Ok, so I stated in an earlier post I am enjoying cakes in the kitchen now instead of the same old boring stuff I make.I decided I wanted to make a Halloween themed cake for the party we had over the weekend.

Well, from all of the things I have looked up on the internet and read in blogs, forums, etc. It would seem marsh mellow fondant was the way to go over some bad tasting other stuff.

Ok, so off to Marc's I go. Get a couple bags of marsh mellows, couple bags of confectioners sugar, and one princess dress for my daughter who decided she needed to be a princess that evening.

After dinner I prep'd the kitchen and was all set to go. Emptied the marsh mellow bag into a bowl, added some water and popped it into microwave.

While that was melting I sugared my work space and was ready to go. One weenie dog and a bulldog waiting at my feet for the inevitable things to fall.

So, I take out the marshmallows, which are now all melted, pour them onto the table and start putting sugar on them. Now I know Crisco is used to keep things from sticking to my hands, and I have always used it in the past. However, there is NOT enough Crisco in the world to keep this from sticking to me.

I look down and sitting with the dogs is now my 3yr old daughter again, just waiting....

Ok, so covered with Marsh mellow I press on.....I add more sugar go to push it into the living glob on my table and poof, it all shoots back at me like a Northwestern blizzard on a crisp winter night.

I hear the cheers coming from my daughter sitting on the floor next to me as there is a flurry of dog tongues trying to catch it as it comes down. But does this derail my plans for this fondant icing? NO!! Nay, I say.....NEED MORE SUGAR!!!!

HONEY!!!! My hands are....ummmmm.....well, can u come in here and get me another bag of sugar????

The look on her face was......well......One I have never seen in our 5 years of marriage. Be it the dogs covered in confectioners sugar, our daughter making designs in it on the floor, or the light dusting of it throughout the kitchen area...I couldnt tell which was in her head at the moment.

Regardless, I got my other bag of sugar and continued!!!! Press on I always say!!! But whats this? Its starting to actually knead? Success is now filling my head, the designs I have in store for this cake!!! Who cares that the dogs are rolling in the confectioner sugar on the floor, who cares my daughter is stomping her foot prints in it and then running into the living room!!!!

Yes....its alive...ALIVE!!! I have created my first round ball of fondant....Muhahahahahahahahahahahaha.......

I take my newly created masterpiece and roll it tight into some seran wrap and with a big marsh mellow covered hand open the door to the refrigerator and put it inside.....Muhahahahahaha.....Oh the things I will create tomorrow...

After a full nights sleep.....on the couch......alone.....with the dogs I awoke. I rush into the kitchen, open the fridge and there it is. Ready to be made into all the whimsical shapes and colors that I can image.

As I pull it out of the fridge, it seems kind of hard, but thats ok, just warm it up a tad. I cut it in half and decide the cake first is to be covered!!! Color...Yes I need color...A nice deep orange for the main cake....Oh I can just see the sure enjoyment of my wife pulling this out this evening!!! My Karen your husband is a cake genius.....Boy Karen I wish I had your husband.

After deciding not to microwave it, I leave it set out for a bit to get a little warmer and start kneading it....Start...Kneading it......kneading.....why the hell wont this thing knead!?!?!?!?!

Hmmmmm.....Think.......I am a guy, guys use tools!!!! What tools do I have that will knead this???? Now I have always followed the adage of bigger is better, more then less is always better in guy world. However, no matter how hard you try, it is next to impossible to cover a five pound maul with wax paper and make it stay when you hit. I found the simple claw hammer worked wonders. As a side note, it seems that butcher-block is soft, it does not bode well to hammers. Just an FYI....

But!!!! It is starting to soften a bit. Now my rolling pin, where did....where.....LILLY!!!!!! Where is daddies rolling pin?!?!?!?! Yes honey, I know your play dough looks like daddies white blob, but you cant use my...no, you cant use daddies hammer either....Go wake up mom.

