Homemade Marshmallows Fondant
October 23, 2016
A few friends have asked me for an introductory guide on how to make inexpensive, good-tasting fondant at home. I thought I would give it a shot. I will make it clear that I have only bought fondant at the store once. And that was my very first fondant attempt back in 2012. My nephew who loves anything sweet took a bite of it and spitted out, "Ewww, it's gross!" I never went back to those fondant. EVER! I'd hear about good, excellent quality fondant online, but it also comes with a high price tag. Maybe one of these days I can justify the need to try it, but for right now, I am content with my fondant recipe that I have perfected over the years.
First, let's be honest, fondant is not the best stuff on a cake. No one orders a cake because they cannot wait to try those fondant figurines. However, the creations that can be made using fondant is limitless, which is one of the reasons why I became addicted to cake decorating. There are so much you can do with fondant decorations--more than what buttercream can ever offer (in my opinion). I find that fondant works best for me to achieve the look that I want for most of my cakes. Of course, it is very time-consuming, but to me worth every minute once I see that beautiful end product.
I have tried a few homemade methods, and found that homemade marshmallows fondant is the easiest and most inexpensive way to go. With some tricks, you can make fondant taste a little "less yucky" or to my kids, "a lot more," because they are now drooling over the fondant decorations on my cakes every time.
And with a living proof, one of my friends' constructive feedback on a recent cake I made for her was, "I hated fondant, but yours tastes amazing!"
Here are the steps of making marshmallow fondant at home:
Some special notes:
- Store fondant at room temperature, in a cool and dry place. I use my homemade fondant up within 1-2 months. I have never tried to store my fondant in the refrigerator.
- Make fondant figurines, flowers, and banners at least 2-3 days before using them on cakes or cupcakes. This allows the fondant to dry and stay in shape.
- Use a stand mixer for a single-color batch of fondant (rest your hands when you are able).
- Substitute vanilla extract with any flavorings you like to spice things up a bit. I have used pandan extract for my fondant and I really liked it.
- Use a small amount of corn starch to dust the counter before sculpting fondant. I try to minimize the use of powder sugar so my fondant is not overwhelmingly sweet.
- Soften fondant before use by microwaving it at an interval of 5-10 seconds to bring it back to the "knead-able" stage again. BURN CAUTION! Be careful when touching fondant at this stage as it can be very hot.
Homemade Marshmallows Fondant
Make: about 1.5 lb
Total time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
1 lb bag of mini white marshmallows (any brand)
7-8 cups of powder sugar, more for dusting
1 tablespoon of hot water
2 teaspoons of salt
2 teaspoons of lemon juice
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Vegetable shortening
1/4 cup of salted butter (optional)
Food coloring (optional)
Instructions
Total time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
1 lb bag of mini white marshmallows (any brand)
7-8 cups of powder sugar, more for dusting
1 tablespoon of hot water
2 teaspoons of salt
2 teaspoons of lemon juice
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Vegetable shortening
1/4 cup of salted butter (optional)
Food coloring (optional)
Instructions
- Grease a medium bowl with extensive vegetable shortening to prevent sticking. Melt marshmallows, butter, hot water, salt and lemon juice in the microwave for 60-90 seconds (at a 30-second interval).
- Remove and stir thoroughly using a rubber spatula greased with vegetable shortening. Add vanilla extract. Add food coloring if desired. Noted, it is best to add color if you are making a single color fondant such as pink to cover the entire cake. Continue to stir the mixture until completely combined.
- Add 1 cup of powder sugar at a time to the marshmallow mixture. Continue to mix with the spatula until a soft dough-like forms. This step can also be done using a stand mixer.
- Dust the counter top and your hands with powder sugar. Remove the soft dough from the bowl and start kneading it on the counter. Continue to knead until fondant is firm and smooth, and no longer sticky. More powder sugar can be added to make the fondant firmer, if needed.
- Wrap the fondant in saran wrap and store in a zip lock. It is important to rest the freshly made fondant overnight before using as at this stage it would be too soft to sculpt.
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