CHOCOLATE MARSHMALLOW FONDANT ICING

Steps:

• 1. TIPS: --> You want to use fondant on a fairly dense cake that will support the weight of the decorations. In comments, I will link to my pound cake recipes as I do not see a way to do it here. So far, only the chocolate pound cake is posted, but any others are similar - basically just omit the chocolate. --> Wilton sells a mat you can use for rolling the dough - not necessary to use theirs, except that it is very nice because it is marked with measurements - very helpful in figuring out sizing. You will have a much easier time using a mat than trying to lift it directly off the counter when you are ready to place it on your cake... read USING FONDANT TO DECORATE below and you'll see why. --> Wilton also sells a rolling pin for fondant ... again, not required, but very helpful as it has bands on the ends to help you determine thickness, which you may not need, but I sure do as I am not so skilled at rolling dough evenly. --> Wilton... yes, they make a lot of helpful tools (they also make a fondant you can purchase, I just don't like the taste)... has various mats, embossers, cutters, etc. that you can purchase for fun with making shapes and other decorations for your beautiful cake. For the cake pictured here, I used their "Fondant Impression Mat, Graceful Vines Design", which I found at Wal-mart, but you can purchase nearly anything you can imagine online from them. In this case, the bride and groom wanted a simple, elegant design, so I included a ribbon in the wedding color and did not add further decorations. You can see a little more decorative one on my recipe for regular marshmallow fondant, which I will link in comments below...
• 2. MORE TIPS: --> How thick to roll the dough? 1/8" to cover the cake, cut out shapes that will go in the cake covering (have to cut/remove the base cover and press them into the cut-out in the base cover). 3/16" letters, numbers & appliqué shapes 1/16" realistic flower petals and leaves --> Want a different flavor fondant? Just add whatever extract you wish... be creative and have fun! I haven't done it yet, but I suspect orange extract might be nice... --> Want colors? Wilton makes gel colorants for icing... also sold at Wal-mart and craft stores. (Wear food grade gloves to mix or it will stain your hands... not too bad though, if your hands are well-greased with the Crisco & colors are not too dark.) --> NEVER freeze fondant icing and NEVER refrigerate a cake that has been decorated with fondant icing. The fondant will "sweat", causing spots on your beautiful cake. :( Store decorated cake in cake box (yes, Wal-mart) for best results. --> They will keep for about 3 days as the fondant seals in the moisture in your cake... another reason I love fondant! --> As I think of other tips or you post them in comments, I'll add them here as I am able, so please let me know how this goes for YOU!
• 3. INSTRUCTIONS: 3 Melt marshmallows, chocolate and 2 tablespoons of water in a large, microwave-safe bowl: Put 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 - watch that you don't overdo it. 4 Add extracts and stir with wooden or plastic spoon - use a strong one - this is going to get very thick. 5 Sift in the cocoa powder, about 1/4 of the powdered sugar and stir. Repeat until about 1/2 - 3/4 of the sugar is in the mixture and at least partially stirred. 6 Remove any jewelry on your hands & place in safe location for after you are done mixing this dough or it will be hard to clean out later. 7 GENEROUSLY grease your hands (palms, backs, and in between fingers), and then heavily grease the counter you will be using and dump the bowl of marshmallow/sugar mixture in the middle. 8 Start kneading like you would bread dough - the faster you work, the easier it will be as it gets harder to knead as it cools... just use caution that you do not burn yourself when you remove from the microwave - that is why I start by stirring with a spoon first. It is very sticky at this stage and you will need to continue adding the powdered sugar until it reaches the right consistency. Re-grease your hands your kneading surface as needed. 9 If the mix is tearing easily, it is too dry, so add water (about 1/2 tablespoon at a time and then knead it in). It usually takes me about 8 minutes to get a firm smooth elastic ball so that it will stretch without tearing when you apply it to the cake. 10 It is best if you can let it sit, double wrapped, overnight (but you can use it right away if there are no tiny bits of dry powdered sugar). If you do see them, you will need to knead and maybe add a few more drops of water. 11 Prepare the fondant icing for storing by coating it with a good layer of Crisco shortening, wrap in a plastic-type wrap product and then put it in a re-sealable or Ziploc bag. I use Ziploc freezer bags and I always double bag. Squeeze out as much air as possible and seal your bags well. 12 MM Fondant icing will hold very well in the refrigerator for weeks. If I know that I have a cake to decorate, I usually make two batches on a free night during the week so it is ready when I need it. Take advantage of the fact that this fondant icing can be prepared well in advance. NEVER freeze fondant icing and NEVER refrigerate a cake that has been decorated with fondant icing. .
