How to Make Fondant
Give your desserts a professional touch with this fancy sugary topping.
Fondant is an elastic sugar mixture that can be colored, rolled, molded, stretched, and cut to make any shape or design you can imagine. Think of it like a baker's play dough. You can buy premade fondant, but the homemade version is relatively simple and can be custom-colored or -flavored to fit your needs.
1 Gather the Ingredients
All you need is some mini marshmallows, confectioners’ sugar and food coloring.
2 Melt the Marshmallows
Begin by placing 4 cups (8 oz.) of mini marshmallows in a large bowl, along with 2 tablespoons of water. Microwave them on high for 1 minute. After 1 minute the marshmallows may look the same, but stir them and you’ll notice they are molten. Stir until the entire bowl is a smooth, even consistency. If the marshmallows don't completely melt after stirring, return them to the microwave for an additional 30 seconds..
3 Add the Powdered Sugar
Begin to stir powdered sugar into the melted marshmallows, 1 cup at a time, until it becomes too thick to stir with a spatula.
4 Move from Stirring to Kneading
When the mixture becomes too thick to stir, liberally dust your work surface and your hands with powdered sugar. Turn the fondant mixture out onto the work surface and begin to knead in more powdered sugar.
5 Keep Kneading
Continue kneading in more powdered sugar until the fondant has the texture of saltwater taffy and doesn’t stick to your work surface. You'll use approximately 4 cups, or 1 pound, of powdered sugar in total.
At this point the fondant is finished and ready to use.
6 Add Color
To color your fondant, flatten it into a disk and add a few drops of food coloring. Knead the fondant until the color is completely worked in.
7 Mold Into Shapes
Your fondant can be molded and sculpted like clay, or rolled into thin sheets and draped over cakes and cupcakes for a smooth, icing-like finish.
8 Make Designs
Try using cookie cutters or a sharp paring knife to cut designs and shapes into the rolled fondant. To make fondant stick to itself, simply dab a drop of water between the two pieces.
Find more helpful how-tos here »
Plus: Get a full recipe for marshmallow fondant »
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