This
has been the month of cakes! A friend from my husband's work asked me
if I would do a cake for her daughter's baby shower. She sent over a
picture of what she wanted and I thought it was such a clever design
that it made me laugh out loud when I first saw it. Truth be told, I've never worked with fondant before,
so I thought I had better do a trial run to get then hang of it. In
celebration of our upcoming family trip to Disney World (truly the
happiest place on earth!) I decided to make a Mickey Mouse cake, which
conveniently had the same basic shape as the baby shower cake. I
definitely learned a lot about fondant! It tears and does not want to patch back together
very easily. I thought it would be moldable like pie dough or clay, but
not so! That's why Mickey has a patch on his ear. Also, the food
coloring did an awesome job of dyeing not only the fondant, but my
hands...for about an entire week. Mickey's face is a little dirty
looking because I managed to somehow mix in a little black with the
white fondant. Anyway, the cake was delicious and we all walked around
with black mouths for the rest of the evening.
The
baby shower was the same day as my son's first birthday, so I actually
made his cake a couple of days in advance just to give myself one more
practice with the fondant before making the baby shower cake. In keeping
with the time of year, I made him a pumpkin jack-o-lantern cake. He most definitely enjoyed it.
Here's the fondant recipe that I used. It was REALLY fun and not nearly as intimidating as it seems! You've got to give it a try! I got it from http://candy.about.com/od/fondantcandyrecipes/r/mm_fondant.htm. I changed the process a little bit and it worked for me. What's written below is how I did it, based off some suggestions of others who tried this same recipe.
Marshmallow Fondant Recipe
Ingredients:
- 8 ounces miniature marshmallows (4 cups not packed, or half of a 16-ounce bag)
- 1 pound powdered sugar (4 cups), plus extra for dusting
- 2 tbsp water
- Food coloring or flavored extracts, optional
Preparation:
1.
Smear your counter with a generous amount of Crisco, then dump almost all of your powdered sugar on top. Place
the marshmallows and the water in a large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave
on high for 1 minute, until the marshmallows are puffy and expanded.
2. Stir the marshmallows with a rubber spatula until they are melted and smooth. If some unmelted marshmallow pieces remain, return to the microwave for 30-45 seconds, until the marshmallow mixture is entirely smooth and free of lumps. If you want colored or flavored fondant, you can add several drops of food coloring or extracts at this point and stir until incorporated. If you want to create multiple colors or flavors from one batch of fondant, do not add the colors or flavors now.
3. Allow the marshmallows to cool briefly then poor them out onto your powdered sugar.
4. Completely cover your hands with Crisco then begin mixing the marshmallows and powdered sugar together. Scoop some of your powdered sugar on top of the marshmallows and push it down into the marshmallows with your fist. Keep doing this until your sugar is mixed in. Cover your hands with more Crisco if needed,
5. Begin kneading the fondant until it smoothes out and loses its stickiness. Add more sugar if necessary, but stop adding sugar once it is smooth--too much sugar will make it stiff and difficult to work with. You can sprinkle on a little water if it gets too stiff. Once the fondant is a smooth ball, it is ready to be used. You can now roll it out, shape it, or wrap it in cling wrap to use later. Well-wrapped fondant can be stored in a cool room or in the refrigerator, and needs to be kneaded until supple before later use.
6. If you want to add coloring or flavoring to your fondant, flatten it into a round disc. You might want to wear gloves to avoid getting food coloring on your hands during this step. Add your desired amount of coloring or flavoring to the center of the disc, and fold the disc over on itself so that the color or flavor is enclosed in the center of the fondant ball.
7. Begin to knead the ball of fondant just like you did before. As you work it, you will begin to see streaks of color coming through from the center. Continue to knead until the streaks are gone and the fondant is a uniform color. Your fondant is now ready to be used or stored as outlined above.
2. Stir the marshmallows with a rubber spatula until they are melted and smooth. If some unmelted marshmallow pieces remain, return to the microwave for 30-45 seconds, until the marshmallow mixture is entirely smooth and free of lumps. If you want colored or flavored fondant, you can add several drops of food coloring or extracts at this point and stir until incorporated. If you want to create multiple colors or flavors from one batch of fondant, do not add the colors or flavors now.
3. Allow the marshmallows to cool briefly then poor them out onto your powdered sugar.
4. Completely cover your hands with Crisco then begin mixing the marshmallows and powdered sugar together. Scoop some of your powdered sugar on top of the marshmallows and push it down into the marshmallows with your fist. Keep doing this until your sugar is mixed in. Cover your hands with more Crisco if needed,
5. Begin kneading the fondant until it smoothes out and loses its stickiness. Add more sugar if necessary, but stop adding sugar once it is smooth--too much sugar will make it stiff and difficult to work with. You can sprinkle on a little water if it gets too stiff. Once the fondant is a smooth ball, it is ready to be used. You can now roll it out, shape it, or wrap it in cling wrap to use later. Well-wrapped fondant can be stored in a cool room or in the refrigerator, and needs to be kneaded until supple before later use.
6. If you want to add coloring or flavoring to your fondant, flatten it into a round disc. You might want to wear gloves to avoid getting food coloring on your hands during this step. Add your desired amount of coloring or flavoring to the center of the disc, and fold the disc over on itself so that the color or flavor is enclosed in the center of the fondant ball.
7. Begin to knead the ball of fondant just like you did before. As you work it, you will begin to see streaks of color coming through from the center. Continue to knead until the streaks are gone and the fondant is a uniform color. Your fondant is now ready to be used or stored as outlined above.
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