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Homemade marshmallow fondant is inexpensive, easy to make, tastes great and is fun to work with. Cover a cake like the pros with this cheap and easy marshmallow fondant.
How many times have you gazed at the lovely decorated cakes in the bakery showcase and wished that you had that amazing decorating talent? Well, we are here to tell you that you can do this!
It isn’t as hard as it looks and it doesn’t have to be expensive.
And, have you ever purchased one of those bakery fondant-covered beautiful cakes and been disappointed in the flavorless fondant? This cheap and easy marshmallow fondant will not disappoint! If you like marshmallows you will like this fondant.
Are you bored of using the same old confectioners’ buttercream icing recipe? Do you find pre-made, canned frosting too hum-drum? If you want a change then this marshmallow fondant is for you.
Marshmallows and confectioners’ sugar are the basics in this recipe resulting in a delicious taste. By adding flavored extracts and food coloring to the fondant you can easily customize your cake.
How do you make marshmallow fondant?
All you have to do is melt the marshmallows with a tad bit of water then stir in the powdered sugar. Eventually, the powdered sugar will make the mixture a bit too stiff for you to stir easily. That’s when you need to dump the mixture out on the counter and knead the rest of the sugar into the fondant.
This is one of the easiest recipes we have made. It is also one of the messiest but we have some tips for you to keep things clean and neat.
Tips to keep the workspace clean:
Tip 1: Shortening
The first tip is to have a bit of shortening nearby. You do not need the shortening to make this marshmallow fondant but it helps prevent the sticky, melted marshmallows from sticking to your hands and the counter.
Just spread a bit of shortening on the counter where you will knead the fondant. Next, coat your hands with shortening. Use plenty of shortening and work it in like hand lotion. As you knead the fondant dough, work in more powdered sugar.
The shortening will get worked into the fondant and you will need to keep lathering your hands with more shortening. You may also need to spread a bit more shortening on the counter. This really is the best way to keep the fondant from sticking to everything so don’t be stingy with the shortening.
Eventually, the fondant will stiffen enough that it will not be as sticky and you will not need to use as much shortening. When it is the consistency of playdough or putty, stop working in the powdered sugar. When you finish making the fondant, wrap it nice and snug in some plastic wrap. This will prevent it from drying out.
Tip 2: A bench scraper:
Now it is time to clean up. Our next tip to help with the clean-up process is to grab a bench scraper. Use the bench scraper to scrape all the leftover crumbs and powdered sugar off the counter.
Tip 3: Soak in water
Now, our final tip is for cleaning the bowl that you melted the marshmallows in. There will be some sticky, messy goo left behind in the bowl and by the time you finish kneading your fondant, all that goo will be dried to the sides of the bowl. The good news is that it is easy to clean.
If you start with a kitchen towel then you will only transfer all that mess to the towel so the best thing to do is just let the bowl soak in warm water for a few minutes. It won’t take long and all the gooey sugar will soften up and it will wipe out like a charm.
Shaping and designing with marshmallow fondant:
It is easy to shape and mold this fondant to add those special effects that will give your cakes that professional look.
A quick visit to your local craft store or Amazon will provide you with silicon embossing mats, rollers and molds that will give you endless ideas in presenting the creation of your dreams.
See how a fondant drape, a few cut-outs, and real flowers add a dramatic effect to our Cascading Flower Cake. Or make fondant ruffles like our Fondant Ruffle Cake Design.
Make fun and creative cakes like our Cheeseburger Cake or this Wine Barrel Cake made for my dad’s 80th birthday (I used a woodgrain impression mat to make the woodgrain).
All of the cakes mentioned above were made with homemade marshmallow fondant and I saved a ton of money by making the fondant myself.
Now you can present a gorgeously decorated birthday cake, a plate of beautiful cupcakes or….try your hand with a wedding cake or special-event decorated cake.
Watch our video below and you will be inspired to get in the kitchen and decorate your favorite cake.
In the video, we used a rose mold similar to this and a flower plunger cutter that came from this decorating tool kit. We actually used a paper embossing mat to emboss a design for the cupcakes.
However, you don’t even need tools to make simple rolled fondant roses like we did in the video.
More Ideas to Use Fondant:
Check out our video above and see how easy it is to make marshmallow fondant.
Have you made marshmallow fondant? We would love to hear from you. Drop us a comment below and tell us how you used it. Did you cover a cake with it or did you use it on cupcakes and cookies? Have you made decorations with it?
We would love to hear about all your creations.
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Cheap and Easy Marshmallow Fondant
If you make this recipe, please leave a star rating and comment.
Ingredients
You only need three ingredients:
- 2- 10- ounce packages of miniature marshmallows
- 3 tablespoons water
- 2 pounds powdered sugar
Have on hand:
- vegetable shortening, to grease the counter and hands
Instructions
- Place the marshmallows and water in a microwave proof bowl. Microwave on high for 2 to 2 1/2 minutes until melted. To ensure even cooking, stop the microwave every 30 to 45 seconds and stir them.
- Stir 1 to 2 cups of the powdered sugar into the melted marshmallows. Once that is incorporated, continue to stir in the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time.
- Once the mixture gets too difficult to stir, grease your work surface and your hands with vegetable shortening and dump the marshmallow mixture out onto the work surface.
- Knead more of the powdered sugar into the marshmallow mixture, you may not need to use all of the sugar. Work in enough sugar until the mixture feels like children's modeling dough. Keep your hands well greased with the vegetable shortening to prevent the fondant from sticking to them.
- You will know it is done when it is smooth and pliable and stretches without breaking. If you add too much powdered sugar it will become stiff and crack, if that happens just add a teaspoon at a time of water to it and knead it in. If it is too sticky, add more powdered sugar.
