Marshmallow Fondant - add pizzazz to your cakes and cupcakes with Marshmallow Fondant – a tasty marshmallow-powdered sugar concoction that you can mold and cut into awesome or spooky decorations.
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I am not a big fan of fondant. It can look awesome and beautiful but I equate it to eating plastic. Yuck! I often hear people ask if it is edible, and have even heard someone ask if it was plastic. For these reasons, I’ve always steered clear of fondant.
I recently started dabbling in the art of fondant, or rather Marshmallow Fondant. I love the fondant cutouts on Georgetown Cupcakes and wanted to create them on my own cupcakes. The word on the street {Internet} is that Marshmallow Fondant is easier to make, easier to work with, and tastes better than traditional fondant. I was sold.
When I originally came across this Marshmallow Fondant recipe on LilaLoa, I was intimidated. It didn’t sound easy at all. Plus if you have ever worked with marshmallows before you know how incredibly sticky they are. I decided to dive in anyways. I wanted Marshmallow Fondant!
As it turns out, there is no reason to be intimidated by Marshmallow Fondant. You will be able to make it yourself, I promise. If you grease up your bowls and hands with vegetable shortening, you will not have problems with stickiness.
Marshmallow Fondant is perfect for adding accents to your cupcakes. You can create the daisy cutouts with the Fox Run Daisy Fondant Plunger Cutter Set. You can create the leaves with the Ateco Narrow Leaf and Curved Leaf Fondant Cutters. If you are looking for spooky Halloween/zombie decorations then check out Zombie Cupcakes. There are fondant tutorials and fondant inspiration everywhere, and you can use them to create awesome cupcake decorations with this recipe. Plus, I've been told it tastes good too!
Marshmallow Fondant Tips:
- ALWAYS store marshmallow fondant in a greased, airtight container. Do NOT store fondant in the refrigerator.
- Marshmallow fondant will store for a couple of months in a greased, airtight container.
- You may need to add a little more or a little less powdered sugar. You don't want it to stick to your finger if you lightly poke it, however, if you stick your finger through the marshmallow fondant it should be sticky.
- If marshmallow fondant gets dry/stiff - microwave for 5-8 second increments until it is pliable. Be careful, it will get HOT. Microwaving will dry out the fondant more, so use this "trick" sparingly.
- If coloring your marshmallow fondant - knead in "added color" after the fondant has sat for a couple of hours.
You can totally make this! What are you going to make with your Marshmallow Fondant?
Marshmallow Fondant
Ingredients
- 16 oz bag mini marshmallows
- 2 tablespoons water
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons corn syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 lbs powdered sugar
- vegetable shortening for greasing bowls/hands
Instructions
- Grease microwave safe bowl and electric stand mixing bowl with vegetable shortening. Set aside.
- In greased microwave safe bowl, microwave mini marshmallows and water for 90 seconds and then stir. Microwave for another 30 seconds until marshmallows are a soupy consistency. Be careful not to burn marshmallows.
- Using an electric stand mixer, pour melted marshmallows into greased mixing bowl. Add salt, lemon juice, corn syrup, and vanilla extract. Using dough hook, mix until incorporated.
- Slowly add powdered sugar a cup at a time until all powdered sugar is added. Mix just until it is thick enough to hold its shape. It should be similar consistency to soft-serve ice cream.
- Pour marshmallow fondant onto a vegetable shortening greased counter-top. Grease hands and knead marshmallow fondant for a minute.
- Place marshmallow fondant in a greased, airtight container and allow to sit for a couple hours, or overnight before using.
Kenzi says
Have you ever tried drying marshmallow fondant roses in the oven with the light on? I’ve read where a lot of people have done it but it makes me nervous...
Sarah says
Hi Kenzi! No, I've never heard of that or tried it. Fondant is meant to be edible, and IMO it doesn't sound like it would be after putting it in the oven. It would also have to be an extremely low temperature so that it doesn't melt the MMF. I don't know specifically about fondant, but this recipe is made using marshmallows. It seems like it would do the opposite of what you would be trying to achieve. If you give it a whirl though, I'd love to hear how it turned out. Happy Baking!
Richard says
You mentioned in your post to NOT put fondant in the refrigerator. Is there a reason for this? I have been having issues with fondant getting too hard in the refrigerator. The same issue is true for fondant on cakes.
Sarah says
Hi Richard! There seems to be some controversy on this topic. The general reason is that the decorations can wilt and condensation can cause them to look very shiny and wet. The condensation can also cause bleeding of colors.
From a storing perspective, some find the MMF gets soft and mushy in the fridge while others feel it gets hard, and then there are those who say there is no problem at all. Controversy.
My recommendation to you is that if you are in the camp that it doesn't work then don't, and if you don't have problems then have at it. I hope that helps :/
Amamda says
I made my MMF ahead of time so I could figure out hardening times. I pulled just a little out and put the rest in an airtight container. I left out a "makeshift shoe, lipstick, and flat circle" for about 15 hours and they have not hardened yet. I'm worried that the shoe will slump and loose it's shape. Is there anythinfi can do to make it harden?
Sarah says
Amamda - they aren't going to be completely hard; they're still suppose to be edible. The longer you leave them out the "harder" they should get, however, if they are sitting on frosting they will start to get softer. How long it takes them to stiffen up really depends on how thick the fondant decoration is and if its really hot/humid that could also delay the stiffening process.
There isn't anything I am aware of that would make it completely hard or guarantee it stays hard. All I can suggest is to leave them out longer. My small decorations take 12-15 hours, some of the thicker ones (like the zombie hands) take 24 hrs, although they were still softer than the smaller decorations. I haven't done anything larger or thicker than that. That being said, if your shoe is larger and thicker - marshmallow fondant may not be the best option.
I apologize that that may not be super helpful. Just know its not suppose to get super hard. I hoped that somewhat answered your question. :/
Deb says
I am making leaves for cupcakes. How long in advance can I cut out the leaves with marshmallow fondant ?
Sarah says
Deb - you can cut leaves out months in advance as long as you store them in a airtight container. For best results and flavor though I'd recommend around a week. I hope that answers your question!! Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
crystal says
Thank you! That helped a lot. I'm making puppies to top cupcakes. They are drying now. 🙂
Sarah says
Glad I could help. Good luck with your puppies. That sounds cute and fun! 🙂
Crystal says
Do you leave your marshmellow fondont figures out to dry? Will they harden up if you do. I want to use these on my cupcakes, but I don't want them to droop.
Sarah says
Crystal - Marshmallow fondant decorations are great for cupcakes! Yes, I leave them out for anywhere from 12-24 hours, depending on the size and thickness of the marshmallow fondant decorations. Once they harden up I place them into a airtight container until I am ready to use them.
The moisture from your cupcake frosting will soften up your marshmallow fondant decorations over time, which is good for eating. Whether or not this will cause them to droop will depend on the marshmallow fondant decorations. What type of decorations are you making?
Just to give you an example, I let the roses, leaves, and daisies in the pics above out to dry for about 15 hours, then put them in an airtight container before I put them on cupcakes. They got soft sitting on the buttercream frosting, but did not droop. I didn't have issues with the crowns drooping, but they were eaten within 24 hours of putting them on my frosted cupcakes. The zombie hands started drooping (the fingers started to curl more) around 48 hours of sitting on the cupcakes.
I hope that helps!!