With just four ingredients, this EASY Marshmallow Fondant recipe is inexpensive, easy to make, and can be used for any creative cake decorating project! Plus, it tastes great!
Want a cake recipe to decorate with fondant? Keep it simple with a homemade Yellow or Chocolate cake or make it fancy and fill your cake with Chocolate Mousse!
What I love about this recipe:
- Inexpensive: Store-bought fondant can be pretty expensive but this fondant recipe only costs about $2 for per batch (about 3lbs of fondant)!
- Fast: Only takes about 10 minutes to make homemade fondant!
- Texture: This fondant is perfectly smooth, pliable, and can be made any color you’d like! It is perfect for cake decorating!
How to make Marshmallow Fondant:
Microwave: Place marshmallows and water in a microwave safe bowl and microwave.
Mix in Powdered Sugar: Grease your hands with shortening and use your hands to mix in powdered sugar with the melted marshmallow mixture.
Knead: Grease your hands and your counter-top generously with shortening. Turn marshmallow mixture onto counter and start kneading it like you would dough. Add more powdered sugar as needed and re-grease your hands and the counter-top as needed until the dough is smooth and soft.
4. Add color (if desired) and Roll Out: Roll it out thinly (about ⅛ inch thick) for covering cakes or creating decorations.
How much Fondant do I need to cover my cake?
This recipe makes about 3 pounds (48 oz) of fondant. Here is a conversion chart to help you determine how much fondant you need to cover your cake.
Coloring and Storing Instructions:
To Color: Add a little icing color to your desired amount of fondant. Knead the fondant with your hands until it absorbs all of the color (I recommend wearing plastic gloves). Add more color as needed to reach the desired hue.
To Store: Coat homemade marshmallow fondant with a thin layer of shortening then wrap it tightly with plastic wrap. Place in a resealable bag with all the air squeezed out. It will keep well in the refrigerator for up to 2 months.
Recipe Variations:
- Stovetop instead of microwave: Add water and marshmallows to a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir well until melted. Remove from heat and stir in powdered sugar.
- Substitute large marshmallow: To substitute large marshmallows, use a 16 oz. bag of large marshmallows. Follow directions exactly, using a little more water and/or powdered sugar in step 6 to find the right consistency for a smooth dough.
- To use a stand mixer: If you don’t want to knead the dough with your hands, you can use a stand mixer with a dough hook. First grease the bowl and the hook with shortening. Then dust the bowl gently with powdered sugar. Add marshmallows and slowly add the rest of the powdered sugar (about ½ cup at a time), mixing between each addition.
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Recipe
Marshmallow Fondant
Ingredients
- 16 ounce package mini marshmallows (8 ½ cups)
- 2-5 Tablespoons water
- 8 cups powdered sugar
- 1/3 cup vegetable shortening
Instructions
- Place marshmallows and 2 tablespoons of water in a large microwave-safe bowl.
- Microwave for 30 seconds on high; stir until mixed well. Continue microwaving in 30 second intervals until melted and smooth.
- Place about 5 cups of the powdered sugar on top of the melted marshmallow mixture and gently fold it into the marshmallows.
- Grease your hands and your counter generously with shortening. Turn marshmallow mixture onto counter and start kneading it like you would dough.
- Add more confectioners' sugar as needed and re-grease your hands and the counter as needed.
- If the marshmallow fondant is tearing easily, it is too dry; add water (about ½ tablespoon at a time) kneading it until fondant forms a firm, smooth elastic ball that will stretch without tearing.
Notes
- Stovetop instead of microwave: Add water and marshmallows to a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir well until melted. Remove from heat and stir in powdered sugar.
- Substitute large marshmallow: To substitute large marshmallows, use a 16 oz. bag of large marshmallows. Follow directions exactly, using a little more water and/or powdered sugar in step 6 to find the right consistency for a smooth dough.
- To use a stand mixer: If you don’t want to knead the dough with your hands, you can use a stand mixer with a dough hook. Be sure to FIRST grease the bowl and the hook with shortening. Then dust the bowl gently with powdered sugar. Add marshmallows and slowly add the rest of the powdered sugar (about ½ cup at a time), mixing between each addition.
