I Thought The Joke Was On Me! Where Is That Hidden Camera?
Decorating By spottydog Updated 18 Feb 2006 , 3:36pm by Lazy_Susan
So I made my 1st batch of MMF alittle bit ago. OMG Are you kidding. It was definetly an experience. I followed the directions from this site. Blah Blah Blah...... Went to mix it. (note: recentley enquired tips on tinted). So the melted marsh are BLUE 
Here I go to mix by HAND 
(no good mixer) Now I have a really BIG 
MESS. I greased everything VERY well (god knows I hate to clean big messes!)Anyways it came out kinda bumpy and STUCK to everything! Anyone have ANY tips? 
I have never made it. I have a big KA mixer. I am afraid to try after someone posted here that it killed their KA. Not willing to take the risk for something like that. I just buy the Wilton crap--nobody eats it anyway and I've never used it to cover an entire cake.
I'm not a "fondant" person. I guess if someone asks me to do a cake for them with it--I'll try it then.
Sorry you had such a hard time--it will probably be one of those things you look back on and laugh.
Lisa
I make MMF all the time, I think it is important to make sure the marshmallow is completely melted and throughly mixed, then slowly add the powered sugar, and stir it constently. If it is too stickty, add more powered sugar, and knead until it is the right consistency. Good Luck!
I don't use my KA either. I do however use the "meatloaf" method. lol I usually start with just a crisco greased large spoon and bowl, but as it becomes hard to mix, I turn it out on a greased counter top and go at it. I just pray the telephone doesn't ring.LOL After a few minutes I will wash my hands again and let it rest for a minute or two when I go back to it, it is less sticky and easier to work with. I think and this is just my opinion (please someone correct me if I am wrong) The amount of stickiness I find depends on the temperature of the MMF. It seems sticky to me untill it is no longer warm. Then I can work it smooth with just a little crisco on my hands.
And here I thought the "meatloaf" way would just do me in. Thankyou so much. I will be trying again tonight. No tinting! Although with the tint I could tell if it was mixed enough. I guess I did one thing correct.LOL How long is the self life for MMF. Should it be stored at room temp?
My KA does OK. I can't imagine doing it by hand. Ya'lls forearms must be as big as Popeye's! LOL! I agree it's not as sticky once it is totally cooled. Make sure you let it sit for about an hour or so before you use it. I store mine at room temp. So far, it's been good for two weeks, but I used up that batch and had to make some more.
Yes room temperature covered very well so it doesn't dry out. And as far as shelf life---well-----It is just marshmallows and powdered sugar..... My dog takes thyroid pills twice a day and just loves MMF so I keep some in a tupperware container on the counter to give him his pills in. Every once in a while I will sneek a bite too (minus the thyroid pill of course LOL ) I am not sure the stuff ever goes bad.
My worst enemy MMF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMGoodness I will never attempt this again.. I will stick to paying wilton their high prices... LOL good thing no one I know likes this stuff to much!!!
I must be Popeye because I mix mine by hand also.
By the time I finish stirring in the sugar, the marshmallow mixture is cool and I turn it out on the table and finish adding rest of the sugar and knead until my arms feel like they are ready to fall off.
I always make MMF by hand! I really don't find it all that messy. I'd never risk burning up my KA! I've had it for 13 years and I've grown quite fond of it! 
I grease a large 8 cup measuring cup and melt the marshmallows with the water in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds to 1 minute until melted. Adding the color to the melted marshmallow is much easier than kneading it in afterwards. Then I have a very large stainless bowl that i sifted the powdered sugar into ( I make a well inthe center). I put the melted marshmallows into the sugar and mix with a greased spoon until it comes together. Then I finish by hand, greased w/ crisco, kneading in as much sugar as it will take - the amount of sugar depends on the humidity that day. It's easier to knead while it's still warm.
I never let it rest as long as the recipe states. I've used it 10 mins after making it, so long as it's not too warm to melt icing.
I just made my first batch ever yesterday.It turned out really good although I had to keep making sure that there was lots of icing sugar on the counter as it stuck quite abit.The taste was good even though I am not a fondant lover.I covered 4 papertowel rolls and 3 smaller ones and had just enough.Thanks to the member who advised me to use a bit of cornsyrup and water as a glue.Worked like a charm!!!
Can you use anything other than buttercream to "glue" the fondant to the cake?
Dab a little water or extract to the back ot the piece, it will stick just fine. Royal icing would work too.
I've only made two batches of MMF, but I learned a lot!
First off, I nearly messed up by assuming a bag of mini marshmallows is a pound . Not so! It's way short of a pound! Luckily, I have a good kitchen scale, so I was able to measure an exact pound. I am wondering if some of the people who say their MMF is dry and hard to mix have used just a bag of marshmallows and not the whole pound.
On the second batch I made, I got the marshmallows hotter. I was kind of timid with the first batch, fearing I would burn them. When I got the marshmallows hotter, they stayed warmer longer, naturally, and were much easier to mix.
