How to Make Marshmallow Fondant Icing – Q&A

Peggy Weaver answers all of your most frequently asked questions about making and decorating with marshmallow fondant icing.

QUESTION:
I just read your recipe for marshmallow fondant and your instructions are so super detailed – thank you for those!  I am just wondering about this last note on the site:

Do not refrigerate your covered cake!  When you take the cake out of the refrigerator, moisture will condense and destroy your beautiful surface. Your best option is to store the cake in a sealed bakery box.  The cardboard sides of a box will keep the dust in the air off the cake, but allows the Fondant to breath.

Now, I made a cake with Wilton’s fondant and it sat in my refrigerator for about an hour or so before I took it out to transport it to it’s destination.  It sat in the fridge for about another three hours or so.  I did not have this condensation problem.  So my question – is that because I used Wilton’s fondant or because it was in the fridge very briefly?

I am afraid with the heat and humidity in Toronto, at the moment, that if I leave the cake out for 24 hours before I have to move it to its destination, that the buttercream beneath the MM fondant might melt or that the marshmallow fondant decorations might melt.  Also, if the finished cake is left out, will not the MM fondant harden to be rock solid so that cutting in to the cake will be an issue, or does it remain soft?

ANSWER:
I believe that the reason you did not have problems the Wilton’s Fondant was because the cake was in the refrigerator briefly.  ALSO, Wilton’s makes their fondant with many preservatives and chemicals that help combat user problems.  Wilton’s is a company that makes many items that are as mistake proof as they can possibly be.  They cater to the non professional bakers.  They also do everything they can do, so that the beginner decorator will be successful, come back, buy more of their products and try baking another cake.  I use many of their items and I am  very thankful for the wide variety of products, I however do not care for their fondant texture or flavor at all.

QUESTION:
I am afraid with the heat and humidity in Toronto at the moment.  If I leave the cake out for 24 hours before I have to move it to its destination, that the Buttercream beneath the MM fondant might melt or that the marshmallow fondant decorations might melt.

ANSWER:
If you are baking in excessive heat, you will probably need to use a Buttercream with a higher Crisco content.  The MM fondant decorations such as roses might go limp in excessive humidity.  They will firm up again if put in a dryer place though.

QUESTION:
Also, if the finished cake is left out, will not the MM fondant harden to be rock solid so that cutting in to the cake will be an issue, or does it remain soft?

ANSWER:
Out of curiosity, I did an experiment.  I baked a white cake, covered with buttercream and then covered with the MMF.  Then I set it on the kitchen counter, uncovered.  After 3 days, the outside of fondant was firm and slightly crusted over.  The inside of the fondant was still moist.  After 5 days, the fondant was a bit more crusted still the same inside, as the 3rd day.   I did not take it any farther, since I would never let a cake sit on the counter, uncovered, I was pleased with the results.

Since your weather is different than ours in Idaho, why do not you do a trial run as see what the results would be.  If you are planning to try the MMF on a wedding cake, I would definitely do a syrup wash between the layers.  That way your cake will stay very moist for the few days you might need to do the decorations.

QUESTION:
About the cake, one is a birthday cake, the other a bridal shower cake.  The birthday cake I made last week which I was referring to below, was a big hit looks-wise, but as you said, the fondant was largely left uneaten which was disappointing considering its cost and the effort and time it took to make it look good on the cake.

ANSWER:
Icing scooted off the cake and left on the plate.  That is the result most of the time for everyone. You are right, Wilton is expensive and I think a bit difficult to work with.

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QUESTION – Freezing Cakes with MM Fondant:
I have been reading about your MM fondant and it sounds like it is great.  Can I freeze the cakes after the fondant is on them?  Or just freeze them before with the buttercream icing on them.  The reason I ask is that I am making the wedding cake for my sons wedding and I certainly do not want to mess it up.  (Of course if I didn’t want to mess it up I should have told him NO when he asked me to make it).  It has been a few years since I have done this, but your instructions make it sound fail safe.

ANSWER:
Please do not freeze a cake that has fondant on it.  When the cake starts to come to room temperature there most likely will be condensation and this ruins the surface appearance of the fondant.  Your best option is to store the cake on your counter, in a sealed bakery box.  The cardboard sides of a box will keep the dust in the air off the cake, but allows the Fondant to breath.

