Birthday Time!!! (Marshmallow Fondant Recipe)

My little bug turns 5 on Monday. I can't believe it. It seems like she's not supposed to be this big.

We had her party today and it was a total success! Well, unless you factor in the fact that my plan of having everything done the night before did NOT happen... AT ALL! I got all the cakes done literally 10 minutes before people started showing up!

She decided that for this party she wanted tacos and little mini cakes that said "eat me", like in Alice In Wonderland (her favorite movie).

So I started searching around for recipes. I knew I would need a lot of fondant and cakes that could withstand the weight of the fondant. Oh, and a good buttercream frosting recipe! For my fiance's daughters bday last year I used regular, nasty fondant... (But the cake turned out very pretty)

This time I wanted something that was going to taste better. So I decided to try Marshmallow Fondant! I have read many, many blog posts and articles about making MM fondant. In some people said it was soooo easy, but in others people said it was a big sticky mess. I was hoping for a smooth time... and I got it!

To start off I melted 16oz white mini marshmallows (use a good brand if you want a smooth result) with a couple of tablespoons of water by microwaving it in 30 second intervals until smooth. Then I dumped 3/4 of powdered sugar on top.
Next, I covered my working surface with crisco shortening (you will want to use crisco just because it will make it taste better in the end), and then coated my hands (backs, fronts, side, and in between fingers) with it as well. Trust me... do not skip this step because it feels gross... It well definitely be a big sticky mess if you don't.
Turn the MM/sugar out on the working surface and knead it for all your worth... It will seem like it's never going to turn into anything in the beginning, but it will start to come together pretty fast...

 

and just when you think it's never going to become solid.... 

 

Viola... you start having fondant consistency! 

 

Keep kneading it until it is smooth and... 

 

stretchy. You want it to where you can pull it... 

 

^^^ like this... without it breaking. 

 

so when it get to that point, form a ball with it and then wrap it in multiple layers of saran wrap... (I done 3)

 

Every thing I read said that at this point you should let it sit for a few hours, or if you're making it at night, then let it sit out for over night.

I let mine sit out about two hours and then I put it in the fridge. 

This is not something that you have to do. If you need to use it immediately then just make sure that there aren't any little bits of powdered sugar in it. You might need to add a few drops of water in order to get them all worked out.

In order to get it ready for the fridge you should unwrap it and cover it in a thick layer of crisco shortening. Then wrap it back up and place it in a ziploc bag, being sure to get as much air as possible out. 

MM fondant will store in the fridge for weeks! So take advantage of that fact and make it up a few days ahead. 

When I got up this morning and got it out to use I was immediately horrified because it was solid as a rock. All I could think was, "how the hell am I going to finish these cakes in time!" 

I took a deep breath and relaxed a little and then remember all the stuff I read about this being normal. I took it out of the bag (but left it wrapped) and tossed it in the microwave. I heated it in 10 second intervals for about 30 second total. Turning it over at each 10 second interval. When it was done it was nice and soft again. 

This stuff was amazing... I kneaded it  a few more times and it rolled out PERFECT! It cut smoothly, and not a single piece ripped... at all! 

The best part... 

it tasted amazing!!

I hope you all try this recipe! The cake was pretty awesome as well! The recipes for that and the buttercream frostings coming up next!!! 

Marshmallow Fondant

16 ounces white mini-marshmallows (use a good quality brand)

2 to 5 tablespoons water
2 pounds icing sugar
1/2 cup Crisco shortening (Use as much as you need)

Melt marshmallows and 2 tablespoons of water in a microwave or double boiler. To microwave, place the bowl in the microwave for 30 seconds, open microwave and stir, back in microwave for 30 seconds more, open microwave and stir again, and continue doing this until melted. It usually takes about 2 1/2 minutes total.
Place 3/4 of the powdered sugar on the top of the melted marshmallow mix.

