Weddingbee Blog

Many people have a love/hate relationship with fondant - they love how it looks:

Oooh, pretty

… but hate how it tastes.

Blech

I’ve had some pretty good tasting fondant, but I agree that the worst of the worst can be absolutely horrible. That is until I heard of marshmallow fondant - looks like fondant, tastes like Peeps! While my cake person works exclusively with buttercream, I was nonetheless really curious about this marshmallow concoction, so this past weekend, I whipped up a batch.

Hamster’s Haphazard Fondant Follies

1. You will need the following:

• Marshmallows
• Powdered Sugar
• Shortening
• Water

Plastic/silicon mat or clean counter top

2. Put a whole bunch of mini marshmallows (I put in one 10oz bag) and some water (I started with two tablespoons) into a microwave-safe bowl like so:

and microwave until gooey - three 30-second intervals worked for me, give or take a few seconds.

3. Dump a bucket load (I started with half of a 1-pound box) of powdered sugar into the bowl.

4. Now take that tub of Crisco and don’t be shy - get your hands and kneading surface all greezy. Then, dump the mallow/sugar mix onto your kneading surface and get to it! (I didn’t get a picture of this step - my hands were just too oily).

Oh my, this stuff is sticky. And, it looked like a powdered sugar factory exploded in my kitchen. But keep at it, your persistence will pay off. Slowly add the rest of the powdered sugar into the mix, and constantly re-grease your counter and hands. If the fondant feels dry, add a little water, one tablespoon at a time. I found that a 1lb powdered sugar to 10-oz bag of marshmallows ratio worked well for me, but you’ll have to experiment!

Eventually, your ball of sugar+sugar will start to look all fondant-y, like so:

At which point you can grease that baby up with more shortening, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and store in the fridge.

The fondant resting next to some chocolate ganache.

It should keep for up to a few weeks. When you want to use it, just pop it in the microwave for a few seconds, and re-knead. You can add food coloring if you wish. Voila! Fondant without the “bleh” taste.

In the end, making marshmallow fondant caused a huge mess in the kitchen and took a lot longer than I thought it would. However, if you really dislike the taste of traditional fondant, it’s worth asking your cake baker about it (or making it, you admirable DIY cake Bees!!). As you can see, it looks and works just like traditional fondant.

My first attempt at making a fondant cake - please don’t judge too harshly!

Above is a fuzzy camera-phone pic of the cake I made for my nephew’s first birthday, as well as a smaller “smashing cake” for him to go crazy.

Will your cake be covered with fondant, buttercream or another delectable option?