Here is a trick to keeping your cake moist and delicious.  Use a wash on the inside cake layers before putting on the filling.  You can use Simple Syrup or a flavored Simple Syrup depending on your cake flavors.  An example would be a white cake with a raspberry filling.  I would use a lemon flavored syrup.  Brush it on the slit cake layer, apply the raspberry filling, put the top layer on and then do your icing.  For a 12 inch cake, I would  use about a 1/3 cup of the syrup.

Remember to have fun with your baking and send a picture of your creation.

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QUESTION – What is MM Fondant:
What is MM fondant and is there a recipe?  Thanks

ANSWER:
MM Fondant is a fondant type icing that is easily made at home.  The ingredients are few and accessible in any local grocery market.  The primary ingredients are Marshmallows and powdered sugar.  True fondant is quite difficult to make and expensive because of the time to make it and the ingredients that are needed.  Most folks purchase a premade true fondant.

A recipe and instructions can be found on What’s Cooking America web site.

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QUESTION – MM Fondant Quantity:
How much icing does your MMF recipe yield?

ANSWER:
The MM fondant makes close to 5 pounds of fondant.  I would say that this amount would cover a 2-layer 6 inch, 8 inch, and 10-inch round tier cake.

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QUESTION – Coloring Fondant:
I am a new with fondant decorating.  The first fondant cake I made, came out great.  I used white fondant and did different colors of hearts with the cut outs and decorated my 3-year old’s birthday cake.  Then for Valentines day, I tried to make 6-inch heart cakes for my kids teachers and that did not go so well.  At first I thought it was because I used cheap marshmallows.  Then I used Kraft marshmallows and added the coloring to the melted marshmallows (I used the Wiltons gel).  I got the same result – it was really soft and slimey and would not get firm.  When I put it on the cake, it would tear.  Then it dawned on me that it was the coloring.  I even added it after it was hard and kneaded it to get the color, but then it just turned into slimy yuck.

Do you have any tips you can give me to get better success in coloring my fondant?  Thanks so much for your time and help.

ANSWER:
It sounds like you had too much water in the recipe and not enough Crisco. That water can cause a slimy feel.  If you get this problem again, add more powdered sugar to correct the wetness issue and then add more Crisco to help with the stretch issue.  Do these steps one at a time – NOT at the same time.  You are trying to correct a food chemistry problem here and need to do the steps individually.

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QUESTION – Fondant Sugar:
I have some fondant sugar.  I do not know what this is used for.  I found fondant recipes and they did not ask for fondant sugar.  Do you have any recipes this is used for?

ANSWER:
Fondant Sugar is an extremely finely ground sugar (quite a bit finer than the powdered sugar you find at the grocery store).  Some of the companies also put a trace of egg white powder in the mixture.

The finer ground sugar makes your mixing much easier.  The fondant sugar mixes together better so that you have a better end product.  This type of fondant is typically used for a liquid icing that can be poured over Petit Fours.  The trace of egg white in the fondant sugar makes it a smoother flowing fondant.

Remember the better the ingredients in the icing, the better the taste and the silkier the look of the Petit Four Icing!

Dry Fondant is also used as a filling for candies.  I have not gotten into the world of candy making so I have very little knowledge about Fondant’s use in this medium.

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QUESTION – Dissolving Sugar in MM Fondant:
First of all, I just wanted to say, that I have used the MM Fondant several times now, and it always turns out wonderfully – except for one thing.   I always have little clumps of powdered sugar in my fondant that I cannot get out!  I have used the exact ingredients that your recipe states, and I have even tried sifting the powdered sugar beforehand, but still I get powdered sugar lumps.  Can you help me??  Thank you so much.

ANSWER:
Have you tried letting the fondant sit overnight before using it on the Cake or Cookies?

On your next batch try this.  Prepare as usual, then, as a last step, add a few extra drops of water and completely knead it in.  I have had to add up to a teaspoonful (but start small and add more as necessary).  Double wrap the ball in a plastic wrap and put that in a zip lock type of bag. Let the fondant sit on your counter or in the refrigerator at least overnight then knead again.

When I have a fondant project going, I usually prepare all of the fondant the weekend before I will be using it.  That way I do not feel rushed on the decorating day.  I am sure that also helps with dissolving the tiny sugar pills that might remain from my preparation.