Nutrition
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*I originally shared this recipe December 2013. Updated April 2020 and July 2022.
This was so easy! Thanks for the good recipe and directions. 🙂
Thank you so much for adding the “Variations” section with easy, clear directions. Your recipe was delicious, easy to make, mold and work with. I made fondant headphones for my sons 13th music themed birthday party. I’m very disabled and was easily able to follow your instructions and complete my task!
Made this and came out really good. Thanks. Can you add Chocolate powder/chips to make Chocolate fondant.
Hi! I can’t wait to try out this recipe for a cake idea I have. But just one question, to color the fondant, do you add gel food coloring? Would gel food coloring ne okay to add? Thats whatI have on hand. You mentioned to add a little icing color……not sure what that is.
Also, the coloring is added once the marshmellow fondant is made?
Thanks! I love all your videos and recipes!!
Yes, once the fondant is formed, you can add gell food coloring and knead it in with your hands (I like to wear gloves).
I made a cake for my granddaughter’s first birthday last year, I worked with the sugar geek show marshmallow fondant and it’s wonderful except, it taste terrible as there is still fondant required! Now I am making her second birthday cake as I write and the cake I am so wanting to make calls for a fondant type covering but my family does not want to peel their frosting off their cake and i can’t say I blame them. I then saw a buttercream that can be molded but it calls for to much cornstarch and even the creator said , taste? well….. So I am going to try yours but because I still have SOOO much to do, if you see this and want to tell us anything about the taste I should know about, “please do”.
I mostly need to cover the three tier square pans , for a fondant covering of the bases. I would love to mold with it but have other terrible tasting stuff and then will pipe with butter cream. Doing a mold to make it look like Spirit the horse, with a three tier of blue sky, green grass (That’s the need for fondant) and them molds and piping of branches, cherry blossoms (mostly on top for the horse) and grass, wild flowers rocks, forest animals , water and clouds. If this fondant works I am going to TELL THE WORLD! especially lol if I can mold with it instead of this other horrible stuff, (nothing against sugar geek she’s amazing) But really, no one can make truly edible fondant? I hope if works (prayers are welcomed?)
Sincerely Momio (grandma) reaching out
So, not for covering the cake, but for small molded pieces, have you tried candy clay (modeling chocolate)? You can make it from almond bark, candy melts or white almond bark and color it with gel color – it works quite well. It gets pretty firm for sculpted pieces…maybe I misunderstood your question, but if not, I’ve used it several times, and my kids live the taste. I have also used marshmallow fondant to cover a cake, and it does taste better, fyi.
I’m making a fresh strawberry cake for my granddaughter’s b’day. Can I place this fondant on top of iced cake, or should it be placed directly onto cake sans icing?
It just depends how thick/sturdy the frosting is. Did you use fresh or freeze dried strawberries for your cake frosting? Fresh strawberries will result in a runnier frosting and I don’t think the fondant will stay put very well. If it’s a thicker, sturdier buttercream, then yes, that would be fine.
Hey, I’m looking at the ingredient measurements and wondering if they’re written out correctly? It says 16 oz package of marshmallows (8 1/2 cups) but 16 oz is 2 cups. Then for the powdered sugar it says 8 cups – is that correct or is it supposed to be like 1 1/2 – 2 cups?
The amounts of correct! 16 oz of marshmallows is 8 1/2 cups of marshmallows. The 8 oz= 1 cup is for liquids. Hope you enjoy the Fondant.
Do you need to add all the powdered sugar? or do you just add until you get the proper consistency. I made this again recently and used all the sugar but then had to add more water. i’m wondering if I should have just stopped adding sugar when it seemed right?
Hi, i am planning to try this recipe for fondant but i only need to make enough to make the shape “1 D” and a few heart shaped cut outs to decorate an 8″ cake. How much fondant will I need and how do I alter the recipe?
Thanks!
Can I sculpt with this ? I’m doing spiders on the side of a cake
Yes, it should work!