How to Make Marshmallow Fondant



In this post Penny of Mother Natured shares a fabulous recipe for Marshmallow Fondant Icing, perfect for making decorations for your next cake celebration. I love that she says, “If you can make shapes out of playdough, then you’ll do great with this recipe!” Do you make your own cake decorations?

Let’s start by getting one thing straight. This is not a post designed to make you feel guilty for not whipping up Pinterest-worthy baked goods for your child’s next birthday party. Every mama has her own skill set, and if your preferred approach is to bung together a packet cake and throw a few store-bought decorations on top so you can save time for more important things, that’s fine by me. But if you enjoy turning your child’s birthday cake into a bit of a creative outlet, as I do, I’ve got a simple recipe that have you making your own fondant from scratch and making a fab cake for your little one.

My secret is marshmallow fondant; made from… you guessed it, marshmallows. If you can make shapes out of playdough, then you’ll do great with this recipe! The only down side is that it’s a little messy to make and you (and your child) must like marshmallows. Who doesn’t, seriously?!

How to Make Marshmallow Fondant



You will need:

• White marshmallows
• Soft icing sugar
• Water
• Food colouring

To make:

1. Place one bag of white marshmallows in a microwave safe bowl.

2. Add two teaspoons of water and mix the marshmallows and water with a spoon.

3. Place the container in the microwave for one minute – this time will vary depending on your microwave and it’s important that you don’t burn the marshmallows. I suggest putting it in for 30 seconds and then another 30 seconds and then in 10 second increments as required.  It should come out like the image below.

4. Mix the marshmallows until you have a smooth, even consistency. Set the bowl aside.

5. On a flat, clean surface, make a mound of two cups of icing sugar. Make a well in the middle of the icing sugar mound and tip the melted marshmallow into it.

6. Now comes the messy part. Cover your hands with icing sugar and, starting from the outsides, push the icing sugar into the marshmallow mixture. Try not to let the marshmallow mixture stick to your hands.

Eventually you’ll be able to knead the mixture. Add more icing sugar if you have to. You want the mixture to not stick to your hands anymore. Don’t overdo it though.

7. Once it’s finished, dust the outside of the marshmallow fondant with icing sugar and then wrap it in plastic wrap to store. You want it to be air tight. Store in the fridge until you are ready to use it. Just bring it out, warm it for no more than 10 seconds in the microwave and it should be soft and pliable again. 

You can also use your fondant straight away if necessary.

8. Colouring your fondant: To colour it, add a couple of drops of any regular liquid food colouring to the fondant and knead it in. Start off slowly if you’re looking for a precise shade and keep adding more colouring slowly as needed.

I usually make the decorations for my cakes about a week before I bake the cake (store them in a cool, dry location – not the fridge – once they are made). Then I store the remaining fondant until I need it to cover the cake. I’ve never worked with ‘real’ fondant, but everything I’ve seen made using fondant, I can make with marshmallow fondant.

Here are some of the fondant figurines I’ve made using the marshmallow fondant recipe:

I promise it’s easy! I’ve never done a course on cake decorating. The only tips I’ve learned were from You Tube – I especially needed to learn how to cover the cake with fondant. I would say that is actually the most challenging part of decorating with fondant. Making the figurines is just like playing with play dough, it’s that easy!

So, next time you want to replicate a fondant cake you know your child will adore, take the marshmallow fondant shortcut. You won’t regret it!

Visit Penny at Mother Natured for lots of inspiration for bringing nature play into your children’s lives, getting outside to explore the natural world as a family and, as a parent, finding peace and inspiration in nature yourself. I promise you’ll love it! You can also connect with Penny on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram.

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