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QUESTION – Using A Stand Mixer:
I was wondering if anyone could tell me the best type of mixer for making a batch of fondant.  I have made it by hand before and it is not-an experience I want to duplicate!  Just mixing in the coloring required splitting the batch into 6 smaller batches and kneading it back together until my hands dropped off.  What wattage would you recommend in a stand mixer?  Is there any particular brand that gets a big thumbs-up from the chefs?  I would like to assume that any machine that can handle batches of whole-wheat bread could handle fondant, but I just cannot be sure. Any information very appreciated!

ANSWER:
Lisa, the MM Fondant is different than making a full fledged fondant.  It is soft, stretchable, and in my opinion easy to work with.  It is messy though in the first stages.

But since you asked about using a mixer, I am sorry, I cannot help you because I never have used the mixer for this.  I have a Kitchen Aid mixer but I have never make the fondant in it.  I am a hands on person.  I think the Kitchen Aid could take it but I do not want to try to do the cleaning up.  One of the cooking magazines recently did a machine test and the Kitchen Aid 5-quart got a very good rating.  The 6-quart was below in the ratings.  The other brands were rated even lower.  Another thought is bubbles.  I want my fondant as smooth and bubble free as possible. The mixer might add in bubbles and ruin the texture.

Try making the MM fondant by hand once and see what you think. It’s not hard!

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COMMENT FROM A READER:
I LOVE LOVE LOVE your recipe for marshmallow fondant.  I had taken a cake decorating class at Sur La Table and learned how to make fondant “the old fashioned” way, but your recipe is much easier and does not require ingredients I cannot get at the grocery store.  Most importantly, it tastes good!

One thing I did take away from the class, making the fondant in the mixer.  I saw on your site that you prefer to make the fondant with your hands, but I found it much easier to mix the fondant using the dough hook on my Kitchen Aid Artesian Mixer.  I simply grease up the mixer bowl with Crisco to prevent sticking, and go through the recipe as you wrote it.  The fondant is done in about 8 minutes and is soft, pliable and bubble-free.

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QUESTION – Metric Conversion for MM Fondant:
The MM fondant recipe is excellent!  I am planning to make it to cover my cousins wedding cake this Saturday.  The only problem I have is with quantities.  In Canada, quantities are in kg, grams and cups. I am having a hard time with the fondant consistency because I do not really know how many MM are in the bag, and exactly how much sugar is needed (don’t have a scale…) Is it possible to have the quantities for the MM and the sugar in cups please?

ANSWER:
I can help you a bit with your problem of quantities:

A bag of Miniature Marshmallows are approximately 450 grams and a bag of Powdered Sugar is approximately 900 grams.

Try to find products in you markets that equal these proportions.

Notice that for 1 gram of marshmallows you use 2 grams of powdered sugar.

Trying to tell you how many cups to use is really a problem. If you just pack the powdered sugar in a cup it your have one weight. If it is loosely packed you would have a completely different weight. That is why I weight everything when I bake from scratch.

I know that you don’t have a scale, so try to use the 2 to 1 formula when you purchase the products. That will get you the closest to the original recipe and the best results in your end product.

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QUESTION – Sticky or Dry Fondant:
I have never decorated with fondant before and I really wanted to try.  So I just did for the first time, and I used your recipe, but it came out stiff. When I tried to put it on the cake, it cracked!!  I tried adding more water, but it did not seem to do the trick.  I was afraid of adding too much water.  Can you please tell me what I’m doing wrong?

ANSWER:
If your fondant is too, dry you will need to add a little more water.  When you see cracking in the dough, that is not a good sign so add a teaspoon of water, knead well, and add a few drops more water if you see more cracks and knead again.

If the dough is sticky, add Crisco to your hands and knead it into the dough.

The first time you make the fondant, it will take a bit longer in the time area.  Once you get the feel for it, everything will go much faster and your comfort level will go up.  Make sure that the dough is very workable before you double wrap and store it.  It will get better with sitting overnight but if it’s too dry to start with, it will not get moister.

Allow the dough to warm up to room temp if it was refrigerated before using.  I usually put it in the microwave for 10 seconds just to speed up the process and make it easier to handle.  Be careful though, anything that comes out of the microwave can burn you.  Give the dough another bit of gentle kneading.  If you sense that there is a problem, to dry or sticky, correct it first before trying to apply it to the cake.

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QUESTION – Adding Flavoring:
Thank you for a fun, extremely helpful and most pleasant website.  It is so encouraging and provides such clear and thorough guidance and direction, especially for a beginner like me.  Your methods are so practical, cost-effective and, what you say is so easy to apply to real life situations.  Wow, what a find!

