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Fondant is a thick icing used to cover and decorate cakes. Our fondant recipe uses only four ingredients and is easy to work with and color. It also tastes much better than store-bought!
My mom made the most beautiful wedding cake for me when I got married. It was around the time when large, fancy, buttercream-frosted wedding cakes were going out of style, and the smaller, more simple fondant covered wedding cakes were becoming more popular. My wedding cake was covered with a smooth white fondant and then decorated with fresh flowers.
Since then, I have loved decorating with fondant, especially for my kids’ birthdays, and this fondant recipe is my favorite. It is quick and easy to make with just 4 ingredients. It’s a fun alternative to vanilla buttercream frosting and just as easy!
🩷 Erica
Rave Reviews from Our Readers
First try at fondant and was amazing! My 10 year granddaughter wanted to make her own birthday cake with fondant flowers. Was so beautiful! – Ruth
I can’t believe how easy it was to make fondant!! This recipe was perfect, easy to follow and turned out better than store bought. I did have to use additional powdered sugar due to the high humidity today, but the guidance about making it play dough consistency. was spot on! Thank you for sharing this recipe!! -Rena
It worked perfectly! My cake is beautiful! – Pepper
Table of Contents
What is Fondant?
Fondant is a soft, thick icing that is used to coat and decorate cakes. It is pliable, similar to the texture and consistency of play dough, which makes it easy to work with and shape. This fondant recipe is made by combining marshmallows and powdered sugar. It has way better flavor than store bought fondant and it’s easy to color with food coloring.
Ingredients
Surprisingly, there are only 4 ingredients to make this fondant. This recipe makes enough to cover three 8″ round (2″ deep) cakes. See full ingredient list and amounts in recipe card below.
- Mini marshmallows: Make sure the marshmallows are fresh! Marshmallows that have been in an opened bag or are past the freshness date will be stale and/or sticky, and the fondant won’t turn out as well. When you purchase the marshmallows, check the expiration date and shake the bag a little to make sure they aren’t all clumped together.
- Powdered sugar: This gives the fondant structure and sweetness.
- Shortening: White shortening, not butter-flavored, is used to create the soft, flexible, workable consistency of fondant.
- Water: A small amount of water helps the marshmallows to melt evenly. Be careful not to add too much.
- Gel food coloring: Optional, but fun to use when decorating with fondant. Gel colors are ideal for fondant because they’re highly concentrated and won’t change the texture like liquid food coloring can.
Step by Step Instructions
Fondant is simple to make, and when made correctly, it is also easy to work with when decorating. Here are the steps we recommend to make this fondant recipe a success:
- In a microwaveable, glass bowl combine marshmallows, water, and shortening. Microwave for four 20-second intervals, stirring well in between each interval.
- Pour the mixture into a stand mixer. Using a dough attachment add the powdered sugar one cup at a time. You may not need all of the sugar, keep adding and mixing until the fondant is a play-dough consistency, not sticky at all.
- When the fondant becomes too stiff for the mixer, knead it by hand adding more sugar if needed. The fondant should have a matte appearance, not glossy.
- If adding color, start with a drop or two of food coloring and knead the coloring in with your hands until even. Be sure to wear gloves!
- You can divide the fondant into sections and mix in colors to each section. Once you have the colors you want, roll the fondant into a ball (or separate balls if you have more than one color).
- Roll the fondant out into a thin layer using a rolling pin. An adjustable long rolling pin works best. Keep all surfaces and hands clean and lightly covered in shortening to prevent sticking. Flour or powdered sugar will make it too stiff.
How to Cover a Cake with Fondant
- First, gently lift the fondant using the rolling pin and lay it evenly over the frosted cake.
- Next, press the fondant gently around the cake so it sticks evenly to the frosting.
- Cut off the excess using a fondant cutter or knife.
- Finally, smooth out the fondant with a flat spatula or a fondant smoothing tool. Shape and smooth as needed.
Decorating with Fondant
Finally, decorate the cake with fondant designs, ribbons, or flowers. The fondant is a lot of fun to work and play with. It works beautifully on wedding cakes with fresh flowers, and it is easy to color for bright and fun birthday cakes, like the Barbie Cake pictured below. This easy fondant recipe has been used over and over in our family to decorate cakes for special events. Don’t be intimidated – it’s very simple to make! Once you get it down, you will see that the possibilities are endless. Be ready for birthday cake requests, you are about to become a cake boss!
This Hamburger Cake is a fun cake to make for the hamburger lovers out there. The cheese, lettuce, and onions are all made out of fondant. It’s perfect for BBQ’s, potlucks, or birthday parties. I recently made this with my sons for a Cub Scout cake decorating contest. The scouts loved it!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can! Just chop the larger marshmallows into smaller pieces for even melting.
Sticky fondant usually means there is too much moisture. Knead small amounts of powdered sugar at a time into the fondant until it is no longer sticky or “glossy” and has a matte appearance. It should have the feel and consistency of play dough.
Fondant can be made ahead and stored for later use. However, it will dry out, so it is important to keep it in an airtight container. It can also be wrapped completely in plastic wrap. It is not necessary to refrigerate fondant.
It can be fixed! Knead a small amount of shortening into the fondant to smooth out cracks or tears.
Absolutely! That’s what makes it so fun! After the fondant is kneaded, add food coloring and continue kneading until the coloring is even throughout the fondant.
More Frosting and Icing Recipes to Try
Try this marshmallow fondant and see just how simple cake decorating with fondant can be! Comment below and share your tips or questions.
