Fondant is easy to make yourself. All you need is marshmallows and powdered sugar. And with it you can decorate anything from a birthday cake to a wedding cake.

The benefits of making it yourself: The fondant doesn’t taste like plastic and isn’t hard – like it often is with the store bought stuff. The homemade marshmallow fondant is nice and soft and tastes great! Of course, you can use it to make decorations, like flowers, to put on your cakes, and also add coloring to it to have any color you want.

Recipe:

Shopping List for 1 wedding cake with 1 to 2 layers

450g marshmallows
7 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar), sifted
3 tbs. water

You will also need a can of vegetable shortening on hand to use on your workbench, utensils, and hands so the fondant doesn’t stick to everything as you make it.

Preparation Time: approx. 30 minutes

Directions for the Fondant:

Make sure your workbench is cleared off and clean. Spread a good amount of the vegetable shortening on the workbench. Put about 4 cups of the powdered sugar in a pile right on the workbench where the shortening is.

Grease a large microwave safe bowl, and a stirring spoon or spatula with the vegetable shortening. Place the marshmallows and water in the bowl and give it a quick stir so the water coats all the marshmallows. On high heat, place the marshmallows in the microwave for 30 seconds. Take out and stir, then repeat the process for a total of 2 minutes and 30 seconds in the microwave, until the marshmallows are formless.

Do you want all your fondant to be one color other than white? Add food coloring (if it’s coloring gel, add with a toothpick) to the melted marshmallows and whisk until the color is spread throughout the marshmallow. (Don’t forget to cover the whisk with the shortening first) If you want only some of the fondant a different color, or multiple colors, add the coloring later – have a look at the decoration tips at the end of the recipe.

Cover your hands really well with shortening, then pour the marshmallow over the powdered sugar on your workbench and begin to knead the marshmallow and sugar together. (Work quickly initially because the marshmallow will be hot on your hands until it’s a bit more combined with the sugar) Continue to knead, adding powdered sugar until it’s no longer sticky. (It may still be a tiny bit sticky, that’s ok)

Don’t be discouraged: at the beginning it’s normal that it’s a messy, sticky task! As you add more powdered sugar it will become less sticky.

When you find the fondant is pretty much no longer sticky and is nice and smooth, stop and check if it’s the right consistency. To check, simply hold the fondant in both hand and pull apart. If, when your hands reach about shoulder width apart, it breaks apart it’s the right consistency. If it continues to stretch, add some more powdered sugar. If it breaks apart as soon as you start pulling, add a bit more water.

Now, just roll the fondant out to the thickness you want and cover your cake with it! Or color your fondant to make decorations to put on a cake. If you aren’t going to use the fondant the same day, knead it to a ball, cover with a thin layer of shortening and wrap 2 layers of saran wrap around it and place it in the fridge until you are going to use it.

Attention: when using the food coloring, your fondant will not stay good in the fridge as long as if you don’t use food coloring. A few days in the fridge will be no problem.

Decoration Tip: If you want different colors or just some of it a different color, separate the fondant and with a toothpick add the color. Knead until the color is worked through all the fondant, and add more coloring until you have the color you want. The more food coloring you add the more intense and darker the color will be.

Have fun!