Gone Fishin' with my Tackle Box

Last year my cousin's son- Lil' D wanted a fishing cake. I made a (albeit crude) lake fishing cake with a dad and his son fishing on the back of a boat. This year, his request was another fishing cake. Realizing that fake people made out of marzipan or gum paste aren't quite my strong suit, I decided to go with a sculpted-ish cake- a Tackle Box! D got a Tackle Box for Christmas this year and he was SO excited, so I was inspired and decided to make an edible version (except for the bobbers and fish hooks) :)

This is a Chocolate WASC cake with a Chocolate Buttercream icing and a Chocolate Mousse filling. The fondant is homemade Marshmallow Fondant with Butter Vanilla flavoring. This was my first attempt at making homemade fondant, and I was very happy with the results.

The Box itself and lid were both made of fondant-covered cake. The shelves of the box were made out of cardboard covered in fondant, then gumpaste was used to make the individual compartments (I ran out of fondant :( ). The gummy worms and Swedish fish were not homemade unfortunately!  My hubby delivered the cake and decorated with the gummies, hooks and bobbers because I was out of town for the weekend.

I was very happy with the results of this cake- I found that the time it is taking me to complete a fondant-covered cake is diminishing and is much less frustrating. I also found that using my own fondant was much easier than any store bought (even FondX!)

Homemade Marshmallow Fondant (MMF) Recipe- Adapted from the MMF recipe of Tippystclair 
I started with my homemade marshmallow recipe- Found Here
2 lbs Powdered Sugar
1/2 C Water
2 tsp Any Extract / Flavoring (Almond, Vanilla, Chocolate, Peppermint- the sky is the limit)

Instructions:
1a) Complete the marshmallow recipe above, but do not allow the marshmallows to set and cool
1b) If you want to use already made marshmallows, put the marshmallows in a glass bowl and add a couple of Tbsp of water (as indicated in Tippystclair's recipe above) and follow her instructions.
2) Stir in half the bag of powdered sugar; Pour the remaining powdered sugar on a very clean counter.
3) Pour the marshmallow mixture on your powdered sugar pile.
4) Add flavor to your marshmallow mixture.
5) Knead the remaining sugar into the dough, keeping your hands covered in powdered sugar (DO NOT use oil, lard or shortening to avoid sticking), .
6) You will reach a point where you think that no more sugar can be incorporated, but keep going and add in little bits of the remaining water.
7) You know that the fondant is ready when you have a smooth, elastic ball.
8) If the dough breaks when stretched, add a bit more water.
9) Double wrap the fondant when it is not being used.
10) If your dough is too stiff (e.g. after refrigeration), place it in the microwave for 15 to 30 seconds on defrost.


Thanks for looking!!!