My question:  To add the almond flavor extract to the regular marshmallow fondant recipe, when is it added–as a replacement to part of the first two tablespoons that get micro waved with the marshmallows, or should it not be heated that way and added when kneading and adding the last part of the sugar?  I am concerned about microwaving it.  Thank you again!

ANSWER:
I add my flavoring when the fondant is cool. I often have to add a few drops of water to the mixed fondant because it is to stiff to work with easily. That is when I add the almond extract, instead of the water. I can’t see any problem with adding the extract sooner except that excess heat often will cause the extract to fade so you get less for your money. Best of all, with the recipe, you can’t hardly do it wrong. If you add it early or late you will get close to the same results.

My confession:  I have done it both ways.  One day I decided to make a couple of batches so I would have them ready to go.  I added the extract early before heating for the first batch because I was lazy.  The second batch it was added late in the kneading because I forgot the extract and remembered it at the last minute.  So I added it, gave the MMF batch a quick knead, wrapped everything up and stored it in the refrigerator.  I did not sense any differences between the batches.

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QUESTION – Taste of Fondant:
I just ordered a fondant covered birthday cake for my daughters first birthday.  I read that different types of fondant are more edible.  Should I ask the baker when I pick up the cake whether the fondant is edible or should be removed.  Is this a legitimate question?  Thanks in advance for your reply.

ANSWER:
All fondant is edible, it is just that some have a much better taste and texture than others.  There are a few brands that I dislike and a few that are a little better in taste.  I vote for MM Fondant as the winner in flavor and texture.  I do not think that many professional bakeries use the MM Fondant though.  You will most likely get a pre-made, classic version fondant.

Please serve your slices of cake with the icing on and let the folks will deal with it themselves.  They can choose to eat everything or eat around the fondant. It is a matter of personal taste.

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QUESTION – Fondant Sticking:
I have a problem with fondant sticking to itself.  What do your do?  Is there a fondant adhesive?

ANSWER:
I find that a drop of water and holding the spot for a few moments, does the trick.  Some folks make a simple syrup and paint the pieces with a brush.  To me, simple is better.

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QUESTION – Using Whipped Cream:
My daughter and I just opened a small home bakery and fell in love with marshmallow fondant covered cakes.  My buttercream frosting includes Crisco, butter, and whipped cream.  Is the whipped cream addition okay for the fondant covered cakes since they have to kept at room temperature?

ANSWER:
Instead of using whipped cream, consider using water.  That would extend the safety of the buttercream that is sitting at room temperature.

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QUESTION – Fondant Spreading:
I am in the process of making a trial cake using the MM fondant for the first time; actually using fondant for the first time in general.  I find my MM fondant spreads.  I set it on the counter in a ball and when I came back a minute or so later, the fondant had spread out a lot.  What have I done wrong?  I used the C&H sugar & Jet Puff marshmallows.  Thanks for your help!

ANSWER:
My first thought is that the fondant is too moist.  Try adding about 1/2 cup of powdered sugar to the batch and knead in thoroughly.  The atmosphere in your neighborhood can be the reason that you need less water in the recipe than I do because I live in the high desert.

A couple of other things can cause the problem, the room is very warm or too much Crisco was used in the fondant.  If the warm room is the problem then try taking a little hunk wrapping it in plastic wrap and putting it in the refrigerator for a while.  This would help you decide if that is the problem.

If you think that you might have used too much shortening, again, try adding a little powdered sugar.

It seems like with this recipe, you have only a few things that you need to try to correct problems, either add powdered sugar or add water.  That is the blessing with the MM Fondant. It is so simple to correct and make useable again.

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QUESTION – Making Edible Flowers:
I have just stumbled upon your website…wonderful!  I am thinking about beginning the art of cake decorating from my home and have no experience with fondant or gum paste…in fact before reading your questions and answers online I thought gum paste was edible….is there another medium I would find easy to use for edible flowers that yield the same beautiful result?  Also, would it compromise the integrity and taste of the cake if the cakes were baked a day or two ahead and then refrigerated/frozen before decorating?  Looking for short cuts so that I do not have to do everything in the same day so any advice would be great.  Also, I went to the given link for your homemade fondant recipe that everyone is raving about but could not find it…is it possible to send it to me?  Thanks so much and I personally appreciate the time and effort you are putting into helping beginners like myself.

