Don't you just love the video's that show nice MMF rolled out that looks soooo nice and it just perfectly covers a cake and looks great? NOT!!! I have had nothing but disasters with MMF! I am throwing the MM out! I even let it sit over night and it still is yucky, to sticky, way to stretchy, even crisco doesn't work long. I try to roll it out on the counter, sticks, I tried a little sugar, cornstarch, and crisco...nothing works. By the time I finally roll it out it would just feel like silly putty and break. I am tired of trying to get it right and wasting money!!! Does anyone have good luck with this? Please share your stories with me. I am willing to give it another shot or two but if it doesn't work I'm throwing those babies in a camp fire! LOL

frustrated

It just takes practice. I've been using it for years and it works fine for me.

Go to the fabric store and get a piece of thick clear vinyl. Cut it to fit your countertop or table, wherever you roll your fondant. When you're going to roll fondant on it, dust the vinyl with cornstarch. Put the fondant on, dust the top of the fondant with cornstarch. After you roll a little in all directions, dust the top and flip it. Then dust that side and roll it out a little more. Repeat until it's the size you need. (I use a basting brush for the cornstarch, if you use the bristle kind, then before you start using it each time, twist and tug the bristles so that any loose ones come out in your hand and not on your fondant). When the fondant is big enough, either slip your hands under it and lift it, or pick up your vinyl mat and flip the fondant onto the cake.

Hi there klamb17, I am so sorry to hear that you are having so much trouble with the MMF. I use Buddy's recipe, which is on his web site. It is very easy to follow and so far so good i haven't had any problems with it and i am fairly new with working with fondant. Also the Mat from Sweetwise is wonderful. Good luck to you and I hope this helps.

Yeah, I made it a few times and got sick of it real quick. I switched to MFF and haven't looked back. I've tweaked the original version to what I have deemed the perfect fondant.

Maria, what's MFF?

Michelle Foster Fondant. You cna do a Google search for it, and it will lead to a recipe here or other places. Good stuff. So was MMF, but it just wouldn't work for me.

Thanks, I will sure try it out. Now this fondant will not be sticky like MMF right? I am thinking that it won't be because it's not marshmallows.

No, but it can be, need to find the balance of p/s that works for you. Sometimes I make it with more p/s to make the fondant harder, sometimes I make a little softer, depending on what I'm doing with it.

Michelle Foster's Fondant is great, but a little expensive and time consuming to make compared to MMF. I've never had problems with MMF as long as I knead in enough powdered sugar (about 2 pounds of sugar into 16 oz of melted marshmallows), and knead ALOT! The longer you knead it after ALL of the sugar is incorporated, the smoother it gets. Mac's Mom's recipe here on CC is the best, IMHO.

Dani,
Maybe I am not putting enough p/s in my marshmallows. I guess that's why its so stretchy and like silly putty..lol. But I did keep adding p/s until it looked like the mm wouldn't take anymore. I had a 10oz bag of mm and used maybe 1.5 lbs of p/s.

Thanks for everyone's help!

Karen

I use about one pound PS for a 10.5 ounce bag of mallows. It should not be sticky when you knead the PS in. If still sticky, you need more PS. But remember it will get harder after it sites, so don't put too much PS or it will become rock hard. I agree it does need a LOT of kneading after it cures.

fondant and I are NOT friends, that is until I got "THE MAT"!! Everyone needs it. You don't need to add anything to your fondant! You just put it between the plastic sheets and roll. They have the video on u tube. It works just like the video shows. I haven't had a problem since I bought my mat. The price may make you flinch, but sooooo worth it!

I make homemade MMF and use a lot of powdered sugar, - one bag of marshmellows, and at least 2-3 lbs of powdered sugar. I haven't had any problems with it - I bought a large vinyl fondant mat for $26 on amazon.com and when it comes time to cover cakes, I rub shortening on the mat, roll out the fondant on the mat, then flip the mat onto my cakes - this method works wonderful every time for me. There was a you tube video I used to learn how to make the fondant- I don't remember whose it was, but it was one bag of marshmellows, 3 tbsp of water, heat til melted, then stir in 1 1/2 c. of sifted powdered sugar, then put it on a mat and kneed in about another cup and a half of powdered sugar - it starts out messy, but by the end of kneeding- I have perfect fondant. - and it's very yummy! Don't give up on it- I would definitly invest in a vinyl mat - mine is from NY cakes.

I looove MMF! its the only fondant i`ve used since i started decorating

I found out that the Kraft brand gives you the worst MMF fondant ever, It gets too sticky and with a yellowish color to it, I use store brand and the "Guandy" marshmallows in my country GUATEMALA.

