Captain America Birthday Cake with Marshmallow Fondant

Last month was my son Jack Jacks birthday. He turned 5…crazy how fast he is growing up. He seriously stayed my baby for so long and now he is 5 and just learned to read! Where does the time go! His birthday was when I was about to have a baby so on his actual birthday I just made a plain chocolate cake with frosting. He kept begging and begging to have a friend party, so about 3 weeks after his birthday I finally called some friends over to help me and they brought their kids Jack Jacks age and we had a small party for him. I had promised I would make him a cool super hero cake so I decided to try my hand at Marshmallow Fondant and make Captain America’s Shield. Here is how it turned out…

Not to bad huh? First time and it really didn’t take me that long.

Here is the recipe…

Marshmallow Fondant

{Printable Recipe Here}

1 16oz bag of Marshmallows
2 T Water
1 t vanilla (or any other flavoring)
2 lbs powdered sugar

Place marshmallows and water in a glass bowl and put in the microwave for 30 second increments until it come out smooth.

Add 1 t Vanilla (or any other flavoring)

If you want to color it add color now. You will use a lot less and it is not as messy. Or you can also color it when it is done. I did it after because I needed a bunch of different colors, and it worked fine. If you want it to be chocolate – add cocoa to taste!

Next put all but a 1/4 cup of powdered sugar in the Marshmallow mix and stir well.

{You can do this in a standing mixer, just make sure you grease down the paddles with Crisco}

On well greased (and clean) counter top knead frosting with 1/4 cup of powdered sugar (with greased hands)

After kneaded and all mixed together wrap in plastic wrap and place in fridge over night.

{The frosting should not be crumbly, or runny. You can always melt it in the microwave if it is to hard or crumbly for 10 second increments, and you can also add more powdered sugar if it is too runny. It should be able to be smooth with no cracks when rolled with a rolling pin. }

When ready to use… divided them up into different balls that you want to color. I used gloves so my hands wouldn’t be all sorts of colors. Make a little well in the center of each ball and mix in food coloring. Also use cornstarch {but powdered sugar would be way better} to make it so it won’t stick to the counter and the gloves. Knead the color until it is evenly colored.

Now is the fun part. Taste it!! It taste SO much better than normal fondant.

You can use cookie cutters, bowls, cups, or just a knife to shape it.

Update….

My friend Brian and his wife Kelsey make cakes together. Isn’t that so cool! Anyway, after I posted this he gave me some suggestions that will make it a lot easier. Thanks Brian!!

Ad the color before you start microwaving. Mallows in bowl, sprinkle water, add flavor, add color, then microwave. Once you get used to the feel of the finished product you can easily make very small amounts and assure that the colors are pure and even. Make sure you roll it out while it is still hot and it will lay a lot smoother also. I highly recommend using powdered sugar to keep it from sticking to your counter, who likes the taste of corn starch?

I will freeze the extra fondant but I always make as close to the amount I need in the specific colors I need right when I am ready to put it on the cake. Using it fresh allows me to mold to some of those intricate designs I do.

Never underestimate the ease of layering fondant and cutting out what you want removed. just keep the fondant covered with sugar where you want to cut things out and it will come off super easy.

Oh and Just a little hint, make sure you crumb coat your cake with a little regular frosting so that the fondant will stick to it.

Have any of you ever made this? What flavors have you made?