ANSWER:
Since you have multiple questions, I will answer them below.  First of all I need to say that I do not have a baking business but the best advice I can give you is that you check with your local city and county about you local laws concerning starting a business.  Some cities will close you down in a heartbeat if they find out you are preparing any type of food in your home kitchen for sale.  Please protect yourself and know what you are dealing with before you invest time and money.

(1) I have just stumbled upon your website…wonderful! I am thinking about beginning the art of cake decorating from my home and have no experience with fondant or gum paste…in fact before reading your questions and answers online I thought gum paste was edible….is there another medium I would find easy to use for edible flowers that yield the same beautiful result

Gumpaste creates the best results for flowers, and it’s also easy to work with.  The flowers are removed simply from the cake before eating.  One great thing about the gumpaste flower is that it can be created in white, months in advance, stored in a dry, room temperature, airtight box and then colored as needed.

You can also make flowers from fondant but it more difficult and fragile in my opinion.  You can, of course, make buttercream flowers.

(2) Also, would it compromise the integrity and taste of the cake if the cakes were baked a day or two ahead and then refrigerated/frozen before decorating? If you are baking only a day or 2 in advance, you would not want to freeze your cake before decorating.  You would just get the layers frozen and then you would be taking them out of the freezer to defrost.  Way to much unnecessary work and you would actually be losing moisture in the whole process.

(3) Looking for short cuts so that I don’t have to do everything in ;the same day so any advice would be great.  A great starting book that I would advise that you read from cover to cover, is “Sweet Celebrations” by Sylvia Weinstock. She started up a business and combined recipes with the professional chefs and teachers that she worked and learned from. She gives her history, recipes and many techniques for cake baking, decorating and gumpaste flower making. It’s quality info, like you find in this book, that can help you make decisions in your baking life. Also, remember that if you decide to go into the business, the purchase of a reference book is a tax write off.

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QUESTION – Coloring Fondant Icing:
I am making a three-tier wedding cake and I will be using fondant icing for some of the decorations. Two of the layers will be polka dots.  I am just going to pipe the dots, but they will be three different shades of pink!  So my questions is:  Can I use the same coloring for the fondant icing as I do the regular icing?  If so, how do I go about coloring the fondant icing?

ANSWER:
Yes, I suggest that you use a Pink Gel Food Color.  Not the liquid drops that you get from the grocery store.  If you use the Wilton Brand, use a toothpick to remove the color from the little jar.  Start with a little, mix and add more as needed.  Never re-dip the toothpick in the gel.  Tooth picks are cheap and since you are working with food, it is better to be safe than sorry.  My favorite brand is AmeriColor, to me it is easier to use and less messy.  AmeriColor Food Colorings are in a drop bottle.  I can repeat my quantities easier by measuring drops.  I think your best bet would be to use only one shade of the Pink coloring and use different intensities of that color for your various tints.

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QUESTION:
I have worked with the icing before but I have only used the pre-colored icing.  I have been reading the Q&A about fondant on this page and I noticed you talk about Wilton Fondant (which I am familiar with) and also MM Fondant?  Where can I get that?

ANSWER:
You make the MM ( Marshmallow) Fondant at home.  It is very easy to make, inexpensive and quite tasty.  Here is a link to the recipe on “What’s Cooking America” site and more fondant information:  Fondant Icing Recipe – Marshmallow Fondant – Recipe and tutorial on making & using marshmallow fondant icing.

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QUESTION:
How early in advance can I make the fondant icing?  Also in the directions, it says to coat it with Crisco and double wrap it, does that mean with saran wrap?

ANSWER:
I have made the colored fondant a week in advance with no problems.  I coated it well with Crisco, wrapped it in a generous sheet of Saran Wrap and then put that in a Ziploc Bag.  I squeeze out as much air as possible.  Store in the refrigerator for food safety.

When you want to use it, remove it from the refrigerator.  You will find the ball is very hard. Unwrap the fondant and place it on a plate and microwave it for 10 seconds.  Now be very careful, the fondant might be hot. Handle with caution.

Take the ball out and start to knead it.  You might need to put it back in the microwave a few more times.  Just make sure that you knead it well between each session in the microwave.  If you feel the fondant needs a bit more moisture, only add a few of drops at a time and then kneed it well.  My favorite technique for adding water is to break the fondant ball into 2 parts.  On one part, put a few of drops of water on it with your finger and smear it around.  Place the second part of the fondant on top of that and smash them together.  Then, knead the ball to combine.

