A Fondant Cake

There is definitely something in the water that my friends are drinking - and I guess I drank it too, because SO many people that I know have either just had a baby or are expecting a baby. I'm so serious, I know 8 pregnant people! and three people, besides me, that just had babies! It's so wonderful and exciting to know that Raleigh is going to have such a great group of people to grow up with.

Well, as with all babies... there are alot of baby showers going on around here! This weekend, we get to celebrate my friend, Heather's, new little man - Ethan! There are a group of 4 of us hosting her shower and I said I would make the cake - But I didn't want just any ole' cake... I wanted to make something special. Off to google I went - and I did a search for baby boy shower cakes... they were all fondant. I've seen stacked fondant cakes made before, but I had never attempted one on my own.

The only problem with fondant cakes - Fondant tastes TERRIBLE! I did a google search on what was in it, and there is no wonder that it tastes awful.. I knew that there had to be an alternative recipe. I came across a recipe for Marshmallow fondant and lots of reviews said that it was SO much better than the other stuff, so I decided to give it a shot. I made Blue and White fondant:

This is the recipe I used:

16 ounces white mini-marshmallows (don't buy the off brand!)
2 to 5 tablespoons water (it only took me 2)
2 pounds powdered sugar

1/2 cup Crisco shortening (I used the off brand)

Empty your marshmallows into a mixing bowl and add 2 tbsp. of water.
If you are making colored fondant, add your food coloring NOW
Microwave your marshmallows in 30 second intervals, stirring between each until they are smooth.
Pour 3/4 of your powdered sugar into the bowl with your marshmallows.
HEAVILY GREASE YOUR COUNTERTOPS! If you don't, you'll be sorry. (yes, that is the crisco..) Spread it around using your hands, then rub the crisco all over your hands. It's about to get sticky.
Dump your marshmallow and sugar mix onto the greased countertop:
Knead your fondant until all the sugar is gone and it has a play-doh texture. Add more crisco to your hands as needed. If it gets too dry, add water 1/2 TEASPOON at a time.
Roll your fondant into a ball and cover it with a generous amount of crisco, then DOUBLE seal it with saran wrap.


Store it in your fridge overnight.
Next, prepare the cake of your choice. I used Duncan Hines moist deluxe, because it's my favorite. For my cake, I used a 10", an 8", and a 6" pan and baked each size twice so I could have 3 two layer cakes.. Grease the bottom and sides of the pan:
Share your beaters and your bowl with your favorite little helper:

While your cakes are baking, prepare a buttercream icing - I used THIS RECIPE exactly how it is listed and it was enough to ice and decorate all three of my cakes -- and it is DELICIOUS. When your cakes are cooled, ICE them generously with this icing so your fondant will stick.

Pull the fondant out of the fridge. Unwrap it. Microwave it for 20 seconds. Use 1/2 of the ball and roll it onto your counter to about 1/8" thickness. For the 10" cake, I rolled it to a 17" in diameter circle (3" on each side, 10" across the top, and an inch just for fun):

When the fondant is how you want it, roll it up on your rolling pin loosely.
Set your cake up on something high, but that is smaller than your cake board. I used this handy dandy candle holder. Once Your cake is high, lift your rolling pin over your cake, loosen the fondant over the cake and let it drape. Push the fondant down onto your cake and trim off excess fondant. Repeat this step with all three cakes.
Now, the fun part - GET CREATIVE! I went with polka dots, but I have seen stripes, swirls, zig-zags, etc. Before you stick your fondant on your cake, use a little of your buttercream icing on the back as glue.
Here is my finished Product!

The great thing about Fondant Cake is it's hold time -the fondant acts as a sealer and will hold the moisture in the cake for up to 5 days! To store the cake, do not put it in the fridge, it will sweat. Store it under a box, or in a baker's box until it's time to serve.