Homemade Marshmallow Fondant

My husband and my daughter have their birthdays the same month.  They aren't really close together being over three weeks apart but until my little girl gets older we've decided to group them together for the meantime.  For their luau themed party this year I decided to make two cakes and I wanted to try marshmallow fondant, a recipe I had found from Bridget at Bake at 350 (I love her blog, she is just too cute, if you haven't met her yet, you should).  It was super easy to work with, and the kids loved the taste.  A few of them ate just the fondant, not the cake.  Talk about sugar overload, but isn't that what birthday parties are about.  Here's the recipe but you can check out her step by step post here.

Homemade marshmallow fondant

16 oz. bag mini marshmallows
3 Tbsp water
2 lbs powdered sugar
Crisco (lots and lots of Crisco)

Grease a large glass bowl generously with Crisco.  Pour marshmallows and water into bowl.  Microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval until melted.

Reserve about 1/4 cup powdered sugar.  Place the rest of the powdered sugar in the large bowl of a stand mixer.  Grease the paddle attachment with Crisco.  Pour the melted marshmallows onto the powdered sugar.

Beat until a dough forms.  There will be lots of loose bits and sugar in the bottom of the bowl.  Do not scrape the bowl down and try to mix it with your stand mixer.  It only makes the next part messier.

Grease a clean work surface with Crisco and dump out the fondant and all loose bits.  Grease hands liberally (and boy do I mean liberally, it takes a lot more than you think because that marshmallow stuff is sticky).  Knead mixture together for about 5 minutes until smooth.

Grease hands as needed.  As the fondant becomes smoother, use the reserved powdered sugar to coat the surface to keep it from sticking.  Once smooth, you can divide and color the fondant.  While working with one piece, cover the remaining fondant with plastic wrap to keep it from drying out.

When you have your colors finished coat the fondant in a light layer of Crisco and wrap in plastic wrap or a large baggie.  Allow to rest overnight before using.  Store at room temperature for several months.

To use, dust your surface and rolling pin with cornstarch and roll to 1/8th of an inch (don't go too thin or you will have cracking, which does not make for a pretty cake).

I used a decorating tip to cut out circles for the fish and then rolled them a little thinner with my fingers to make them bigger and more realistic. I also cut out strips to make the fins and layered both using a light brush of water to make them stick to one another.  That was just the easiest way for me to do it at 1am.  I'm sure there are better ways.

So if you have ever wanted to use fondant but were scared by cost or ease of use just go for it.  You won't know what you are missing until you do.