On the first batch, I put the entire two pounds of powdered sugar in the KA. Didn't work too great. I had lots of lumpy, bumpy, dry stuff in the bottom.
On the second batch, I put just about half of the powdered sugar in the KA and that's what I poured the marshmallow over. After that was pretty well mixed, I stirred in another quarter of a bag or so and mixed until the motor strained. Then, I turned that out onto a greased surface and kneaded the rest of the sugar in, a little at a time. It ended up taking all but about a cup of sugar. It incorporated pretty quickly, too. I thought the whole process was fairly easy. I was kind of surprised, actually.
I tinted one batch blue and did put the color in with the marshmallows as they were melting. I found that it was very easy to get a good, smooth color that way. If I'm doing multiple tinted batches in the future (like for a really big cake), I will mix up some water with quite a bit of paste color in it and will use the colored water in my melting pot so I can be sure I'm getting consistent color with each batch.
When it came time to roll the stuff out, I decided I wanted the fondant covering the cake to be a little softer. I warmed it in the microwave so it would be easier to work and then I broke it into four balls and kneaded maybe a half-teaspoon of Crisco into each one. Made it softer and smoother. I loved the way the stuff handled and looked.
The other batch was for ribbons and such, so I wanted it to stay a little stiffer.
Learning sooooo much so fast! I hope my experiences are helpful to others who are learning, too.
Okay, I had to jump in on this one since I finally have the experience to actually feel I've contributed!!
I have been making my MMF mixing by hand because I also was afraid of messing up my KA. It has turned out fine some times but most of the time, too soft and too sticky. I'm usually working on a tight schedule so I just did what I knew would work (that's what you think until you finally try something else, I must add!).
Wellllll, I was ahead of the game by a few days and thought, hey, I'll just try to actually follow the MMF recipe and directions as they are written here on the site. Wouldn't you know it! It worked perfectly and did NOT strain my KA. When the directions tell you to change to the bread hook...by golly, change to the break hook!! I sprayed mine with PAM just in case and it worked great!! I greased my mixing bowl well with Crisco too and only had a very small amount of mmf left in the bottom and a little stuck to the sides. Such a minute amount, I just ignored it and threw the bowl in the dishwater.
I will NEVER mix MMF by hand ever again!! I was a fool for waiting this long to try it.
sweethonesty, you can use apricot jam to adhere fondant to cake instead of buttercream. I believe that's what they use in Europe. Maybe they strain it first? Don't pick a dark colored jam or it will show through the fondant.
I just typed a post and It disappeared. Here I go again.
I have made mmf twice. I only use it for decor. like baby clothes etc or little side decor. I found a 1 cup recipe on the Wilton site called MMF. It's a long thread, Bunnywoman is the author. So if you want to try a small batch first to get the feel. I usu. cut the one cup recipe in half and it works just the same.
Here it is: I copied and pasted from Bunnywoman on Wilton site.
The recipe is as follows:
Marshmallow fondant
1 cup mini marshmallows
1 tbsp water
1 1/2- 1 3/4 cup powder sugar
Place marshmallows in a standard 1 cup measuring cup and push down and pack them in. Place in a microwave safe bowl and add the water. Put in the microwave for about 20 seconds. Just long enough for them to soften and puff up. Take out and stir with a spoon until it is combined well. At this point it looks kind of soupy. Then add the sugar and mix and fold until all is incorporated and it is no longer sticky. I take it out of the bowl when it gets to the point where most of the sugar is incorporated and I knead it in my hands. This takes roughly about 5-7 minutes. Take a fondant roller or a regular rolling pin and roll out just as you would Wilton's fondant. You can get this fondant almost paper thin and it also repairs well. It's cheap, easy to work with, and tastes great too.
You can make a large batch of this fondant as well by doing this:
Large batch of Marshmallow fondant
1- 16 oz bag of mini marshmallows
2 tbsps water
2 lbs powdered sugar (8 cups)
Do the same procedure as above.
Hi, Lisa ...
I know I'm late, but welcome to CC from another Massachusetts person!!
I have made the MMF in my KA and haven't had any trouble with it .. yet!! I will say, though, that I find that i often need a bit more crisco than I do sugar!
As for storage life ... I made a big batch a few weeks before Christmas for a holiday cake for my family party, wrapped up the extra REALLY well, and seti it inside a plastic container in my cabinet.
Last week, it was JUST as good as the day I made it! I just had to stick it in the microwave to get it pliable again, but it worked great, tasted great and looked wonderful!
So if you ask me ... the shelf life is 2+ months if properly wrapped. Sort of like Royal Icing!
Jay in Malden!
The one time I made MMF I started it with my KA to get it mixed up real well. Then when it started getting to be too much for my KA I did the rest by hand. It came out perfectly and I didn't have to put too much work in to it.
Lazy_Susan 
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