Fondant is an edible sugar “dough” that can be used to cover cakes that have been frosted with ganache or buttercream for a beautifully smooth finish.
Fondant is also very versatile in that it can be embellished with embossed rollers or mats, as well as crimpers for added texture. You can also pipe delicate designs onto fondant covered cakes and cupcakes using royal icing or a crusting buttercream frosting.
Most fondant recipes are sensitive to moisture and so royal icing and crusting buttercream frostings are great options when piped accents are needed as they set nice and dry.
This marshmallow fondant recipe is popular because it is so inexpensive to make, and it tastes like marshmallows! Over the years we have tried many different recipes.
We actually use Liz Marek fondant most often, which is a combination of pre-made fondant and marshmallow fondant. You can find this recipe here: Liz Marek Fondant.
While we use Liz Marek fondant most often, we wanted to keep this simple Marshmallow Fondant on our site as well since it is a great option for those who want to experiment with fondant but don’t want the expense of purchasing pre-made.
If you would like to experiment with figure modeling, you can knead in a bit of tylose powder so that the figures will be stronger and dry more quickly.
Marshmallow Fondant
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup shortening (48g.) (plus a little extra for greasing your bowl)
- 1 teaspoon clear vanilla (optional)
- 2 Tablespoon water
- 2 lb. (907g) bag of powdered sugar
- 16 oz bag of mini marshmallows (470g)
Directions
- Grease the inside of a microwave safe bowl with shortening.
- Put marshmallows, vanilla, and water into bowl
- Microwave it on high for 60 seconds. Stir (with greased spoon). Continue heating in 30 second intervals until marshmallows have melted.
- Stir in your shortening.
- Put your powdered sugar into the bowl and combine powdered sugar, shortening, & marshmallows with a greased spoon. As it gets harder to stir, you will need to use your hands. Grease your hands with shortening first.
- You will knead and fold, incorporating the sugar as best you can.
- You may find it easier to knead on a countertop greased with a little shortening.
- *You may not need the entire amount of confectioners sugar. Once the fondant stops accepting the sugar, and the consistency seems right (not too sticky or overly soft), it's ready!
- Finally, form your fondant into a ball, grease it with a light coating of shortening, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and then into freezer bag or airtight container. Let it rest for several hours or overnight. It will last at room temperature for several weeks.
- **Always keep MMF that you are not using wrapped in plastic wrap. To revive hardened fondant, microwave it in 5 second intervals until soft again, or knead in a small amount of glycerin (often sold in cake supply shops)
Notes:
Before rolling out your fondant, you should prep your countertop with a light coating of vegetable shortening to prevent sticking (Some decorators use powdered sugar or corn starch but we prefer shortening unless the fondant is very soft.)
When covering cakes or making cut-outs, I roll my fondant to approximately 1/8 inch thickness.
I rarely use all of the powdered sugar that the recipe calls for. Once your fondant is the right consistency, you no longer need to try to fold more sugar into it. Fondant will be a consistency a little thicker than play-doh.
Form your fondant into a ball, grease it with a light coating of shortening, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and then into freezer bag or airtight container. Let it rest for several hours or overnight. It will last at room temperature for several weeks.
**Always keep MMF that you are not using wrapped in plastic wrap. To revive hardened fondant, microwave it in 5 second intervals until soft again.
*Marshmallow fondant doesn’t do well in the refrigerator or freezer. Decorations may wilt and will become very shiny. If you must refrigerate your cake, you may wish to use pre-made fondant instead, or Liz Marek’s recipe as mentioned above.
However, if you must refrigerate, and the cake begins to sweat once removed from the refrigerator, do not touch it (as this may leave finger prints.) Instead, place it in front of a fan or over a vent so that the condensation will dry more quickly.
We hope that you enjoy the recipe!
Marshmallow Fondant
1/4 cup shortening (48g.) (plus a little extra for greasing your bowl)
16oz. (470g) mini marshmallows
1 teaspoon clear vanilla (optional)
2 Tablespoon water
2 lb. (907g) bag of powdered sugar
Instructions:
- Grease the inside of a microwave safe bowl with shortening.
- Put marshmallows, vanilla, and water into bowl
- Microwave it on high for 60 seconds. Stir (with greased spoon). Continue heating in 30 second intervals until marshmallows have melted.
- Stir in your shortening.
