Fondant allows you to bring any holiday cake design to life. Covering the entire cake smoothly, modeling figurines, crafting sugar flowers - nothing is impossible for fondant! Children and fans of original designs will especially appreciate this kind of decoration. A cake shaped like a glamorous handbag, a fish, a piece of bacon with onions for the strong half of humanity, or a rainbow unicorn - do not limit your imagination.
Cake Fondant: Making It at Home
Making fondant at home is very simple - you will need marshmallows, a little lemon juice, and icing sugar. Choose solid-colored marshmallow candies; making fondant from multi-colored ones is highly discouraged. White sweets are best; they can be colored in any shade. Alternatively, you can immediately choose candies of the required shade - pink, yellow, or green. Then you won't have to color your sweet modeling clay at all.
How to make cake fondant from marshmallows
We offer you a basic recipe that even a beginner can handle.
- 100 g marshmallows;
- a tablespoon of lemon juice;
- 1-2 cups of icing sugar.
First, heat the marshmallows with lemon juice in the microwave or in a water bath. The sweets should significantly increase in volume. Now is the perfect time to give your future fondant the desired shade. Add food coloring to the melted candies and thoroughly mix the mass until the color is uniform.
Even if you use extra-fine icing sugar, we still recommend sifting it. Now slowly add it in small portions to the colored mass and mix thoroughly with a spoon. When this becomes difficult, put the paste on a table dusted with icing sugar and knead it like dough. When the paste stops sticking, wrap it tightly in cling film (contact wrap) and put it in the refrigerator for half an hour.
Marshmallow fondant is suitable for covering cakes, as well as for modeling all kinds of figurines and decorations. You could say that this option is universal. Many call it the recipe for the most delicious fondant among homemade versatile pastry pastes. And such fondant looks just as good as store-bought, which is perfectly visible in the photo. Besides the basic one, there are other marshmallow cake fondant recipes. If this one doesn't suit your taste, try making chocolate fondant (chocomastic) - you will definitely like it!
How to melt marshmallows in the microwave
If you have never done this, then such a question is quite appropriate. Put them in a microwave-safe bowl, drizzle with lemon juice, and cover with a lid. Place in the microwave for 15 seconds. The lower the power, the longer the candies must stay inside. When they significantly increase in size and become soft, it's time to take them out. Marshmallow-based fondant is made easily, quickly, and without unnecessary hassle. But what if there are no marshmallows on hand? No problem - take regular zephyr (apple marshmallow). The recipe will be practically the same, and you'll get a wonderful rolled fondant for covering cakes. If you find it a bit difficult to work with while modeling figurines, simply add a little gelatin.
How to make cake fondant from zephyr
You will need:
- 200 g plain white zephyr;
- 300 g fine icing sugar;
- a spoonful of lemon juice or water;
- a piece of butter;
- a little gelatin for figurines.
If you have the opportunity to touch the zephyr, choose the softest one. Divide the zephyr into halves. The subsequent algorithm is already familiar to you: put the zephyr with juice in the microwave for a minute. Carefully sift the icing sugar into a bowl, add the melted zephyr and a piece of soft butter. If you need regular zephyr fondant for figurines, also add a teaspoon of bloomed gelatin. Now thoroughly knead the mass, pack it in cling film, and send it to the refrigerator. Preferably overnight.
Hacks: How to Avoid Mistakes and More
Mistake 1: The fondant has the wrong consistency
Tight, rubbery, refuses to mix.
- Reason 1: The zephyr stayed in the microwave too long. If you overheat the marshmallows, trouble will follow. Remember, the less zephyr you have, the faster it reaches the desired consistency. To be safe, start with 10 seconds in the microwave, and repeat the ritual if necessary.
- Reason 2: You used old candies. Marshmallow fondant will not work out if it has been sitting in the store for too long. The same goes for regular zephyr - always choose fresh products. Pay attention to the manufacturing date on the package - the fresher, the better.
Mistake 2: The paste is too dry, rolls out poorly, cracks, tears
- Reason 1: Low quality of icing sugar. This happens if you use homemade icing sugar. It retains sugar crystals that are too large, preventing the fondant from being kneaded to a smooth consistency. It is best to order icing sugar from an online store, but make sure it is extra-fine.
- Reason 2: Replacing icing sugar with starch. To save money or reduce sweetness, you replaced icing sugar with starch. Starch absorbs moisture much stronger than sugar. You can dust the table with starch to roll out the finished fondant, but you shouldn't completely replace sugar with it.
Mistake 3: The fondant is not elastic, it is very difficult to roll out
- Reason 1: You used too much butter. Butter can affect elasticity in a bad way. It's better not to add it at all than to use a low-quality product.
- Reason 2: The paste is too cold. After the refrigerator, the fondant should rest at room temperature. Only after that can you start working with it. In particularly difficult cases, we recommend putting it in the microwave for a couple of seconds.
How long does marshmallow fondant dry
Small items dry quite quickly, about 10-15 minutes. Large figurines can dry for several days. It is recommended to model figurines in advance and dry all parts separately at room temperature. You can speed up the process with a regular hairdryer. Just under no circumstances use hot air - only the cold setting.
What to use to glue marshmallow fondant
You can glue dried parts using egg white, royal icing, or edible pastry glue. If you need to stick a flat element to the background - just slightly moisten it with water. How to make brown marshmallow fondant: It is very difficult to achieve a rich brown color. The best solution is to make chocolate fondant or paint the finished product only on top.
What else you can make from zephyr
- Marshmallow pourable fondant. A great coating for Easter breads (kulich) and pastries that does not crack. Place 200 g of chewy candies in a water bath along with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Melt over low heat to a liquid consistency, add more juice if necessary. Stir in 2⁄3 cup of icing sugar. Start applying the fondant to the baked goods immediately.
- Souffle cream. You will need only 2 ingredients - heavy cream and marshmallow candies. Whip a cup of cream to the required thickness. How to melt marshmallows for cream: pour a little cream into a bowl, put 150 g of marshmallows on top. Place in the microwave or in a water bath. Stir continuously on the water bath until completely dissolved. In the microwave, melt in short bursts and also stir. Wait until the mass cools down and carefully, in small portions, fold it into the cream, mixing gently.
- Zephyr decorations. There are far more options for zephyr decor than it seems at first glance. You can make cute toppers out of marshmallows by putting the barrels on skewers. You can lay out mosaic pictures from small multi-colored marshmallow dots. If you use a knife and imagination, you can make any figurines. Just moisten the gluing spots with water. Beautiful swans are made from large halves of regular zephyr.
How much does edible fondant cost
Do you know how much homemade fondant costs? Calculate how much zephyr, icing sugar, and food coloring cost. It turns out not to be so cheap, right? It's easier to buy ready-made rolled fondant at a price of about 60 hryvnias for 0.5 kg. It is especially profitable to buy black, red, and brown fondant. Achieving these shades on your own is extremely difficult!