This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Marshmallow fondant only takes 3 ingredients, and it’s about as low-effort as fondant gets. No specialty supplies, no complicated techniques, and no reason to spend a chunk of money on something you can make in a few minutes at home.
This is the kind of recipe you pull out when you need fondant without turning it into a project. It’s soft, easy to work with, and flexible enough to fix as you go.
Here’s Why This Marshmallow Fondant Recipe Works
Three ingredients, no nonsense: You only need miniature marshmallows, water, and powdered sugar to make marshmallow fondant at home.
Microwave method: No stovetop, no extra fuss. Just melt the marshmallows in short bursts, stir, and start mixing.
Easy to fix as you go: Too sticky? Add more powdered sugar. Too stiff? Knead in a teaspoon of water. It’s a flexible recipe, which is handy because fondant can be a little high-maintenance.
Good for decorating: This fondant is smooth, stretchy, and easy to roll for cakes, cupcakes, cookies, and simple decorations.
Recipe Tips
Add sugar gradually: Start with 1 to 2 cups of powdered sugar, then add more a cup at a time so the fondant does not get too dry too quickly.
Grease everything: Coat your hands and work surface with vegetable shortening before kneading. This keeps the marshmallow mixture from sticking to absolutely everything in sight.
Watch the texture: The fondant is ready when it feels like modeling dough and stretches without breaking. You want it soft, smooth, and easy to work with.
Let it rest overnight: You can use it right away, but it is usually easier to work with after it rests overnight. Once it sits, knead it until smooth and pliable before rolling.
Use fresh marshmallows: Old marshmallows don’t melt as smoothly and can make the fondant lumpy or stiff. If the bag has been open for a while, grab a fresh one.
Sift the powdered sugar (if it’s clumpy): If your powdered sugar has lumps, sift it first. It makes kneading a lot easier and keeps the fondant smooth.
Warm it up if it gets stiff: If the fondant firms up too much while you’re working, microwave it for 5 to 10 seconds to soften it, then knead it again.
Use cornstarch or powdered sugar for rolling: Lightly dust your surface with cornstarch or powdered sugar when rolling it out to prevent sticking without drying it out too much.
Add color after mixing: Knead in gel food coloring after the fondant is made. Liquid coloring can make it too sticky and throw off the texture.
Keep it tightly wrapped: Fondant dries out fast. Keep any unused portion wrapped in plastic and stored in a sealed bag while you work.
If you love the sweetness of marshmallows, check out my homemade marshmallow cream.
Homemade Marshmallow Fondant
This marshmallow fondant keeps cake decorating simple, affordable, and very doable at home. With a bowl of melted marshmallows, a pile of powdered sugar, and a little kneading, you get a smooth homemade fondant that rolls out neatly and holds its shape.
You can see this fondant in action on my rose pistachio cake.
Pin this now to find it later!
Pin It
Homemade Marshmallow Fondant
If you make this recipe, please leave a star rating and comment.
Ingredients
- 2 (10 ounce) package miniature marshmallows
- 3 tablespoons water
- 2 pounds powdered sugar
- 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 ½ 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
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.