- Put your powdered sugar into the bowl and combine powdered sugar, shortening, & marshmallows with a greased spoon. As it gets harder to stir, you will need to use your hands. Grease your hands with shortening first.
- You will knead and fold, incorporating the sugar as best you can. You may find it easier to knead on a countertop greased with a little shortening.
Hi Malissa, my MMf became very hard and leathery. i keeps shrinking back when i tty to roll it out.can you please tell me what i have done wrong. it looked very nice and pliable when i made it. sealed it, kept it over night, now now when i want to work with it, its just not pliable. ive tried adding shortening, but no use.
thanks
Hi Seema, It could be that more powdered sugar was added than needed or it somehow dried out overnight. Was your bag of marshmallows 16 oz. (470g)?Did you try softening it up in the microwave….just a few seconds at a time? Since adding shortening did not help, if you can soften it in the microwave, you can add 2 to 3 teaspoons food grade glycerine or corn syrup to help with pliability. I’m sorry that it did not turn out for you, I know how frustrating that can be. We have recently been making our fondant using Marshmallow Fondant plus adding Wilton pre-made fondant. It has great elasticity. It is Liz Merek’s recipe, here is a link link to artisancakecompany.com she has a video on this link showing how she makes it.
Hi Melissa & BeBe,
Is there a way to speed up the drying process of fondant? Is putting your pieces in a warm oven a bad idea?
Thanks
Hi Jennifer, We don’t recommend a warm oven because we worry that pieces could melt, especially if using marshmallow fondant. I have read that some bakers have success drying pieces made with commercial fondant in the oven with just the oven light on and the door slightly open. When we are in a hurry we put our fondant pieces in front of a fan, the air movement over the pieces does speed the drying time. If your fondant has Tylose powder or gum paste kneaded into it, the drying time will be shorter.
In your experience, whats the coverage for this amount of fondant? How many rounds will it cover?
Hi Tara, We use the Wilton fondant chart as a guide, link to wilton.com Our favorite fondant to use the Liz Merek recipe, link to artisancakecompany.com
Hi melissa.. I’m sorry if I’m being a pain :-( But I truly love your site and i’ve learned so much and I can’t believe the things I can do with your help (and BeBe ;) ) I made the fondant and it turned out beautifully!!! BUT.. when I went to make the bow you have on tutorial, the curly pieces crumbles when I tried to insert it into the ball of softened fondant. I might not have rolled it out thin enough?? It feels “hard” but when I pick it up they still flop a little and crumble at the bottom. It’s been 1.5 days. Is that just not long enough?
Also, is there a trick to getting the fondant and the icing to match? One is always lighter than the other.. or o you just have to play around with it?
I have my double barrel (first ever) cake in the freezer firming up and i’m rolling out my fondant :-) wish me luck. You’re the best.. thank you so much!!!
Just made this for the first time as I’ve always been intimidated to try making it…IT CAME OUT WONDERFULLY…. will see how it does now when I put it on the cake…
Hi Cynthia, I am glad the recipe worked well for you. I just wanted to say that now Melissa and I almost exclusively use the Liz Merck Marshmallow Fondant recipe. Here is the link, link to artisancakecompany.com and the written recipe is below the video. We find it to be much easier to use.
Hello Melissa, I was wondering, can you use marshmallow fluff instead of the mini marshmallows?
Hi Paula, I’ve never tried substituting marshmallow fluff. I would go with a recipe that specifically calls for marshmallow fluff to be on the safe side. If you google it, you’ll see a few…here’s one example (but I’ve never tried it):
link to missanthropistskitchen.wordpress.com
*As a side note, if you’ll be working with fondant often, you may be interested in Liz Marek’s recipe. (A quick google search will pull it up as well as her video). It is a combination of marshmallow fondant & store bought fondant and has a nice consistency. It’s what we use most often. I hope this helps!
Thanks Melissa!!! I’m going to try the fluff!!! I’ll let you know how it works!!!!!
Really great recipes you have been shared. It was so easy to make once you have shared this recipe. Thanks for it.
Hello mellissa!
I wanted to try your fondant recipe. I just want to ask. If i will be coating my cake with this fondant, would it be ok if will not put the covered cake in the refrigerator? Would it not spoil the following day? What aboout if it happens our weather is so cold how to avoid the covered cake from sweating?
Thank you!
marjorie