• 4. USING FONDANT TO DECORATE: 14 Your cake should be completely cool before decorating... or you will have a mess. 15 You don't want to work with cold fondant. If taking it straight from the fridge, pop the bag of fondant in the microwave for 10 seconds at a time to bring it up to about body temperature. Please be CAREFUL as it has a lot of sugar and can get hot VERY fast!! If it's been out at room temp, you can probably skip the microwave step. 16 Sprinkle some corn starch on the counter where you will be working. I understand that some people use Crisco for this step also (always pure white), but that does not work for the humidity here in Virginia... I get greasy dough - not pretty. If you are in a dry area, the Crisco may work better for you. Re-apply either to your counter and rolling pin as needed. 17 Knead the dough until it is pliable and to work in the Crisco coating you put on it to seal it. You may need to add a little water. You want it to be smooth and for the consistency to be that it will stretch a little without tearing. 18 Ice your cake with a light coating of butter-cream (or similar) icing. Important because: This will help seal in the moisture in your cake. It will help the fondant to "stick" to your cake. It will give you a smooth finish. 19 How large to roll the dough? Measure your cake... I'll use a 9" round cake as an example - two layers. Top is 9" across. Sides are 3" tall - and you have to go up one side and down the other, so add in this figure twice. One inch for breathing room and in case the edge tears a little. 9 + 3 + 3 + 1 = 16" So, roll out a 16" circle of dough that is AT LEAST 1/8" thick. If you are decorating a rectangular cake, roll your dough into that shape. Please do not be tempted to skimp on the thickness. I wish I could post another pic of what happened to a cake I tried that with once... the fondant cover was too thin and tore... fortunately, it was for family, but it ruined the look of the cake and I've never skimped since! MM fondant is pretty forgiving, but I rolled that one very thin.
• 5. 20 Use caution trying not to let your fingernails mark the fondant at this point - dents are hard to remove, but I do have a tip below if it happens. 21 Do not try to bring fondant to your cake. Bring your cake to the fondant - as close as possible. If you do not have a mat, you can ROLL the fondant on your rolling pin to move it... just be careful NOT TO FOLD it. 22 Gently lift the mat where you rolled your fondant and flip it upside down onto your cake. Gently adjust so your entire cake is covered. You will need to gently smooth, starting at the top center to remove bubbles and get the entire cake to a smooth finish... because this dough is elastic, it will work with you. 23 A soft, clean pastry brush will remove gently any excess cornstarch. 24 Get a pizza roller and gently roll around the base of your cake until you have removed all excess dough. Now, gently press the edge along the base in to tidy the appearance. Lovely, yes? :) 25 Roll balls, place butter-cream around the base to "finish" and "anchor" your cake or if the edge at the base is not as tidy as you want. Use your cookie cutters, mats, hands, and whatever else you want to create shapes and other decorations for your cake. 26 I prefer to use a little bit of butter-cream icing every time I stick on a fondant decoration as it helps to anchor it in place. I usually have butter-cream the same color as my fondant also because if I accidentally knick it with my fingernail or something, butter-cream saves that smooth finish by simply dabbing and smoothing a small amount at the damaged area. 27 Store any unused fondant back in individual bags for each color, coated with Crisco and double-bagged. It will hold for up to a couple of months. 28 Store your decorated cake in a sealed cardboard bakery box (yes, Wal-mart or craft stores again), but never in the fridge as explained above. If it is only overnight, I will sometimes just leave it open.