Dark. Using regular cocoa will make a soft brown color. Knead mixture into powdered sugar. You'll need less sugar since the cocoa powder absorbs moisture so careful how much you add. Better to make it too soft since you can add more sugar the next day if needed. Wrap well with plastic wrap and let rest overnight.
*Do not add melted chocolate to the fondant. It will seize up and become a crumbled mess.

Marshmallow Fondant

The last several wedding cakes I have done have been iced with fondant. I used to shy away from using fondant at all costs until I found a recipe on the Internet for marshmallow fondant. It is basically melted marshmallows and powdered sugar. I will leave the exact recipe later on this post. I love the way my cakes look when I use the marshmallow fondant. I used to smooth my buttercream icing to resemble fondant, since I wouldn't work with traditional fondant because I thought it tasted nasty and was very difficult to work with. I must say I did a pretty good job of smoothing it, but you could always tell that it didn't have that very smooth porcelain finish that fondant cakes do. Not only does the marshmallow fondant taste better, but it is more pliable and easier to work with, and it costs less than the traditional fondant. There is a lot of work involved in decorating a cake with fondant, and it still always takes me longer than I anticipate; therefore, the cost is higher, but is usually well worth the money. When a cake is iced in marshmallow fondant, you must first ice the cake in a layer of buttercream. This not only gives the fondant something to adhere to, but it makes that smooth finish on top. An added benefit is that if your guests still don't like the taste of the fondant, they can peel it off, and still have the buttercream underneath. Below is a picture of the cake that I did yesterday for Melissa Atkinson's wedding reception. The design and decorations were simple, but I thought the colors were striking, making for a beautiful finished product. The cake flavors were fudge marble with chocolate mousse, chocolate with chocolate mousse, and yellow with raspberry mousse.

Recipe for Mashmallow Fondant:

(1) 16 oz. package Kraft miniature marshmallows (it is best to use a quality brand)

3 Tablespoons water

Flavoring

2 lb. C&H powdered sugar ( I always use C&H)

Crisco

Cornstarch

In a large bowl, melt the marshmallows with the water in the microwave, stirring after each 30 seconds. This should take approx. 2 minutes total. Stir until completely smooth. Add whatever flavor you want to compliment your cake. I most often just use my butter vanilla flavoring. Also, at this point you can add coloring or chocolate, if desired. The mixture will be pretty runny. Add about 3/4 of the sugar and mix with a large spoon until incorporated; then add the remainder of the sugar and stir and knead with the spoon until you can't anymore. (If your sugar is lumpy, you will need to sift it before adding it to the marshmallow mixture.) Pour mixture onto a clean work surface greased generously with Crisco. Also, make sure your hands are greased well to prevent the fondant from sticking to them. Knead the fondant dough until all sugar is incorporated, and the dough is smooth and elastic. This usually takes about 5-7 minutes. Use more Crisco as needed. When finished, store in airtight container or Ziplock bag until ready to roll out.

When you are ready to roll out the fondant, smooth out a generous amount of cornstarch onto your surface and your rolling pin. I use a piece of clear vinyl sheeting that I purchased from the fabric dept. and Wilton's large white fondant rolling pin. Even though I don't always use Wilton products, I find that this rolling pin works the best. Roll out about 1/8 inch thick, a little larger than your desired size. Roll back onto the rolling pin and then, starting at one edge of your cake, carefully unroll the fondant onto the cake, just as you would if you were putting pie crust on top of a pie. Do not fold the fondant. Make sure your cake is completely cool and covered with a generous layer of buttercream frosting prior to putting the fondant on the cake. Now, shape and smooth the fondant onto the cake with your hands. Dust any excess cornstarch off of the cake with a finely bristled brush. Once you are satisfied with your results, cut the excess fondant away from the bottom with a sharp knife or pizza cutter.