Let me just say that I wish I had the camera ready last night. Here's the scene: I'm in the kitchen at 11pm - just ran out of fondant and need a little more for an order that had to ship today. Not a big deal - I'll just whip some more up. Britt, the best helper ever... is approaching her bored/too tired to help stage, Erik is wiped from working his midnight tour - and I'm longing for a Friendly's sundae. Britt's helping make the fondant - and as I'm mixing in the confectioner's sugar, some insane subconscious thought runs through my mind and makes me use BOTH hands to grab the fondant out of the bowl and knead it. Well, that IS what you are supposed to do. EXCEPT... I forgot to put Crisco on my hands. So envision sticking both hands up to your wrists into 2 containers of Fluff.... now try to clean them off with no clean hands available. Thankfully, Britt helped free me up - and then was more than happy to escape to her room before I found something else for her to do that she clearly didn't want to do!!
Once I had the fondant all blended/kneaded, it was smooth sailing. Next time, when I have to make an entire batch of one color (like tomorrow when I make pink for a ladybug party order), I'm tinting the water and coloring the fondant BEFORE the sugar is mixed in.
Last night's project was monkey cupcake toppers for my friend Jessica.... they were being shipped south, so they were just the toppers. No cupcakes. Tonight I'll be making 100+ little lady bugs to prep for the party order this weekend. I love working with fondant - especially when Britt is home to help because her artistic ability to mold fascinating things is a HUGE help! (Read... she'll be making the lady bugs....).
Oh - this fondant is also perfect for rolling out and laying on cakes. It's soft and fluffy - and tastes delicious. Actually, I'm hoping to find time to make a special surprise for Natalie, my son's girlfriend -- who just came back from a Semester at Sea. Here's a rolled fondant cake I made my mom for Mother's Day. It looked much smoother in person than it does in the picture... promise!
- 1 (16 ounce) package miniature marshmallows (I can only find 10.5oz, so I use a bag and a half for each batch)
- 4 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (use clear if you want white fondant)
- 2 pounds confectioners' sugar, divided (7 cups in the mix, 1 cup reserved for kneading)
Directions:
I don't have many fondant pictures, but will take more this weekend of the ladybug cupcake order.... until then....- Place the marshmallows in a large microwave-safe bowl, and microwave on High for 30 seconds to 1 minute to start melting the marshmallows. Carefully stir the water and vanilla extract into the hot marshmallows, and stir until the mixture is smooth. Slowly beat in the confectioners' sugar, a cup at a time, until you have a sticky dough. Reserve 1 cup of powdered sugar for kneading. The dough will be very stiff and VERY STICKY!!!
- Rub your hands thoroughly with Crisco (some people like a butter flavor and rub their hands with butter instead), and begin kneading the sticky dough. As you knead, the dough will become workable and pliable. Turn the dough out onto a working surface dusted with confectioners' sugar and continue kneading until the fondant is smooth and no longer sticky to the touch, 5 to 10 minutes.
- Form the fondant into a ball, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight. To use, allow the fondant to come to room temperature, and roll it out onto a flat surface dusted with confectioners' sugar. (**Note: Sometimes, like last night, I don't have time to let it sit overnight -- and haven't had a problem with using it right away)
Some Yo Gabba Gabba cupcakes:
And this is Britt (modeling some flower cupcakes she made on Mother's Day)...
You're right I typically hate fondant, but love marshmallow I will certainly be trying this recipe. Thanks for posting it.
ReplyDeleteI made MMF once and it was a mess, but I've heard that you can make it in a kitchen aid mixer. I'm thinking of trying that next time. I've been purchasing store bought fondant all of the time and it just tastes yucky. No where near as good as MMF. By the way, did you use a template to make the monkeys?
ReplyDeleteAmber, I mix it in my kitchen aid sometimes but you really have to get your hands greased and knead it at the end. It's not too messy if you keep your hands greased and your counter sugared.
ReplyDeleteFor the monkey, I printed an image the size I needed on card stock, then cut out templates for each color. I simply placed them on the fondant and cut with an xacto knife.
Great to know. I may try the MMF again soon. Do you find that it works just as good as the wilton fondant?
ReplyDeleteAmber - I like it much better than the Wilton - because it's not stiff to begin with - and MUCH easier to roll out and work with. Being that it's marshmallow, you may find that it gets sticky at times - so always have confectioner's sugar on hand to tackle that. If it's difficult to knead/roll because it's stiff, just put more crisco on your hands and work it in - then roll out on confectioner's sugar. I ALWAYS dust a sheet of parchment paper with confec sugar and roll out on that. It's a breeze just peeling the paper back and having your design fall right into your hand. You're always welcome to hop on over to Long Island and spend the weekend baking. I bake EVERY weekend!!
ReplyDelete