Marshmallow fondant recipe

My husband, my 9 month old and I went to visit my family in Indiana for my little sisters graduation so that is why I wasn't able to post a recipe last week. Did any of you even notice? Anyone? Anyone? Bueler? Ok, moving on.

(Me and my son)

While we were there, I made a cake to celebrate my sister's graduation. I saw the idea for the cake in Family Fun Magazine (which is a magazine I highly recommend) and couldn't wait to try it out. I decided to use fondant on the cake instead of frosting because I thought it would give it a cleaner look underneath the M&M's. I have made this fondant recipe before and it is so tasty. Usually fondant tastes disgusting (that might just be my personal opinion) but this one is really good because it is made with marshmallows. I found the recipe here awhile ago and loved it (this link will show you a good picture of what the fondant ball should look like after kneading it). I had only used it to frost sugar cookies before this so I wasn't sure how it would hold up on a cake. It ended up working out pretty well. I rolled it out a little too thin so there were some parts where you could kind of see the cake underneath it, but the M&M's ended up covering those parts up.

Here is a picture of the new graduate holding the cake:

In case anyone is remotely interested in how to decorate the cake, you just alternate with peanut, medium and mini M&M's to make whatever pattern you want.

Marshmallow Fondant recipe

16 oz mini-marshmallows
2-5 T water
2 lbs powdered sugar
½ c shortening

Add the water and the marshmallow's and microwave in 30 second intervals until the marshmallow's are melted. Add powdered sugar and knead until smooth. This is really easy if you have a kitchen aid, but if you are like me and have to do everything by hand, this part could take awhile and be REALLY sticky. Just keep kneading and don't give up and eventually it will become smooth. The 1/2 cup of shortening is to cover your hands and counter space with so it helps with the stickiness, but be careful not to use too much because I made that mistake the first time I made this recipe and it made the fondant start to seperate. Try adding more powdered sugar to help with the stickiness. Once you have the fondant ready, roll it into a ball, cover it with crisco, wrap in saran wrap and put it in the fridge for a few hours before you use it.

Tracy