The fondant works best if it is from room temperature up to body temperature.  It should be pliable and stretchy.

Don’t forget, you might need to put a bit of Crisco on your hands.

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QUESTION – Pourable Fondant vs Rolled Fondant:
I just discovered your website.  It is wonderful!!!  My kid sister is getting married in October and we are considering making individual cakes ourselves.  I read some Q&A on pourable fondant (which seems easier to me than rolled) but I still have questions. Although it is beautiful, I understand that most fondant is pretty much inedible.  Do you have a recipe for a porable, edible fondant?  I see your MM recipe, but how do I make it good AND pourable?

I think it is just wonderful that you are sharing your passion with others, and guiding them through their learning process!  Thank you.

ANSWER:
You have asked a good question. There are LOTS of recipes out there on the Internet for pourable fondant and they taste just fine.  It is the rollable fondant that has the bad flavor reputation.  I have never tried to make the MM Fondant in a pourable fashion but I think that heating the fondant, adding water to it, and stirring until you get the consistency that you want would work just fine.  Then pour over the cakes.

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QUESTION – Quantity:
This is the first time I ever saw this sort of recipe for MM fondant!! I am so excited to try it…This could save me lots of money and trouble! I was curious as to how much this recipe makes. I am making 100 mini cakes (2 1/2 round, 2 high), and I wonder how many batches I will need? Thank you so much!!! What a great idea this is!!!!

ANSWER:
Just to be sure, I always over make the fondant. I would rather have leftover fondant than to little. I would make at least 4 batches, at about $5 a batch it’s not 2 expensive it you have “waste”.  It stores very well for a at least 2 months if it is double wrapped and put in a Ziplock type of bag and then refrigerated.

FEEDBACK: Using a golf ball sized piece of fondant, I was able to cover approximately 44 tea cakes that were approximately cupcake size.  I used the Reynold’s wrap cupcake tins that are shaped like hearts that you fill and sit on a cookie sheet.

All I did was bake the cupcakes with a piece of parchment paper inside on the bottom of the tin.  When they were cooled, I turned them upside down, removed the parchment paper and put them on a doily, top side down so I would have a flat bottom surface.  Then I crumb coated the cupcake and rolled out the fondant.  I laid the fondant over the cupcake and molded it.  When all the cupcakes were covered I put a couple of rose buds on top and dots on the sides.  I used 4 different flavors so i coordinated the rose buds so I could tell which flavor was which.  It turned out really well.

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QUESTION – Chocolate Marshmallow Fondant Icing:
I was thinking of making a birthday cake for my party and I was wondering.  Is there a way I can make chocolate fondant icing?

ANSWER:
Following are the ingredients additions for making the Chocolate Fondant version:

Chocolate MM Fondant
MM (Marshmallow) Fondant Icing (click on the underlined for the recipe)

Add:
1 ounce melted quality chocolate
1 tablespoon cocoa powder for Chocolate Fondant

NOTE: I found that if you add the melted chocolate to the melted MM Fondant it mixes up easier. Then add the cocoa powder in when you add in the powdered sugar.

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QUESTION:
Would you please tell me which MMF recipe will this addition work with?  Also, I have an even bigger problem with icing smooth my cakes.  I have been using the Wilton Class Buttercream for the last couple of years, and I still can not get a perfectly smooth surface.  I am using it at a very thin consistency, with the icer tip and the wide large spatula dipped in hot water after every couple of strokes.  I also tried the painters plastic masker thingy and the Viva paper towels and parchment paper.

None of these things work (and on top of all the practice). What I like about this particular icing is its convenience (being a non-dairy product) and everybody enjoys the taste.  However, I am at the point of desperation!  Could you please help me?  Once again I will greatly appreciate it!

ANSWER:
Use the fondant recipe on Linda Stradley’s web page What’s Cooking America.

I am afraid that one of the tricks is “Practice, Practice, and Practice.”  I personally avoid the hot knife trick.  Once you melt the butter, you do not  get a second chance.  For an old pro, this trick is not a problem.  They do a great job on the first attempt. Y ou and I need a few more passes to get the icing where we want it to be.

I have the best results with the parchment paper technique after the icing has crusted for at least 20 minutes, if the weather is DRY.  High humidity makes icing much more difficult and there are definitely Bad Buttercream Days.

