While this blog post is not about EdTech it is important that we all have things we do outside of teaching. Back in the day my thing was making wedding cakes. If you have ever had fondant on a cake you might not think it tastes very good…. and it is also very expensive. Here is the tasty and inexpensive alternative. Fondant made out of marshmallows. Marshmallow Cake Fondant is the way to go! You can use this recipe:
To make Marshmallow Fondant (MMF)
In a glass bowl I put a 16 ounce bag of mini marshmallows and 2 tbsp of water.
Microwave 40 seconds
Stir
Microwave 40 seconds
Stir
Microwave 40 seconds (Note, it matters! Do this in 3 40 second installments)
Add food coloring now if you want it all one color
Add 2 pound bag of powdered sugar (preferably sifted)
Stir with a metal spoon scraping the sides and bottom.
Stir as much as you can and then Crisco up your hands and kneed the glob.
Note: depending on the weather you may end up with a lot of powdered sugar at the bottom or have to add more powdered sugar. Do not force it all in or your fondant will be dried out.
Lightly corn starch a surface and continue to knead the fondant until it is smooth and not sticky. If there are chunks of sugar in your fondant put fondant in a plastic ziplock overnight and that usually gets rid of most of it. Also, just a little water and a paintbrush dissolve them right up.
If the fondant is hardening up, place in the microwave, like the one when you read this article, on a microwave-safe dish for 7 seconds. It heats up from the center and it is an unpleasant burn when you smash into the fondant with your hand and it is molten in the center. So less is more! Only a couple of seconds in the microwave can perk your fondant back up. Also, rubbing Crisco on your hands can help return the elasticity to your fondant you are working with.
Fondant on Cakes
Roll out the marshmallow fondant onto a surface with corn starch, lightly sprinkled. Consider that the size of your fondant needs to be the diameter of the cake plus TWICE the height of the sides of the cake. Roll the fondant up onto your rolling pin to transfer it over a lightly frosted cake. Use a cake smoother to smooth out the frosting.
Fondant on Cookies
Heaven is marshmallow fondant on a sugar cookie.
Here is the link to the no fail sugar cookies recipe that I use. It is amazing!
If making sugar cookies, cut your cookies and MMF with the same cookie cutter. Typically I would do all my MMF cutouts the day before. Be quick, the second the cookies come out of the oven slap the MMF cutouts on top of the cookies. They are perfectly frosted and taste AMAZING!
Pictures of Cake by Alice Keeler
For fun, here are a few of the cakes I made in the past. This is my former hobby, I have since given away all of my cake pans and supplies.
