Description
Celebrate graduation in style with this Easy Graduation Cake featuring a fun cap and diploma design. This layered cake combines yellow and chocolate sheet cakes with a cotton candy dome, decorated with tinted American buttercream frosting and marshmallow fondant accents. The cake is finished with a handcrafted fondant cap, an edible rice krispie treat diploma, and festive piped buttercream roses, making it perfect for a memorable graduation party.
Ingredients
Cakes
- 2 Yellow sheet cakes (9×13 inch)
- 2 Chocolate sheet cakes (9×13 inch)
- 1 Cotton candy dome cake (5 inch diameter)
Frosting
- 10 cups American buttercream frosting (tinted yellow with gel food coloring)
Fondant and Decorations
- 4 cups Marshmallow fondant (2 cups black, 2 cups white)
- 1 batch Rice krispie treats (homemade or store-bought)
- Black edible marker
- Red ribbon (for diploma)
- Bubble tea straws or dowels (for support)
- Melted chocolate or thick royal icing (for assembling)
- Corn syrup (for sticking fondant pieces)
Instructions
- Bake Cakes: Bake two yellow and two chocolate 9×13 inch sheet cakes, along with one 5-inch diameter cotton candy dome cake. Set leftover cotton candy batter aside for cupcakes if desired. Allow all cakes to cool completely.
- Prepare Buttercream: While cakes bake and cool, prepare 10 cups of yellow tinted American buttercream frosting.
- Make Cap Base: Place the cooled dome cake on a cake board matching its size. Frost smoothly with buttercream and chill for 20 minutes. Roll out black fondant and carefully cover the chilled dome, smoothing with a fondant smoother. Trim excess fondant around the base with a pizza cutter. Insert a bubble tea straw in the center for support.
- Create Cap Top: Cut a square piece of cardboard for the cap’s top. Color edges black with an edible marker to hide any gaps. Spread a thin layer of buttercream on cardboard, cover with black fondant, and trim edges neatly.
- Assemble Cap Details: Cut a small black fondant circle with a cutter. Brush corn syrup at the center of the cardboard square, fold and stick a ribbon in half, then place the circle fondant piece on top, pressing gently to secure.
- Attach Cap Top: Use melted chocolate or thick royal icing to adhere the cardboard cap top onto the dome cake. Steam gently to remove powdered sugar residue from fondant.
- Make Edible Diploma: Shape rice krispie treats into a long cylinder. Spread buttercream around it, then wrap with rolled white fondant and trim excess. Cut two white fondant circles to cap each end, securing them with buttercream. Wrap a red ribbon around the diploma for finishing.
- Assemble Sheet Cakes: Place two chocolate sheet cakes side by side on a large rectangular cake board. Spread a layer of buttercream on top, then stack two yellow sheet cakes on top. Smooth frosting over entire cake surface including sides.
- Pipe Buttercream Roses: Fit a piping bag with a large star tip (Wilton 1M) and pipe yellow buttercream roses along the sides and top of the cake to decorate.
- Place Cap and Diploma: Decide placement for the cap and diploma on the sheet cake. Insert dowels or bubble tea straws into cake for support, then set the prepared pieces securely.
- Final Decorations: Cut out fondant letters spelling “Congratulations Class of 2024” with cookie cutters. Attach the letters to the cake board with buttercream frosting to fill empty spaces. Serve and enjoy your celebratory graduation cake!
Notes
- The cotton candy dome cake batter can be used for additional cupcakes if desired.
- Use chilled buttercream and cake when working with fondant to prevent melting and tearing.
- If you don’t have a bubble tea straw, wooden dowels can be substituted for structural support.
- Steaming fondant removes powdered sugar haze and gives it a smooth, professional finish.
- Store cake at room temperature if serving within a day; refrigerate longer storage but bring to room temperature before serving.
- Practice piping buttercream roses on parchment paper before decorating the cake for best results.