- Shape the fondant into a ball and coat it with vegetable shortening then wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and place it in a sealable bag. Store the fondant at room temperature and always keep it tightly sealed.
- You can use the fondant right after mixing it but it will be easier to work with if you let it sit overnight. After it sits, it will firm up and you will need to knead it to make it pliable and soft again.
Video
Notes
- The brand and age of the marshmallows will effect how much powdered sugar you need. Use good quality, soft marshmallows for this recipe.
- As long as the fondant stays well sealed and does not dry out, it will last for several months.
- You can store the fondant in the fridge but be sure to let it come to room temperature before using it because very cold fondant is too stiff to work with. However, you do not need to store it in the fridge, it lasts several months if stored at room temperature.
- If you want to color your fondant, knead food coloring into the fondant until you get the shade you want. To prevent staining the counter, knead the fondant and food coloring together in a glass bowl. Wear disposable gloves to prevent your hands from getting stained. You could also color the entire batch of fondant if you mix the food coloring into the melted marshmallows just prior to mixing in the sugar.
- If you want to add flavoring to the fondant, add a few drops of colorless extract to the melted marshmallow mixture (ideas like, mint, vanilla and orange flavoring all work well)
- Fondant will melt if it gets wet so protect your decorated cake from the rain. I frequently store my decorated cakes in the fridge however if you take the fondant cake from the fridge to a warm humid room it will develop condensation. If you store the fondant covered cake in the fridge make sure you take it out to a cool room to minimize the condensation.
- This recipe makes a little over 2 pounds of fondant and will cover two 6 inch round cakes if they are 4 inches tall. It can also cover a (4 inch tall) 10 inch round cake or two single layer 10 inch round cakes.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
three questions
1. could you convert the recipe into grams please? I don’t trust google
2. if i use coloured marshmellows, will the colour remain when melted instead of using food coloring?
3. how long can the fondant last once made? do i keep it in the fridge or on a cupboard?
567 grams of marshmallows and 907 grams of powdered sugar. The fondant will be the same color of the marshmallows you use. You can store it in the fridge or at room temperature, just make sure it stays sealed well and air tight so it doesn’t dry out
I’m making a16 and 14 and 12 inch how much does that recipe make thanks
Hi Dottie, my cakes are 4 to 5 inches tall and I can cover a 12 to 14 inch cake with one recipe. However I tend to roll my fondant pretty thin. I would recommend 1 recipe for the 12 inch cake, a double recipe for the 14 inch cake and a triple recipe for the 16 inch cake. So that would be 6 batches of the fondant recipe to cover all three of your cakes. If you haven’t worked with fondant very much then I would make 1 or 2 extra batches for good measure. Also, I am assuming you are making round cakes. Square cakes will require more fondant. You will want about 9 to 10 batches if your cakes are square. I hope this helps, have fun.. by the way you probably will save at least $60 to $100 if you make the fondant for those three cakes
I love how easy this is! I have to try it!
Oh it is so much fun to decorate with too, thanks for the comment Allison
Wow I had no idea you could make fondant out of marshmallow, I can’t wait to try it!
ya pretty incredible isn’t it Emily? It is very easy to work with too, we really like working with this fondant
This fondant sounds amazing! I love that it’s made from marshmallows!
Thanks Marsha
That looks so good! I’m really not a fan of store bought fondant so I will have to give this a try.
Thanks so much for sharing
Julie
ThermoKitchen
Thanks Julie. Yes this fondant doesn’t taste anything like store bought. It definitely tastes like marshmallows
Good Day,
I love this idea but I have 4 questions:
1. How long in advance can the marshmallow fondant be made?
2. How long in advance can the cupcakes be iced with it?
3. Must they be stored in the refrigerator once iced?
4. Would I need to apply water before placing the fondant in place, like with regular fondant?
Thanks,
:)Always
M.
you can make the fondant several months in advance just be sure to keep it well sealed so it does not dry out. Since cupcakes are small they tend to dry out pretty fast so I don’t like to store my cupcakes more than a couple of days before serving them but if you think your cupcakes will still be good after several days then certainly feel free to decorate them as many days in advance as you like. The marshmallow fondant will not go bad, the concern would be how fast the cupcakes will last.
I store my cupcakes and cakes in the fridge all the time because I fill them with yummy stuff like lemon curd and whipped cream. If you store them in the fridge then expect to see some condensation on them when you remove them from the fridge. You can reduce the amount of condensation by keeping them in a cool, dry area once removed. It is mostly a problem if you take them out of the fridge to a warm, humid environment.
The fondant will adhere to frosting just fine. If you use a frosting that dries out then you may need to give the surface a light spray of water before applying the fondant.
If you are attaching fondant decorations to the fondant covered cake then a little water helps it stick to itself.
I hope this helps, have fun
Can you use food coloring in it
Yes Bonnie, you can use food coloring to color the fondant in a couple of ways. If you want the whole batch to be the same color then stir the color into the melted marshmallows. Once you have all the sugar mixed in it may be a bit lighter in color but you can knead in a bit more food color to make the shade you like.
If you want to have several different colors then make one batch of white and divide the finished fondant then add your preferred colors to each portion of fondant. You will need to knead the color in until it is well mixed. It can get messy so I like to wear kitchen gloves and I try to keep the fondant inside a glass bowl so the counter does not get food coloring on it.
I hope this helps. Have fun.
Beautiful!!
Thanks Sabrina, it’s a fun way to make some great decorations on cakes, cookies and cupcakes
Can this be made and kneaded with a KitchenAid?
You can certainly start it with your kitchenAid but I wouldn’t recommend continuing with the mixing process when the fondant starts to get thick as it can put a lot of wear on your motor.