Now grease your hands completely (palms, backs, and in between fingers), then grease the counter you will be using and dump the bowl of marshmallow/sugar mixture in the middle.

Start kneading it and keep going until you get a firm, smooth, elastic fondant. You can add more powdered sugar to help it come together. If it seems dry, add some water, a drop at a time, and knead it in. It took me about 5-7 minutes to get it worked out.

My Carrot Cake Blunder

I have recently subscribed to a blog called "Bittersweet." The writer done this whole Alice in Wonderland theme with his recent posts. One of them was The White Rabbit's Quick Carrot Cake. It sounded so yummy so I thought what the hey, I'll make it. I went to the store, got everything, and then came home and printed out the recipe. To my surprise I realized that in my excitement I must have not read the full recipe..... It said to microwave it. Now, I have nothing against microwaving anything, but

Me + Cake + Microwaving... It just isn't going to happen. 

I have to give the guy credit though... His cake looked AWESOME! So I decided to alter the recipe a little to fit how I like to cook! If you're looking for a yummy, super quick, and super simple carrot cake recipe... then head over to Bittersweet to check his out! 

         If you want to bake it... then stick around!

Quick and Simple Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese White Chocolate Glaze 

1 box of white or yellow cake mix *I used white*
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup water
3 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice

2 cups grated carrots
1 cup white chocolate chips
4 oz cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons milk 

First things first... you need a great helper like mine! 

(please ignore the horribly messy bookshelf in the background)

Once you've got that all squared away you should preheat your oven to 350F and grease and flour your bundt pan (you could use any pan you wanted, but I used what I call my cathedral bundt pan.

It's my favorite.

Tip Time: When grating your carrots, you'll want to make sure that you get as much water as possible out! Usually I will use cheesecloth to wring it out, but I was fresh out. So, I tried blotting with paper towels,

which didn't work. I ended up just wringing them out very carefully with paper towels.

After you get your carrots done mix them with the cake mix, oil, water, egg whites, vanilla, and pumpkin pie spice. This is where your eager helper comes in handy. They love to stir!!!

Once you get it mixed well, pour it into your prepared pan.

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes. If you see that the edges are looking a little more brown than you'd like and the center isn't done yet, you can sit your bundt pan on a cookie sheet to slow it down.

Remove from oven when a toothpick inserted, comes out clean.

Let sit in pan for 5 minutes, then flip out onto a plate.

Let cool completely (c-o-m-p-l-e-t-e-l-y)

When cool melt white chocolate (30 second intervals in the microwave) and beat it with the cream cheese. Add 1 T of milk at a time until you've reached the perfect consistency to glaze.

Spoon over cake, slice, and enjoy!!!!

                         

Other Words From Around The Web

I sat down with my google reader tonight, and noticed that there were a lot of great things recently posted. I thought I would post some links here so you can go look for yourself.

It is the first of the month so all the coupons and sales have reset.

-Check out Surviving The Stores for some of the latest deals at Walgreens, Rite Aid, and CVS.

-Then if you're looking for some good coupons head over to Money Saving Mom

Now on to some yummy food...

-Check out this great looking Beet Hummus at Simply Recipes.

-And as usual, Bakerella whipped up something yummy! Her Red Velvet Cake looks so good!

-Zesty Cook posted a yummy recipe for Homemade Bubbly Beer Bread (say that 5 times fast).

-Last, but not least... this Chocolate Tart is going to be the death of me. The moment I seen it over at Homemade Mothering, I knew I had to make it!

Hope you enjoy!

.

Tiramisu Bundt Cake

Oh. My. Goodness! I am a HUGE, I repeat, HUGE tiramisu fan, so when I came across this Tiramisu Bundt Cake at BakingBites.com, I was o' so happy!

I decided that I had to share this amazing recipe with my readers. I hope you all drool as much as I did! And if you haven't ever checked out Baking Bites, then please, take a minute and look around. I'm sure you'll find something you'll enjoy!