Marshmallow Fondant Questions

[patissac]

So I plan on doing some cupcakes for DD's birthday this weekend. I am going to pipe buttercream frosting for the most part and use fondant star and alphabet cut out's to top them off. I like how Once upon a Cupcake's blog does her's so I'm copying ideas from her website. Now I've never, ever, worked with fondant and plan to make this recipe that I found off Allrecipes.com so I have a few questions concerning how to make this effortlessly Any questions you guys can answer would greatly be appreciated and I like tips too! Thanks!

1. Can I make this fondant a couple of days ahead?
2. They said to wrap it in plastic wrap and put in the fridge overnight, is that okay or should I store it wrapped in a container at room temp?
3. I plan to divide it while microwaving so I can add color to it right when its still in liquid form, I heard this was easier?

Marshmallow Fondant

1/4 cup butter
1 (16 ounce) package miniature marshmallows
4 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 pounds confectioners' sugar, divided


DIRECTIONS
Place the butter in a shallow bowl, and set aside.
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.
Rub your hands thoroughly with butter, 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.

[Beth]

I would divide it before microwaving it -- will be much easier. I'd just follow the directions and store it in the fridge.

[KimberlyS]

Cake decorating is my sister's hobby and she's done the Wilton fondant classes. She usually purchases fondant, but she does wrap it tightly in plastic, so it doesn't dry it out. I wouldn't just put it in a container.

[Aninha]

Originally Posted by patissac

1. Can I make this fondant a couple of days ahead?
2. They said to wrap it in plastic wrap and put in the fridge overnight, is that okay or should I store it wrapped in a container at room temp?
3. I plan to divide it while microwaving so I can add color to it right when its still in liquid form, I heard this was easier?

Hi! I like to decorate cakes and have worked with Marshmallow fondant before. I am no pro and self thought myself to work with fondant and all, but I think I might help a little.
When I want something to look really pretty and go with Wilton's fondant, I find it easier to use and more consistent regarding moisture/dryness issues. However, I find that the marshmallow fondant (MMF) tastes a lot better than wilton's.
The MMF is easy to make and work with, the times I made I had no difficulties at all. I have added the gel food coloring to the marshmallows before microwaving but only when I colored the entire batch the same color. I have never divided the ingredients into bowls and colored them individually. If you want different colors you might want to color them afterward as I would not mess around with the recipe that way.
It is not hard to color fondant at all, it is very easy, messy, but easy!
And YES, you actually do want to make it at least one day before as the MMF works best when allowed to rest overnight before using.
If I am going to use the next day I wrap mine in plastic and make sure it is very well sealed, then I put into a plastic zip bag, take air out, and let it rest in the kitchen counter. After I am done I store the leftovers in the fridge.
Note that when you make your cut outs you want to leave them uncovered in your counter so that they can dry out properly, if you keep them covered, or in the fridge, they will get sticky.
Another option is to use gum paste. Wilton's have a small bag that is easy to use and color too. Gum paste is great to make accents and flowers with as it hardens up great and lasts a long time. After making your cut outs let them sit in the counter to dry and them you can keep them in a Tupperware container for a week.
Let me know if something is not clear and if I can be of more help!
Remember to get some extra confectioner's sugar as you will need to roll and cut when having fun with your fondant! (I love working with fondant!)
Ana

[MKSquared]

IIRC, the colors in my MMF changed considerably overnight. I think that the pink got even pinker.

[Aninha]

Originally Posted by MKSquared

IIRC, the colors in my MMF changed considerably overnight. I think that the pink got even pinker.

Yep, colors on fondant do intensify after after a while. Whenever I need to color something red I do it the day before if I can so I can see how it is going to really look like.
Do you have some more white fondant? You can mix in some white with the pink and that should help tame the too bright color a bit.
Ana

[patissac]

Wow! Super feedback! Thanks!

Okay so I made the fondant last night. I also managed to make a HUGE mess in my kitchen, I had powdered sugar everywhere including my poor Jack Russel's back

I almost gave up hope because I had my KA Mixer stir in the sugar with the melted marshmallows, it was so stiff it crumbled, I then added a bit more water which made it watery. I decided to try a small piece and knead it with alot of powdered sugar, I also coated my hands with Crisco which helped. After kneading it for a minute, it came together smoothly just like clay. I then split out the batch into two portions so I could color one pink. I used my food color paste for it, and was amazed how evenly and quickly it colored the fondant. I coated the fondant with a bit of crisco and wrapped them tightly, stored them in the fridge. Now curiousity got the best of me, after an hour I took some of the pink one out and rolled it with parchment paper, I didn't have any wax paper on hand. I found the fondant to be sticky, and when I did star cut outs the stars stuck to the parchment a little. I'm thinking I went wrong in not allowing the fondant to sit in the fridge over night? I worry that it still might be sticky when I roll it out, how do I fix this, add more sugar?

I will take your advice, and do the cut outs on Friday, the party is Sunday and let them dry out.

[Beth]

Did you sprinkle the parchment with powdered sugar? That's what I would try.

[Aninha]

Originally Posted by patissac

Wow! Super feedback! Thanks!

Okay so I made the fondant last night. I also managed to make a HUGE mess in my kitchen, I had powdered sugar everywhere including my poor Jack Russel's back

I almost gave up hope because I had my KA Mixer stir in the sugar with the melted marshmallows, it was so stiff it crumbled, I then added a bit more water which made it watery. I decided to try a small piece and knead it with alot of powdered sugar, I also coated my hands with Crisco which helped. After kneading it for a minute, it came together smoothly just like clay. I then split out the batch into two portions so I could color one pink. I used my food color paste for it, and was amazed how evenly and quickly it colored the fondant. I coated the fondant with a bit of crisco and wrapped them tightly, stored them in the fridge. Now curiousity got the best of me, after an hour I took some of the pink one out and rolled it with parchment paper, I didn't have any wax paper on hand. I found the fondant to be sticky, and when I did star cut outs the stars stuck to the parchment a little. I'm thinking I went wrong in not allowing the fondant to sit in the fridge over night? I worry that it still might be sticky when I roll it out, how do I fix this, add more sugar?

I will take your advice, and do the cut outs on Friday, the party is Sunday and let them dry out.

Roll the fondant on a surface coated with powdered sugar (sprinkle the sugar just as you would flour to roll pastry), that should help with the stickiness without making it too dry to work with.

Yes, I would do the cut outs the day before and let them air dry, do not cover (or refrigerate) them, or they will be sticky. If you want them to be hard you have to let them air dry - this is how I make bowls. Here is a pic of a cake I made for a friend:



(there are more pics at my blog if you want to take a look, I just posted some)
Hope this helps!
Ana

[patissac]

One more question on the drying, so I'll make sure my surface is dusted properly then with more sugar. When I do the cut outs should I lay them on top of something other then a plate? Should I put them on top of wax or parchment paper? Thanks!

[Aninha]

Originally Posted by patissac

One more question on the drying, so I'll make sure my surface is dusted properly then with more sugar. When I do the cut outs should I lay them on top of something other then a plate? Should I put them on top of wax or parchment paper? Thanks!

Dust your surface with powdered sugar (not flour), you don't need parchment to roll the fondant, just the "sugared" surface. Sprinkle sugar on surface, on top of fondant and on the rolling pin, it should be a smooth roll - sprinkle more sugar as you roll if you feel it is sticking.
After you do the cutout lay them on a flat surface (baking sheet) lined with parchment so you make sure nothing sticks. It should work fine!
Ana