How to Make Fondant
Ingredients
- 16 ounces mini marshmallows
- 32 ounces powdered sugar
- 4 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon shortening (for your hands when working with fondant)
Instructions
- Put marshmallows, water, and shortening in a glass microwavable bowl.
- Microwave for 20 seconds, then stir. Repeat 4 times.
- Pour into a mixer and mix well using the dough attachment. Add in powdered sugar a cup at a time. Mix until the shine is completely gone. You may not need to use all the sugar, just keep adding until it has the consistency of play dough. The final result should not be sticky to the touch.
- When the fondant becomes too stiff to mix in the mixer, pull the fondant out and knead it on the counter, adding more sugar if needed. Knead in food coloring, if desired.
- From this point, you can roll the fondant out to place on a cake, cupcakes, or to create something amazing! When working with fondant, keep all surfaces and hands lightly covered in shortening to prevent sticking. Makes enough fondant to cover approximately three round 8" (2" deep) cakes.
Video
Notes
- This recipe makes enough to cover three 8-inch cakes (2″ deep).
- Fondant can be made ahead and stored for later. Wrap it well in plastic wrap or keep it in an airtight container at room temperature.
- If coloring your fondant, add gel food coloring after you remove the fondant from the mixer. Be sure to wear plastic gloves!
I actually have a question, in other recipes for fondant they call for the water and mini marshmallows to be microwaved for thirty seconds. They use the shortening for hands later.
In your recipe it says to microwave the water, mini marshmallows and shortening is that correct? Then I’m assuming more shortening for hands? I’m confused. Please let me know which way is correct.
Thank you,
Debra Morris
The recipe as written is correct but yes, you can also use shortening on your hands as well!
Will this fondant work in silicone molds or is it too soft?
I think it would be too soft. It would work with cookie cutters or other cutters but I don’t know how well it would work in a mold. I guess it depends on the shape and size of it?
Thanks for taking the effort to place your recipes on social media. May it attract countless audience to support your posts. Thanks again & Best wishes with your recipes. Bless you. PS. Just would appreciate your measurements to be in tsp, cups, ml, grams & not ounces. Thanks. Cheerio 👌🙃
Thank you for your comment, Lydia. We use ounces for the mini marshmallows and powdered sugar because these are the sizes they are packaged in for purchase. A 16 ounce bag of mini marshmallows is approximately 8 cups, and a 32 ounce bag of powdered sugar yields approximately 7 1/2 cups. 🙂
I’m wondering if this is by weight (oz) or by liquid measure (oz)? Thanks
It’s by weight, they should be pretty standard package sizes to make it easier. For example you would use a 2 lb. bag (32 oz) of powdered sugar and it is already weighed for you. Hope this helps!
Metric measurements please!!!
We will have to test this out with metric measurements to get accurate results. We will add them when we can do the testing. In the meantime you might be able to put this recipe into a metric converter calculator online. Hope this helps!
I can’t believe how easy it was to make fondant!! This recipe was
perfect, easy to follow and turned out better than store bought. I did have to use additional powdered sugar due to the high humidity today, but the guidance about making it play dough consistency. was spot on! Thank you for sharing this recipe!!
I don’t have a big mixer, just a hand mixer and it doesn’t have that hook beater. Can I still use the hand mixer to a point and switch to hand beating. I read in another article that can be done. Also, I want to make ruffles to go around the cake, will the ruffles hold up. Thank you
Yes, you should be able to hand knead the fondant after it has come together and be just fine. For ruffles, yes they should hold up just fine, however, depending on your kitchen temp and humidity the fondant may not hold its shape as well. Have some “Gum-Tex” (aka Tylose Powder) on hand so you can add it to the fondant if needed. This will make the fondant dry faster but will also help it hold its shape better. When I am making small, delicate ruffles, I usually go for thick royal icing or buttercream frosting because they are less temperamental when it comes to holding their ruffle shape than fondant. I hope this helps!
Hey, loved this
I used it to decorate some cookies and I have heaps left over. Is it ok to freeze?
We haven’t had great results when freezing fondant. The condensation from freezing and thawing changing the consistency of the fondant. It can also become brittle in the freezer.
Hi. I want to attempt to make this. I was wondering if I could use coconut oil? And how much should I make to cover a sheet cake?
We have not tried it with coconut oil, so I can say how that would turn out. How big of a sheet cake are you making?
amazing a bit thick but amazing my granddaughter used this for her moms baby shower it looked great
it was a little bit thick but still great i loved it
Just wondering if you put icing on before you put the fondant on the cake? I’m trying to make a Bluey cake for my daughters first birthday. I just got done with chemo so ordering a cake isn’t in the budget! But I have been making my own homemade cakes and icing lately but having really gotten the taste amazing yet. Although I have tried quite a few different recipes that claim they’re the best.. 😂 I’m going to see what your cakes taste like though. Thank you!
Yes you coat the cake with a thin layer of icing before adding fondant! Good luck with your cake!
as far as taste it is like really sweet marshmallow but my sons like to torch their frosting because it has a roasted marshmallow flavor. It smells great torched. You may have trouble with the flavor because of the chemo tho. That can be a side effect.
This worked amazing! First time success at fondant and such a simple recipe! Used less sugar than called for and microwaved shorter amount time (did it by the book and it was overdone a bit, so added in a teeny bit more to loosen it up). Making North Pole stamps with the fondant! Merry Christmas!