Ah, high school graduation! Young men and women ready to take on the world! But first, they need to have a graduation party complete with a cake!

Here’s a cake I did for my cousin’s daughter, Samantha. She had a combined graduation party with her cousin, Meagan, who also had a similar cake with her college logo. Both of them are avid softball players and are amazing athletes.

This was the first time I did a graduation cap. The bottom of the cap was sculpted from a separate 4″ cake, which I covered in ganache and fondant. The top of the cap was a square piece of 50/50 fondant/gumpaste I let dry for a few days. I used my extruder to form the strings on the tassel. The other decorations were made using my edible printer and my Silhouette Cameo 2.

Another graduation cake, which was another first for me, was this cake made to look like stacked books. Since this graduation cap was on a much bigger scale than the cap on the last cake, I opted to wrap a piece of cake board in fondant. I did this to give the top more stability so it wouldn’t sag or droop. I did the base of the cap in cake, as before. I used two rectangular pans, cut the cakes in half, and stacked them to give the books height. I made the letters using my Silhouette, so I could size them to fit the binding on the books. After they were cut, I put them in the freezer to chill so they would be easier to manipulate. I used the wax paper transfer method to get them lined up perfectly and then onto the cakes.

Graduation marks a very special passage in a student’s life, whether it’s high school or college. It’s a time to reflect on one’s accomplishments and look towards the future with anticipation. I can definitely say this last cake was one of my best accomplishments in caking.