Marshmallow Fondant Recipe & Cake Decorating Tips

You may not have heard of "fondant", especially if you are the kind of person who tries to stay away from baking a lot of homemade cakes. However, you have most likely seen fondant if you have gone through a checkout line and glanced over the latest wedding style magazines! The smooth, modern, elegant cakes of today are usually covered with and decorated in fondant.

Although it looks expensive and difficult, using fondant can actually be a time saver as well as an easy, fun way to decorate your own cakes for birthdays or other special occasions. But don't spend a ton of money buying the boxes of prepackaged fondant from your local craft store…not only is it pricey, but it also tastes awful! You can make a simple, inexpensive fondant at home using only three ingredients:

16 oz. mini marshmallows
2 TBSP water
2 lbs powdered sugar

First, sprinkle the water over the marshmallows and microwave them to melt, as if you were making crispy cereal bars. Now you must knead the sugar into the melted marshmallows. Its easiest if you have a heavy duty stand mixer with a dough hook, but it can be done by hand as well. Do not use all the sugar unless you have to. The proper consistency will be about like PlayDoh. If you want to color the entire batch with one color, you can add some paste/gel food color in as you knead. You can also add vanilla or almond extracts or any other flavor you choose during the kneading process. After you have it well kneaded, you will want to wrap it tightly and let it rest for 15-30 minutes.

While working with the marshmallow fondant, have a bit of Crisco or some spray oil handy to keep the work surface, rolling pin, and your hands lightly greased. This will help keep the fondant from sticking and also helps the surface of the fondant maintain a glossy shine. If you find your fondant is still too sticky, knead in a bit more sugar.

To cover a cake, simply roll out a circle of fondant about ¼" thick and wide enough to cover the top and sides of your cake. Make sure the cake itself has a thin, smooth layer of glaze or icing, and then gently lay the fondant over the cake. Carefully smooth the fondant down the sides, pulling the bottom edge out as you go to avoid wrinkles in the fondant. Then, simply trim away the bottom with a knife.

Fondant is very versatile in making decorations, even if the cake itself is not covered in fondant. A great way for kids to have fun is to get the miniature cookie cutters at your local craft store and cut out colored fondant shapes to decorate the cake with. Stars, dots, or hearts make quick, creative cake decorations. You can roll out long, thin "snakes" and twist them together for a rope or braided border. Or, cut strips of fondant and wrap them around a square cake for an edible "gift". If you liked playing with clay as a kid, you can even put that practice to good use by making cute little fondant figures for the top of your cake! Fondant also is great for "draping" and is very effective for a "baby blanket" for a baby shower or a "dress" on a doll cake. To stick fondant decorations to a fondant covered cake, simply use a new paintbrush with a bit of clear vanilla extract as "glue".

There are stores online with a wealth of fondant information and tools. A simple search using any of the keywords in this paragraph will bring up loads of information and cake supply shops, such as Sugarcraft. You can find press sets that let you make fondant beads (which, dusted with a special pearl cake dust look exactly like real pearls!), lace borders, or even edible doilies for the top of your cake! There are also molds for just about any theme imaginable…just press fondant in, remove, and place on your cake! If you are really adventurous, there are tools that enable you to cut out flower petals and create realistic looking floral arrangements. When it comes to fondant, the only limits are your imagination!

The best part about homemade marshmallow fondant is that it is cheap, easy to work with, and fun for the whole family to play with (and eat!). Go ahead…mix up a batch and see how addicting it can be to create a "gourmet" cake!