Marshmellow Fondant

I decided to experiment with a simple sounding recipe for marshmellow fondant:
1bag mini-marshmellows
2tbs water
4 cups powdered sugar
1tsp vanilla

The marshmellows and water go into a medium bowl and microwave on high for one minute. Stir with a rubber spatula until all the marshmellows are melted - can microwave for another 30 seconds if needed.
Then it said to add the vanilla, stir, then all the powdered sugar at once. The video I watched showed the person mixing by hand but I used my stand mixer with dough beaters and it worked out very well. Once all the sugar is incorporated then you can knead it on a powdered sugar covered counter until it is not sticky and will not take any more powdered sugar. Wrap it in plastic wrap and let it rest a few hours on the counter.

 This took all of about 5 minutes! The last time I tried homemade fondant, it took hours and did not turn out at all - it ended up in the trash can. This is so  liberating! It is fun and easy to work with, it tastes great, and it looks wonderful on the cake. It can be a bit sticky at times, like when you are adding color. It does dry out after a while, but it can be reheated in the microwave to make it easier to work with. I am in love with this stuff. It really opens up the door to creativity! Did I mention it tastes great?

Epic Fail Cake

This is a picture of the cake I salvaged after my homemade fondant was a fiasco. The fondant was too dry and broke apart while I was placing it over the cake. I had to remove the fondant and basically trash it, make more buttercream frosting and re-ice the cake. I colored half the frosting with blue and did a pretty pattern on it. Nothing spectacular but it did taste pleasing. This was for a Wedding Shower of a co-worker and all my co-workers loved it. Just a white cake with almond/lemon buttercream frosting.
I really want to get better at the fondant making but hey, noone does perfectly on their very first try. I will try again once I have recovered (physically and mentally) from this experience. I will also try a different recipe. I have been reading the forums on CakeCentral and most of them talk about Marshmellow fondant. I think I will try that next.

I really hope I can get this figured out before Rachel's wedding day. I really want to do a nice cake for her and Joe. I also don't want to be all stressed out about it because that kind of ruins the big day. More to come....

I'm experimenting with cake decorating and will be making the wedding cake. Rachel and I went last weekend to scope out some possible sites for the wedding/reception. We visited St.James,MO and went to the Meramac Winery (nice atrium area, zero parking), then over to the Three Squirrels Winery (down the same road, a few miles further) and they have a covered deck area but it didn't look very stable, it does overlook the vineyards and they are lovely. Rachel wants an outdoor wedding but an indoor reception so that site won't work. Then after a wine tasting at that winery, we went over to Sybil's and had lunch while we checked it out. The place is really lovely, it looks like a really big house and has plenty of parking, the interior is decorated tastefully and upscale. The rooms are smaller than we would like for the reception but it would work great for the rehearsal dinner. We also went and visited Joe at his work and then checked out a place a block away from there called the Public Brewing House. There is really only parking for about 5 cars (no joke) and it seems a little small and dark - ok for a small and intimate party but not nearly open or festive enough for a wedding reception - some of their beer was palletable.
Anyway, that is an update. Rachel and Joe have been checking out some sites while she is on spring break and she is going to come show me some pictures of a place that is past Meramac Springs Park. It is the site of the oldest building in Crawford County, Missouri and is supposedly haunted.

Life is full! here is an update....

It has been a very long time since I have posted anything. I blame it on the tons of stuff going on in my life.

First of all, my mom is still living with us. Thought it would be temporary but it seems more long term now. I am still hopeful that her Lupus will just spontaneously go into remission and she will be able to function independently some day. She does a really good job of taking care of herself on a day to day basis and she does dishes and cooks which really benefits me (it is nice to have a clean kitchen and the coffee ready for me when I wake up). I actually enjoy having her around most of the time…this is time that I get to spend with her – I get to see her everyday and evaluate how she is really doing (if she was in her own place and I was hearing her over the phone, she could lie and say she is fine just so I won’t worry about her).

Secondly, my older daughter is engaged to be married this August and I just started getting involved in her wedding planning. I have volunteered to make the cake so I shall be very busy trying different decorating techniques – I am starting to use homemade fondant soon. Rachel has her heart set on red velvet cake for the wedding. I am already checking out various websites for ideas and I think I am getting obsessed – I am even dreaming about cake decorating.

Thirdly, work has been riddled with chaos. We have several co-workers with medical problems that keep them absent a lot of the time, we have had a co-worker fired recently and we have two new hires that are in training. That is almost laughable since there is hardly anyone left to train them – we are all having to transition to a new computer system requiring us to go to training during the day thereby leaving just a skeleton crew to work. This puts undue stress on the workers left behind to do the work – they are unsurprisingly stressed, discontent, and really spread too thin. Things are coming to a head and I foresee us losing some of our better and more dependable workers. It really saddens me that the boss can’t see this happening or she does see it and does nothing to ease their burden. Actually she gets upset and takes it out on the workers that normally help out – now they are rethinking that since the only ones that get favor are the constantly absent.

My life is pretty full right now, but I am taking it in stride. Quilting is still part of my life but kind of on the back burner. I have a double wedding ring quilt I have been working on for Rachel but I have no idea if it will be ready for her by her wedding day, possibly by Christmas.