Fondant Cake with Strawberry Filling

This cake is delicious!  The cake itself is very easy to bake (it’s just a box of cake mix), but making the marshmallow fondant and decorating the cake, it is quite time consuming.  To stablize the cream, you will need to add a tablespoon of vanilla instant pudding and whip for 1-2 mins.

Marshmallow Fondant

Ingredients:

8 ounces	Marshmallows
1 pound	Powdered sugar, plus extra for dusting
2 Tbsp	Water
Food coloring or flavored extracts	(Optional)

Method:

1. Dust your counter or a large cutting board with powdered sugar.  Place marshmallows and water in a large glass bowl, microwave on high for 1 minute, until the marshmallows are puffy and soft.
2. Stir the marshmallows with a spatula.  If there are any unmelted marshmallow pieces, return to the microwave for 30 seconds until the marshmallow mixture is entirely melted and smooth.
3. Add 1/2 pound of powdered sugar and stir with the spatula.  Stir until the sugar begins to incorporate.  Scrape the marshmallow and sugar mixture out onto your work surface.  It will be very sticky, keep adding sugar.  Dust your hands with powdered sugar, and begin to knead the fondant mixture like bread dough, keep adding the remaining sugar.
4. Continue to knead the fondant until it smoothes out and loses its stickiness. Add more sugar if necessary. Once the fondant is a smooth ball, it is ready to be used. You can now roll it out, shape it or add food coloring.
5. If you want to add coloring or flavoring to your fondant, flatten it into a round disc.  I recommend using gel food coloring instead the liquid food coloring.  You might want to wear gloves to avoid getting food coloring on your hands during this step. Add your desired amount of coloring or flavoring to the center of the disc, and fold the disc over on itself so that the color or flavor is enclosed in the center of the fondant ball.
6. Begin to knead the ball of fondant just like you did before. As you work it, you will begin to see streaks of color coming through from the center. Continue to knead until the streaks are gone and the fondant is a uniform color.

Apple Turnovers/strudels/pies

If you browse a recipe for Apple Turnovers, there will be many different ones.  You will just need to find one that suits your taste.  I like this one as the walnuts give it a nice touch.  Turnovers can be made using ready-made puff pastry sheets or pie crusts.  I like homemade pie crust as I can use a lattice pastry roller to make a lattice top, or you can simply shape them into triangles or into rectangles.  

Ingredients for apple filling:  Make about 10  – 3″x4″ pastries

315g (about 4 small apples)	Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, cut into 1/4-inch dice
50g	Chopped walnuts
1/2 cup	Sugar
1/2 tsp	Cinnamon
1/2 cup	Apple sauce
1/4 tsp	Vanilla Extract
1 tsp	Corn starch
1 tsp	Water

Ingredients for pie crust:

320g	All purpose flour
225g	Unsalted butter (cut into small cubes and chill)
1 tsp	Salt
1 tsp	Sugar
6 to 8 Tbsp	Ice water

Egg Wash:

1	Egg (lightly beaten)
1 tsp	Milk

Making the filling:

1. Peel and core the apples, diced into pieces.  (Picture 1)
2. In a small pot, mix together apples, sugar, apple sauce, cinnamon, vanilla extract and walnuts, bring to a boil over medium heat, stir constantly for 5-10 minutes or until apples are tender.  (Pictures 2-6)
3. Mix cornstarch with 1 Tbsp of cold water until smooth.  (Picture 7)
4. Add cornstarch liquid to the pot and mix well until filling is thickened.  Set aside to cool.  (Pictures 8-9)

Making the pie crust:

1. Cut butter into cubes and place it in the freezer for 15 minutes to chill.  (Picture A)
2. Combine flour, salt and sugar in a food processor, pulse until combined.  Add butter cubes and pulse a few times until the mixtures slightly combined.  (Picture B)
3. Add 4 tablespoons of ice water and pulse several times.  Do not add all water at the same time, add a little by little until the mixture just barely begins to clump together.  When pinching the dough, if it holds together, it’s ready.  Otherwise, add a little more water and pulse.  (Pictures C & D) 
4. Now preheat oven to 400°F.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
5. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut into ten 3×4-inch rectangles.
6. Scoop apple filling into each rectangle.  (Picture E)
7. Roll out the dough again and press the lattice cutter into the dough.  Use a knife to cut a rectangle and gently lift the lattice top.  Use your fingers to pull it and place on top of the apple pie.  (Pictures F & G)
8. OR if you want to make triangles, cut the dough into squares, place apple mixture into the center of each square, then fold the pastry across diagonally to form triangles.
9. Seal the edges with a fork.  (Picture H)
10. Prepare egg wash by combing egg and milk in a small dish, scramble well.  Brush the turnovers/pies with egg wash.
11. In a small bowl mix the beaten egg with a teaspoon of milk. Use a pastry brush to brush the egg mixture on the border of the pastry.
12. Place the pastries in the oven and bake at 400°F for 20 minutes, or until puffed and golden.  Cool turnovers to warm before serving.