Ok, now it is just me, my rolling pin and my marsh mellow fondant. I am going to roll this into the ¼ it needs to be and start my best creation ever. Rolling.....rolling....spin...roll...spin...roll...spin...ok, why does it roll and then suck back like rubber? This is no good!!! I need it to roll and stay rolled!!! Roll...spin.....roll....spin..

I think it was roughly about ½ thick and a good 30 minutes of rolling that it dawned on me that if I want it orange, I have to actually ADD the color to it <sniffle>.

So I roll by semi flat, semi ball of fondont back into somewhat of a ball and poke a hole in it. Now lets see, If I want orange its 50 drops of yellow and 8 of red??? But thats for cake, what about dough? Ok, so 50 drops....one....two...wait, was that two or did another sneak out? I dunno......simple enough, just knead the dough a bit and the color will come, I say to myself. Flip the dough, knead it nice and hard and hey lookie there.....Did you know that food coloring even a total of 58 drops ( approximately) under pressure makes a perfect stream when you put pressure on it? Eh, I hated those window dressings anyways.....

My color is there, I am an expert now on how to roll this out....It is only going on 1 ½ hours later!!! I have roughly 10 hours until the party, it can be done!!!! Roll...spin...roll...spin...roll...tear....tear? Why is it tearing? Why is it sticking to my table? Why am I making this stupid cake and not one of my desserts instead??????

With shame on my face, and a wife shaking her head, I scoop up my fondant, and let it slowly roll out of my fingers into the garbage. My dreams shattered, my ego bruised....I conceded to making a simple two layer cake with some simple frosting.

I go back to my laptop and start to delete the recipe for my marsh mellow fondant...But hey whats this? A different recipe for fondant from icing? I can do this? This will be a snap...............

What a wonderful post. Thank you for taking the time to write your experience with such humor and with word skill. You made my day!
It is so well written that I saw the whole thing in front of me...much like a movie.

Maybe you should be a writer instead of a baker. But then again....what would you write about! Keep on baking and keep on writing.

A very entertaining read!

For next time (if there is a next time...): Add your coloring to the melted marshmallows before mixing in the powdered sugar. Use gel coloring instead of liquid so you don't have to use so much. Stir in as much sugar as you can before dumping it on the counter, or, better yet, use a stand mixer. Let the fondant rest overnight, but not in the refrigerator. And most importantly, whatever you do, keep the good attitude!

Thanks for posting this. My adventure was more of a nightmare. Sorry for jacking your thread, but this is as good a place as any to ask my questions.

I made some of this for the wedding cake I did last weekend. I had always read that if you add too much sugar it tends to turn brittle or crumbly. Mine turned into rubber bands. It would snap back when I tried to roll it out. I tried adding more shortening (I have a stock of old Crisco in my pantry), but that didn't help. It took a lot of labor and friction from the rolling pin to make it stay the size I needed.

Does anyone know - Was it too much sugar or the generic marshmallows I used that made this like it was?

Also, can you use this stuff to make gumpaste if you add the tylose to it?

Theresa

Oh my goodness! That was a funny post! But I feel bad for you that it didn't work out. Keep trying! I always use less powdered sugar than what they suggest, to be safe.

Good luck!

Very funny

I don't ever refrigerate my MMF, and I never color it without microwaving it first...makes it soft and pliable, and EASY to blend.

How funny!

The answer to your problem is power tools! You need a kitchen aid mixer with a dough hook. That's how I make my MMF because I can't stand putting my hands in that warm sticky gooey mess.

great sense of humor, love the post, thank you for sharing your experience and you are not alone that's for sure.

When you recover and get all the powdered sugar off the dogs and your daughter and your kitchen, you don't need to put it in the fridge, it's fine on the counter. Add your gel color to the melted marshmallows, and mix it in a stand mixer (aka Kitchenaid with dough hook). And pop the "Blob" in the microwave for about 10 seconds, that will prevent you from needing the hammer.

