Marshmallow Roses & Leaves
Submitted by dickshaw
Edible cake-decorating roses and leaves shaped from a marshmallow-and-powdered-sugar fondant. A budget-friendly alternative to professional gum paste for birthday and wedding cakes.
YIELD
24 rosesPREP
1 hrsCOOK
1 minREADY
2 hrsBakery-style cake roses without the bakery price tag. This clever marshmallow fondant turns a bag of grocery store marshmallows and powdered sugar into pliable, sculptable dough that handles like professional gum paste. Pink for petals, green for leaves, and you’ve got the makings of a tiered birthday or wedding cake topper for the cost of a candy bar.
The technique takes patience, not skill. Microwaving the marshmallows softens them just enough to absorb the powdered sugar, and ten minutes of squishing, kneading, and pulling turns the sticky mess into smooth, elastic dough. Cornstarch on your fingers and the work surface keeps it from sticking when you’re shaping individual petals.
The leaves are diamond-cut strips with a knife-veined surface, twisted slightly for movement. The roses build petal by petal around a tiny dough stem, just like the real thing.
Pro Tips
- Use paste food coloring rather than liquid. Liquid color makes the dough wet and you’ll need to knead in extra powdered sugar to compensate.
- Work small batches at a time and keep the rest tightly wrapped in plastic. The dough dries out quickly when exposed to air.
- Dust your fingers and rolling pin generously with cornstarch, never extra powdered sugar. Powdered sugar makes the surface tacky.
- Let the finished roses dry uncovered for at least 12 hours before placing them on the cake. They harden into a workable shape and won’t slump.
- Store finished decorations in an airtight container in a cool, dry place, away from humidity. They keep for weeks.
Variations
- Mix in a few drops of vanilla, almond, or rose extract to flavor the dough.
- Use yellow, red, or lavender coloring for different flower colors.
- Brush finished dried roses with edible luster dust for a pearlescent shimmer.
Ingredients
Directions
Process marshmallows and 2 cups of the confectioners’ sugar Tip crumbs into a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high 10 seconds. Carefully (mixture may be hot) start working the sugar and marshmallows with your hands, kneading, squeezing and pulling, until a slightly sticky paste forms. (This will take about 10 minutes.) Knead in remaining 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, microwaving mixture 2 to 3 times in 5 to 10 second increments to soften. When done, you should have a smooth elastic dough. Form dough into a disk and cut ¼ off. Knead green color into small portion, pink into the rest (colors dry slightly darker). If using liquid food color, you may need to work in some more confectioners’ sugar. Wrap pink dough in plastic wrap. Fill a pie plate or other shallow container with about ½ inch roses while drying). LEAVES: Lightly dust work surface and a rolling pin with Roll out green dough to 18×4 inches. Trim edges. Cut lengthwise into ¾-inch-wide strips. Cut each strip diagonally into diamonds. With sharp side of a small knife, mark veins on each leaf. Twist leaves gently, then set in sugar in pie plate. ROSES: Roll out ⅓ the pink dough as thinly as possible (keep rest wrapped). Cut out several ¾ inch circles, using a piping tube, bottle cap or other round cutter. Press a small amount (about ¼ teaspoon) of the scraps into a thick ‘stem’ about ½ inch high. Dust fingers with cornstarch. Press 1 circle of dough between fingers until thin, wavy- edged and about half again as wide. Wrap around stem. Continue adding petals (10 to 12), pressing them firmly against the stem. Break off stem. Set rose in sugar. Repeat with remaining dough.
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