Celebrating a 100th Post with Marshmallow Fondant!

My 100th post! Can you believe it? It's already been a year since I started blogging and now I have reached the century mark. I started this blog on a whim, on a lazy day. I am an avid blog reader and seeing so much good food everyday I was itching to share what I made with someone other than my hubby and sisters. So, I googled "how to start a blog" and voila! There I was with my spanky new blog with nothing to write. I thought a lot about what to write as my first post and finally wrote whatever flew from the top of my head. A 100 posts later I am so glad I did this.



Compare my pixie looking Ben 10 with the original below. LOL!



To celebrate my 100th post I decided to tackle something completely new to me. Fondant! I have never eaten fondant in my life and from what I have heard, the stuff tastes awful. But, they say, Marshmallow Fondant is something completely different and nice. Of course it doesn't have the same properties as regular fondant, but as long as I am able to cover cakes and decorate I am happy. There are a lot (and I mean a lot!) of tutorials out there for this and I have listed some of them below. Please check out Peggy Weavers page as there is a lot of detailed info and pictures on the subject and this helped me a lot. I made a Ben 10 cake for my nephew's birthday and I am happy with the results even though there were a lot of mistakes. I know the cake looks very amateurish but this was my first attempt and I was not sure what would be the end result. I just wish I had those Americolor food markers with thin tips. I ordered mine from ebay (Wilton) as we don't get them in Dubai and the tips are quite fat. I made this in my cousins kitchen and didn't have access to all my stuff so I had to improvise on a few things (the hair is colored brown with cocoa powder).
BTW I hate marshmallows. They have this weird texture and feel slimey in my mouth. But this fondant tastes nice and not sticky!

Recipe Source - Adapted from Peggy Weaver's Baking Corner

Ingredients - Makes enough to cover and decorate a 9X13 inch cake

250 Gms Mini Marshmallows (Use a good quality brand)
1 Tbsp Water
450 Gms Icing Sugar
1/2 Tsp Clear Vanilla Essence
1/2 Cup Shortening

1. Grease a large microwave-safe bowl, the bowl of the stand mixer, a spoon, and the dough hook generously with the shortening. Place the shortening in a bowl on the counter so that it is easily accessible.

2. Put the marshmallows and water in the greased microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 60 seconds. Remove and stir with the greased spoon. Microwave again for 30 seconds till all of them are fully melted.

Add the vanilla essence to the bowl. If you want only one coloured fondant you can add the food colour at this stage.

3. Keep aside about 1 cup of the icing sugar and add the rest to the bowl of the stand mixer, along with the salt. Create a well in the center. Pour the melted marshmallow into the well and turn the mixer on to the lowest setting. When the mixer sounds strained, turn the speed up one setting. Turn off the mixer once all the sugar has been incorporated. If the fondant is sticky, add the reserved sugar 1/4 cup at a time until it is no longer sticky.
4. Grease the counter and your hands with shortening. Pour out the contents of the mixer bowl and knead till the fondant becomes a smooth dough adding more sugar if needed.

Grease the outside of the fondant ball and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Place in a Ziploc bag and let it rest overnight.

To Use Fondant

When ready to use, microwave for 10 - 20 seconds to soften and divide in portions as desired. Colour as needed and keep the unused fondant covered in plastic wrap. 

Generously sprinkle cornflour on counter and roll out dough to 1/8th of an inch. Make cut outs or cover cake fully, just have fun with it!

Useful links

Bake at 350

Annie's Eats

Happy Eating!