Keep that sense of humor and give it another shot. And I would have to agree, there isn't enough crisco sometimes. Oh, almost forgot, try using spray crisco, you use less and it cleans up easier. Just the plain Crisco Vegetable Oil Spray.

Funny! Sorry you had a disaster. There is a video on you tube that show how to make MMF in a KA and it shows what the consistancy should be. Maybe if you watch that it could help.

I'm with Texas_Rose I hate getting my hands all gooey!


Playingwithsugar ~ you can add tylose to fondant to make it dry hard.
The generic marshmallows should work the same as name brand.

Hahahaha! Sweet writeup! I'm sorry you had a bit of a crazy experience, but it'll get better. I must say, I've experienced that powdery Northwestern blizzard myself. I really like this recipe for MMF:

http://cakecentral.com/recipes/3183/rhondas-ultimate-mmf

I agree that it is best not to store the fondant in the refrigerator, add the color before you start adding sugar, and don't add quite as much sugar as the recipe calls for. I've had good results so far.

No advice,but the all time best post ever!!!!I really needed a good chuckle,Thanks!

I have read about not using all the sugar on several occasions, so when I made mine, I measured out 1-1/2 lbs and used that. Apparently, that's still too much. I'll try 1 lb, 11 oz (about 1-2/3 lbs) next time.

Theresa

I don't know about the rest of you but..I found that Kraft Marshmellows make the best mm fondant and I am not a "Brand Name" person I have used all kinds of Generic marshmellows and had good fondantfrom them. BUT... when I use the Kraft Marshmellows it just seems to come out really nice.. DARN... BECAUSE Kraft is not CHEAP! TWICE AS MUCH AS GENERIC Marshmellows.. but still cheaper than ordering it.. maybe its the climate.. I live in Northern CA..ok thats my 2 cents worth on the MMfondant.. Loved the story I SOoo could not picture my husband making fondant.. but if he would.. he would be using tools too!! He did surprise me when I was making my first Topsy Turvy cake and it came time to Carve it.. I freaked... and HE CARVED IT FOR ME!! and did a great job!! I was'nt getting the angle thing... I did the other two layers... he was a great teacher... thanks again for the great post!!

Kraft Jet Puffed is the only brand I'll use...the others I've tried left my MMF full of pockmarks or bubbles and were way too sweet.

The real thing does work better for MMF. Ditto on the PS...no generics there either.

This is what I use, Theresa, maybe it will be useful to you:

1 lb Kraft MM
2 lb domino or c&h PS
4 tablespoons water
Crisco to grease bowl and hook

Melt MM and water in a big bowl, stirring frequently. Pour into greased bowl, sift the PS on top of the MM mixture, and then mix on the first or second setting until smooth. Dump it out onto a greased mat and knead just a little bit, if it needs it. Don't scrape the leftover PS from the bottom of the bowl onto the MMF. It barely takes any kneading that way and the gooey icky step is done by the KA.

Question--what if you don't hve a microwave to melt the marshmellows? Can you do this in a double boiler on low? Or maybe a heat proof bowl over hot water? Any ideas?


Derekkest --your descriptions were wonderful. Keep writing and posting.

Seriously, now, I have a ton of this stuff left (I made 4 batches, because I wasn't sure of the final design until after I made it). Is there some way to recover this stuff? Can I add it to some more melted marshmallows, minus any more sugar? Do you think it would be worth experimenting with?

Theresa

I've gotten the "rubberband" fodant before too - but I've decided that's it old or dry marshmallows. I don't buy extra now, I buy them right when I need them. Fresh ones don't ever give me trouble. Also, sometimes if I only need a little, I'll make 1/2 a batch and save 1/2 a bag of marshmallows. I seal them now in an airtight container - bread tieing the bad closed doesn't work - a week later - rubberband fondant.