Try with different brands until you get your perfect MMF, I use 1 bag of regular white marshmallows and 2 pounds of confectioners sugar or "azucar glass" as is called in Guatemala
put the marshmallow in a microwable container covered with shortening, add 3 spoons of water on top of the marshmallows and microwave almost 2 minutes stopping every 30 seconds to stir the marshmallows, stir with a wooden spoon covered in shortening. Then add little by little the sugar, stir and when its to thick knead the sugar and MMF in your countertop or on top of a thick vinil plastic mat. cover with a little shortening and a lot of plastic wrap.

there is no need to spend in "THE MAT" you can buy thick transparent vinyl to cover a regular table.

Do not heat too much the marshmallows or you will get a sticky and wet MMF,
do not use oil spray to cover the container or you will get a sticky MMF.

I make all my decorations with MMF with a little of CMC to harden and never had any problem

I used to use MMF for all my cakes until recently becuase my final product would never be consistent. I would use the same recipe every time & some times it would turn out great & other times it would be too soft & not enough elasticity. I have not switched to MFF (Michelle Fosters Fondant) & have NEVER had a problem. I think it tastes better as well because it just melts in your mouth & isn't sticky like MMF. The only time I now use MMF is if I need to color a large amount red or black to add candy melts.

I would try different marshmallow brands and make sure you add in the right amount of ps. Also the weather really affects how my MMF works for me.

The first few times I used MMF, it worked just fine. I follow the recipe exactly as it says. But now I notice that no matter how long I knead it, after I have left it sit over night, it is filled with hard little balls that will not smooth out. It is smooth when I wrap it in plastic wrap and seal it, but then these hard balls of gel form over night. I have no idea what I am doing wrong, but it's making me really frustrated!

I finally had to put MMF in the same category as bread: it's just something I don't do. You could brick a house with my bread and stick the loaves together with my MMF.

Hope it's not too late to comment but if your MMF is turning into silly putty, from my experience, too much shortening was used. I try to use no more than 3 tablespoon in total (from beginning to end) - to grease the bowl and spatula with to melt the marshmallows, to grease my hands with, to grease the countertop to knead on and to coat the ball of MMF before shrink wrapping it up to rest. No more! Shortening causes too many problems with MMF - it makes it really greasy, it causes it to not hold it's shape and just sags and shrinks back into a blob...plus the MMF never gets dry and it starts to break down the MMF overtime.

If you want to make it more pliable, you can add a few drops of glycerine or light corn syrup instead.

Don't give up. Like Labarradulce mentioned, different brands of marshmallows give you different results and different shades of white too. I don't like Jet Puffed but some do. I prefer the generic brands of marshmallows, some brands work better than others...it's all trial and error. I've been using MMF since I started decorating 3 years ago and I love working with it.

The more liquid you add into the melted marshmallows (water, flavoring), the more PS you'll use. I drizzle about a teaspoon of water over the marshmallows before microwaving it and only use about 1 1/2 lbs of PS to a pound of marshmallows.

Best of luck and I hope you give MMF another try.

I always use store brand MM's and NEVER use shortening to coat the bowl, hands and spoon. I only use the shortening when working with the MMF and when storing I use a small amount to coat the MMF then saran wrap it. I have never had a consistency issue. Hope this helps.

I totally agree with AngelFood4, the amount of shortening you use can make or break your MMF. I got so sick of my inconsistent results! But alas, I decided to try again. I realized that if I used too much shortening I got the silly puddy effect, if I used to little it would just tear, no elasticity.

16 oz mm
2 tbs water
1 tbs corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla
2 lbs powdered sugar

Melt mm with water in microwave in 30 second intervals until smooth. Stir in corn syrup and vanilla. Pour 3/4 of the powdered sugar in to the mm mixture and stir (or use a kneading hook and a stand mixer) until it is too thick. I DO NOT coat the bowl with shortening. Lightly cover your work area with shortening, as well as your hands and knead in the rest of the powdered sugar. I keep applying shortening to my hands like lotion until the mixture is not sticky. If it is tearing, or I need it softer I add corn syrup a few drops at a time.

After fondant has reached the desired consistency, work it into a ball. Smooth it over with some shortening. Tightly cover in saran wrap, seal in air tight container, and let set for several hours, or at least over night.

I have never been very good at following a recipe, I like to add and take away to my taste. MMF is not so easy to do that with. Now that I follow the recipe very strictly I love MMF!!