Fondant Roses and Strawberry Marshmallow Frosting

It was my friend Charlene’s birthday and I wanted to surprise her with a personal sized cake.  Since I had strawberries on hand, I wanted to experiment by adding them to the marshmallow frosting that I had previously made here.  I also wanted to practice flower making using fondant.  The result was a cute cake that we ended up splitting 7 ways and devouring.  Wait for the verdict at the end of the post.

Lemon Chiffon Cake

From a previous post and here.

Strawberry Marshmallow Frosting

Adapted from here.

 

Ingredients

1 cup white sugar

4 Tablespoons strawberry puree (I blended 4 strawberries)

3 Tablespoon water

¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

2 egg whites

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1.       Combine sugar, puree, and water in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until it reaches soft ball stage (see http://whatscookingamerica.net/Candy/candytemp.htm for definition).

2.       Beat egg whites and vanilla extract in a large bowl until soft peaks form.

3.       Add the strawberry syrup in a slow stream to the egg whites while beating.  Continue to beat until stiff peaks form (about 7-9 minutes).

Fondant Flowers

I used pre-made fondant to make flowers.  Fondant dries out fast so only use a small piece at a time.  I also did not have a shaping foam pad, so I improvised with a stack of towels and parchment paper.

Stack of towels, parchment paper, and ball tool.

To make roses,

1.       Roll out a small ball.

2.       Flatten on parchment paper over a stack of towels (or foam board).

3.       Using a ball tool, roll out one end of the petal so that it is thin.

4.       Roll up the petal to make the centre of the rose.

5.       Repeat steps 1-3.  Attach to the centre petal.  Continue to make petals and attach until you are satisfied with the size of the rose.

Ball, flattened petal, rose center.

Rolling out the edge of the petal.

Roll up the petal to form the center of the rose.

Attach first petal to the center of the rose.

Attach second petal to rose.

Final rose.

To make flowers,

1.       Roll out a small amount of fondant with the fondant roller.

2.       Cut out flowers using the flower cutter.

3.       Roll out tips of the flower petals with the ball tool on the stack of towels.

4.       Place flowers in an egg carton to firm up in a flower-like shape.

Cut out flower.

Roll out the ends of the flower petals.

Place in egg carton to firm up.

I glued ribbon to the board to cover up the aluminum foil.

Verdict: The strawberry marshmallow frosting was the best thing that I have ever tasted in terms of frosting!  I seriously wanted to roll around in the stuff!!  It was a definite hit with the birthday girl and the entourage!