Bake Happy’s Marshmallow Fondant Recipe

(Updated)

Ahh fondant… we all have our share of woes and worries on this one.

Sometimes,  all is smooth sailing and we’re the best of friends. It’s like life is one big 1950s MGM grand musical production - nothing can ever come out wrong. Me and good ole friend fondant, we look at life through rose colored glasses. Ready to take on whatever challenging cake design that come our way. We cake buddies stick together. Like glue.

But sometimes, hell hath no fury like a fondant scorned. And just how, you might ask, can a fondant be scorned? Make it when it rains, make it when it's humid, make it when the weathers is changing like there's no tomorrow and you know what I am talking about.

Take these cupcake toppers for example, see how shiny they are? 

I made them one rainy night and almost had a meltdown because they seem to melt in an alarming speed as I race to the finish line. Okay that’s exaggeration. What happened was, it was too soft in an almost melting kind of way. They barely held their shapes especially since the design was a gravity defying one. And they were too shiny for my taste. I prefer my fondant matte.

You see, fondant that is shiny is okay as long as it’s sturdy. But shiny and melting? Now that’s another story.

Anyway, I searched high and low for a recipe that won’t fail me, a recipe that can proudly withstand the Philippine weather. And I found it. Now, not only will the toppers not melt, they can even be real sturdy enough that I no longer panic when transporting cakes.

Ahhh…  transporting cakes, another nervewracking topic which we’ll talk about in another post. But right now, I am sharing with you how I make marshmallow fondant.  

This is the recipe for fondant I always use covering cakes like the one above and making the toppers for the tutorials for this blog. 

 Bake Happy’s Marshmallow Fondant Recipe

Ingredients:
1 kilo powdered sugar

500 grams marshmallow

2 tablespoons water
2 - 4 tablespoons shortening

1 pack Gummix Fondant Improver (optional)

Corstarch

Here’s how:

(1) Grease a bowl with shortening

 (2) Add the marshmallow then add water

 (3) Microwave for 2 and a half minutes at 30 second intervals.

After the first interval, it seems nothing happened but before you panic and think that your microwave is broken, get a spatula and dig deep, you will notice the mallows getting stickier

 (4) After the second interval you can see the mallows sticking together now.

 (5) After the third interval, mix more and you can see it finally melting.

 (6) After the fourth interval, finally. It's now melted.

 (7) Grease your working area with shortening. Sift sugar

 (8) Make a well.

 (9) Dump mallows at the center

 (10) Add the Gummix on top of the fondant.

 (11) Using a scraper, let the mallows and sugar come together

 (12) When it's starting to come together, rub your hands with shortening and start kneading

 (13) Gradually add the shortening. Depending on the weather, I sometimes use just two tablespoon or as generous as all of the 1/2 cup. You can still see some cracks, continue kneading

 Depending on the weather, you can all use up the 1 kilo of sugar or sometimes less.

 (14) In the last stages of kneading, add in cornstarch to smoothen the fondant.

 (15) Lastly, grease the fondant and cover in plastic wrap then put in an airtight container.

This recipe works for me. When this is the fondant I use, I’m confident the cakes I make will make it to the destination in one piece, not one tiny topper out of place. Although, I must warn you, it’s not perfect. Here’s the 411 on Bake Happy’s Marshmallow Fondant Recipe -

What I like about it:

·       It has a chewy texture.
·       Way too yummier than regular fondant
·       It just won't melt. Pinky swear.
·       It’s strurdy.
·       Yes it’s sturdy but it will never harden like a rock (unlike gumpaste)
·        I don’t need to add tylose anymore. Well, generally speaking. But if I’m making something that’s gravity defying, I make sure to add some tylose onto my fondant.
·         Color is as bright as I want it to be. Unlike gumpaste where the color lightens as time goes by. For marshmallow fondant, the color just intensifies just the way I like it.

What I don’t like about it:

·         ·        Harder to knead than regular fondant. The muscles on my right wrist is way too developed that the one on my left (translation: right wrist, fatter than left wrist)

·         ·        It needs to be microwaved when you use it the day after. And like all food put in the microwave, the longer it's there the harder it’ll become to manage. But this one has a loophole, knead in shortening after it’s microwaved and it’ll be pliable again.

·         ·        Depending on the amount of shortening in the fondant, it might not be as pliable as regular fondant.

            ·       Depending on the weather, I just use 2 tablespoons of shortening. But if I need my fondant to be really pliable (especially when making toppers or really small details), I use up to ½ cup shortening.

More on Bake Happy’s Marshmallow Fondant Recipe

•         I microwave the marshmallows for only two minutes at 30 second intervals, this just means that the mallows are still fluffy. If you want it to be more fluid, add 30 seconds or a minute of microwave time. Just make sure not to burn the mallows.
•         The earliest you can use the fondant is the day after it’s made. It will allow the marshmallow and sugar textures to “marry”. Otherwise, you’ll have a gritty fondant
•         Resulting fondant not too white? Use white food coloring to whiten it up
•         If you ask me if the Gummix I use has a substitute, honestly, I don’t know. From what I know, the Gummix I use is made by Peotraco, a local food manufacturing company. Per the package the Gummix is made out of powdered sugar, modified starch, vanillin and gum.
•         Can you make it without the Gummix? Yes of course. Though it makes a lot of difference if you do especially in our kind of weather in the Philippines.

Got a question? Just let me know so I can answer them. Just no math questions please, okay? :)