OK, I have honest and blunt questions here. Are you a perfectionist?  It is very good to want to put out a wonderfully decorated product but are you pushing yourself to a point that decorating is not fun?  Remember that you are working in a medium that will be eaten.  Most of the folks at a gathering will look at a cake, Ooh and Awe a little bit, then they want to know when you will be cutting a cake so they can get a slice or two.

Here is one trick that I have.  When you have a spot on the cake that you’re not satisfied with, put a bit of decorating on it.  That covers the area that you consider a problem up nicely.

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Readers Comments:

I just had to write you to let you know how talented I think you are. I am new to cake decorating and I am making a wedding cake for my cousin in September. As you can imagine, I’m very nervous. But after reading some of your advice….especially about “no one makes a perfect cake”….I am feeling a little more confident.  I always pick at my cakes….I always seem to find something wrong with them and point it out to people.  But I just wanted to say thank you, Not everyone shares what they know.

Thank you so much Rhonda. It was so nice of you to write. Many new decorators are perfectionists and get wrapped up in that issue. Also remember that the Bride is where the focus will be that day so if you make, what you consider imperfections, no one except other cake decorators, will notice a problem. And (laughing) they will probably be comparing your work to theirs.  The other thing is that the other decorators will be the ones who appreciate your work the most. They know how much work goes into the cake and the hours you’ve spent. I hope you have lots of fun.

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I found your fondant recipe on the internet. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!! It is great! I had to do a wedding cake for a friend of mine for her wedding and she wanted a fondant covered cake.

I found the Wilton fondant in the store, and it tasted awful. I know that there had to be a better recipe out there for fondant. I did some searching on the net and found yours. I was a little skeptical, since it was so easy compared to the other recipes that I found, but I figured the worst that can happen is that I waste 1/2 or so and about $5 for ingredients. I made the 1st batch that I would need for the cake and my 10 yr old wanted to taste it.He loved it…. He kept on coming back into the kitchen asking for more pieces. I had some trouble with the sugar getting lumps, but fixed that by sifting the sugar for the second batch.

I found directions for making roses, and when they were dry, they looked like porcelain roses. The bride loved it. She said that she did not want to cut into the cake. Now, I need to find directions for making other flowers. Thanks for your expertise and sharing your knowledge.

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I just wanted to let you know, I tried your MM Fondant recipe this past weekend for a wedding cake. I had only used packaged fondant once for a trial run and was not happy with the results. I was terrified to do this cake, but I am happy to say that the cake turned out wonderful! Your recipe was easy to make and the resulting fondant was much easier to work with and more smooth in texture.  People ate it and said it was wonderful! Thank you Thank you Thank you!

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Back to Peggy’s Baking Corner Home Page

Peggy Weaver, author of Peggy’s Baking Corner, has generously answered all the above question on cake baking during the last 15 years. Peggy will not be able to continue with the Question and Answer pages in the future.  She thanks you for all your interesting questions.

Fondant Icing/Covering:

Fondant Icing Recipe – Marshmallow Fondant
Recipe and tutorial on making and using marshmallow fondant icing.

Making Fondant Icing
Q&As on making fondant icing.

Fondant Recipes
Additional fondant recipes plus Q&As on making other flavors of fondant icing.

Bubbles in the Fondant
What causes bubbles in your fondant icing and how to fix the problem.

Covering Cakes with Fondant Icing
Peggy’s hints and tips for covering your cakes with Fondant Icing.

Decorating Cakes with Fondant Icing
How to add color, how to make fondant flowers, using fondant decorations, repairing tears, and much more.

Marbling Fondant Icing
Learn how to marble fondant icing.

Buttercream Icing/Covering:

Buttercream Icing 101
Recipe and tutorial on making and using buttercream icing.

Buttercream Recipes
Additional buttercream recipes plus Q&As on making other flavors of buttercream icing.

Decorating with Buttercream
How to use decorations on buttercream icing.

Wedding Cakes:

Assembling Cakes/Wedding Cakes

Cake Fillings
How to use caking fillings with wedding cakes.

Decorating Wedding Cakes
Lots of Q&A’s on decorating wedding cakes.

Other Cake Baking and Decoration Topics:

Recipes & Baking Ingredients
Q&As on different cake baking ingredients.

Miscellaneous

Cookies and Cookie Cutters

Comments From Bakers

Peggy’s Cake Decorating Idea Photos
This idea page has photos only and no decorating instructions.

Categories:

Cooking Lessons - Cooking 101    Frosting & Icing Recipes    Frosting and Icing Hints & Tips