Just Made Full Recipe Of Mmf Help Please
Decorating By notjustcake Updated 14 Aug 2006 , 12:02pm by notjustcake
I just made the full recipe of MMF, I had done a small batch earlier and still waiting to roll. Someone suggested to wait overnight and I have no reason to roll it today for. I need for the square cake for tomorrow's class.
Anyways I made and what a sticky mess! My MMs puffed up almost poured out the biggest bowl own. Then I added what seemed like to be almost a whole bag of sifted PS, until it didn't stick to my hands but felt warm still. First of my shortening felt a little grainy which I had never touched shortening in my life, always used for icing by measuring with cup. Is this going to make my MMF lumpy or grainy or is this normal for shortening? I finally left the MMF alone after kneading it a good while it seemed very soft still NOT like play do but softer but I didn't want to take my chances and put too much PS. I figured it still has to cool and when that happens it will harden a bit also the Wilton fondat are very hard until add the gum tex and roll it it becomes pliable. Did I do this right or should I go back now and add more PS? or wait until tomorrow to see how it rolls? Are the MMs suppossed to melt to liquid form cause mine just puffed up and there was no more room in the bowl everytime they did that I turned off the microwave but never stirred. Well managed to get it into a soft ball and wrapped it in plastice wrap twice. Please tell me if I did this right seems like a lot of people on this forums are having a hard time with hard MMF I seem to be the oppossite. And just like I expected this was not easy at all and this is why I have been asking so many questions and have been afraid to try. Thanks 4 your help
One thing i can tell you is that you need a big bowl to melt the marshmallows and you do need to stir them during the melting process to get them to a liquid state and to incorporate the water and flavoring. Getting that beginning stage right will definitely help the rest of the process. HTH 
Well there went my first try some of it looked like liquid but not all of it, I guess if I try tomorrow will it be ready for class. I can make it 1st thing in the morning and I need for 5pm class.
My MM puff up too...you have to mix them until smooth and all melted....sometimes you might have to micro it a little longer. Did you add a little water to the MM's? 2 TBPS should do it. MAke sure you grease EVERYTHING with crisco including your hands. In a separate bowl (that's greased) add half of the PS and make a well in it. Then pour the melted (still hot) MM into the well and mix with a wooden spoon. Add the remaining PS and mix my hand (greased hands) knead it in too. Keep for hands greased as you keep kneading. A little PS on the surface helps too. Don't be afraid to add more PS if it's really sticky.
I usually wrap mine right away while still a little warm and then use the next day.
Ok I did everything else except melt my MMs all the way I guess it doesn't hurt to try again . So what kind of a mess do I expect whe I try to roll the batch I made? What is the deal with the grainy shortening?
I, too, have recently tried the MMF recipe. I used my kitchen aid, though, with a dough hook attachment. It seemed to work but I'm wondering if there's some reason you're supposed to knead by hand vs. using the mixer. I don't know much about fondant so I wouldn't know if I over-mixed it. Is there a reason to knead by hand vs. mix on low with a dough hook?
I've been told making MMf on a KA is hard as is for the machine because the mixture is so thick, so some people do it by hand. I only have a 450 watt Sunbeam that I love and I don't want to take my chances braking it because this might be too much of a job for it, and I don't have any money to replace it and I am still taking my classes so I really need it alive now plus I don't know what i would do with out it I use it a lot for baking.
I tried the MMF recipe last weekend.
I tried it first in the microwave and my marshmallows puffed and expanded out of the bowl. They were soft and gooey, not really melted when I put them with the powder sugar in my Kitchen Aid. The result was a sticky mushy mess with a lot of loose powder sugar that I threw out, a dirty/sticky microwave-safe bowl and my Kitchen Aid bowl to clean.
I tried the double broiler method and it was a lot easier. The marshmallows liquefied, I added the powder sugar to that pan and stirred, then dumped the lot on my counter and kneaded the rest of the sugar in by hand. The MMF turned out great, great texture and flavor.
Before I mocrowave my marshmallows I stir them up with the water to kind of coat them. This keeps them from puffing up so much. I also stop at 30 second intervals to stir.
When did your shortening feel grainy? Did you grease you bowl and work surface before you started and was it grainy then? Shortening should not be grainy, but if it felt grainy after you started working and had all that mess on your hands then yes, it feels grainy. Straight from the can with clean hands it should just feel greasy. I like to plop a big glob of crisco on my table and then I take what I need from the glob so I don't dirty my whole can.
You say the mmf you had was soft, but was it still sticky? If it was still sticky then you need more sugar. When I make mmf it doesn't harden that much on me after it's set. I make my mmf following the recipe, but using an extra tablespoon of water. I use all 2 pounds of sugar and a fair amount of crisco gets worked in. Mine is soft and pliable, but will still hold it's shape after it's set.
cakedecor,
Sounds like you are having a lot of troulbe with this MMF but do not give up! It really is not hard at all once you get the hang of it. Make sure to melt your marshmellows slowly and stir often while melting. Are making that well in the middle of the PS like stated in the directions? Are you using a mixer for the first stages? Using a mixer for as long as you can REALLY helps! The grainy crisco really will not make a differance. Keep us posted!
I will try again this morning I am waiting for my son to wake up his room is by the kitchen then I will try again thanks for all your help I will give an updat. I did print out the tutorial from CC but my biggest mistake was probably not melting the MMs to begin with 
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