OMG! My BFF DD's MMF!!! - Chocolate Marshmallow Fondant

Sorry, but I just had to take the opportunity to use the obnoxious "text" speak.

Have you ever met my friend DD over at DDPie's Slice? She has more talent in her pinky finger than... Well, I am not sure what, but you won't believe the beautiful cakes that sally forth from her kitchen. Her attention to detail is unparalleled. Dare I say it, her cakes are more fantastic than Duff's on Ace of Cakes. A true artiste if ever their was one.

The reason I am bringing this up, is because I am working on another multi-post project. My niece's Luau birthday party is on the 19th (She's a Solstice baby) and I am in the process of helping my brother with her erupting Volcano cake. We think we have it figured out, but the first step was to protect the cake from the raging torrent of artificially colored Lava/Magma. Mainly because many members of my family are allergic to things like Allura Red 40 and Red 3 (Honestly, the stuff is horrible for you anyway) and it's gonna take A LOT of dye to create a dark enough lava. Thus the cake will be swathed in fondant to protect the sumptuous Chocolate Swiss ButterCreme that will not only bathe the cake but will nestle between the layers as well.

Well, the problem with fondant is that it tastes like sweetened cardboard... YUCK!!! This is when I looked to DD for some help. She has this awesome recipe for MMF (Marshmallow Fondant). It has everything.... Flavor, Texture, Workability... and it's fairly simple to whip up... Well, the ingredient list is simple, the process takes a little 'know how'. But DD, in her omni-awesomeness, has provided not only a recipe and instructions, but has bestowed upon us, all of her hands on knowledge in working with the stuff. (Located Here)

See? Cool Beans, huh?

So using DD's recipe as a guide, I made Chocolate Fondant, because it is going to be a volcanic mountain in Hawaii, thus there will be very little snow, if ya know what I mean. I used the modifications DD suggested in her post. Oh, and for an extra little twist, I happened to have Chocolate extract as well as Hazelnut extract

but Almond and Coffee might be nice too. So take a deep breath, cause we are plungin' right into the deep end where the big fish swim... :) NO FEAR!!!!

Chocolate-Hazelnut MMF

16 oz (454 g) Mini-Marshmallows
3 TB Water
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 tsp Chocolate Extract
1 tsp Hazelnut Extract
30 oz (850 g) Confectioner's Sugar
1/2 Cup (43 g) Cocoa Powder (I used Hershey's Special Dark, which is a mixture of Natural and Dutched Cocoa)
1/3 -1/2 cup (5 1/2 - 8 TB) Vegetable Shortening (Depending on humidity and/or ambient Temperature)

Place the marshmallows in a large bowl along with the water and set the whole thing over simmering water, stirring occasionally until mostly melted.

At this point add any flavorings, I used Vanilla, Hazelnut and Chocolate extracts, stirring to combine. (The marshmallows will turn from white to a light beige color)

When everything is all melted, add the Cocoa Powder and about 3/4 of the Confectioners' Sugar.

Then begin to stir, and stir and stir...

When it becomes too stiff to stir, it should be cool enough to touch, go ahead and knead it in the bowl by hand.

Turn it out onto a greased (this is where the shortening comes in) counter,

and grease up your hands too, then start kneading in more of the confectioners' sugar a little at a time.

Re-grease your hands as necessary, continuing to knead in more confectioners' sugar until you achieve a smooth elastic blob of fondant. (You may not use all of the confectioners' sugar)

Smear the whole thing in a little more shortening to keep it from drying out.

Place it in a Zip-Loc bag (remove as much air as possible) and store in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it. (Up to 2 weeks)

Awesome!

Thanks DD, You ROCK!!!
~~