Easy and Unique Graduation Cake Ideas
Graduation is a time of celebration and accomplishment and the best way to celebrate this occasion is with a graduation cake! And yes, there are plenty of easy graduation cake ideas that you can use to make your cake as perfect as possible on this special day.
It is a time when we are reminded of the hard work and dedication that it takes to get through school. Whether you are graduating from high school, college, or another type of educational institution, there will be plenty of opportunities for you to show off your accomplishments. On this special day, it is no doubt that there will be a lot of family and friends waiting to congratulate you on your accomplishments.
This Classic Graduation Cake
This classic graduation cake featuring delicate rosettes and gold pearlized sprinkles is sure to make any graduate’s day.
This easy vanilla cake recipe from Liv for Cake would be perfect for this.
To recreate this cake, you’ll need the following items:
- Wilton 6-Inch Cake Pan Set
- Silk Ice Buttercream Mix
- Wilton Deluxe Cake Decorating Kit
- Graduation Hat & Diploma Cake Topper
- Gold Sprinkles
Easy Decorating Directions:
- Bake the cake rounds as directed and let them cool completely
- Make your buttercream icing, or use the mix suggested above. Place a cake round on the plate, and spread 1/4 cup icing over the top, place another cake round on top of the icing then cover the top of that one with icing as well. Repeat until your cake is as tall as you need it to be.
- Cover the outside of the cake with the icing and smooth it out.
- Fill a piping bag fitted with a star shaped piping tip with the leftover buttercream, and pipe the rosettes onto the cake.
- Arrange the gold sprinkles and the graduation hat and diploma cake toppers on the cake.
- Voila! Show your graduate how proud you are with this perfect cake.
If you have some extra time in your cake making schedule, you may b be able to make your very own graduation cap and diploma cake toppers from fondant. This tutorial video from Xbakes By Ximena will show you exactly how to do that.
This Gold Accented Graduation Cake
Nothing screams success like gold, so when it’s featured prominently on a cake, your graduate knows it’s a day they’ll never forget. Those flowers detail the icing just right, and your grad will feel tremendously honored to take home such a delicious creation.
I suggest using these items to recreate this cake:
- Wilton 6-Inch Cake Pan Set
- Silk Ice Buttercream Mix
- Wilton Deluxe Cake Decorating Kit
- 24 Color Food Coloring Set
- Graduation Hat & Diploma Cake Topper
- Edible Sugar Flowers
- Edible Gold Paint
- Wilton Cake Decorating Brushes
- Gold Sprinkles
Easy Decorating Directions:
- Bake the cake rounds as directed and let them cool completely
- Make your buttercream icing, or use the mix suggested above. Place a cake round on the plate, and spread 1/4 cup icing over the top, place another cake round on top of the icing then cover the top of that one with icing as well. Repeat until your cake is as tall as you need it to be.
- Cover the outside of the cake with the icing and smooth it out.
- Fill a piping bag fitted with a round shaped piping tip with the leftover buttercream, and pipe the dollops of icing around the bottom of the cake.
- Using the Wilton brush set, paint the edible sugar flowers with the edible gold paint and let them dry.
- Once dry, arrange on the cake along with the graduation hat and diploma cake toppers and gold sprinkles.
This Book Graduation Cake
This cake may look really tricky, but I promise it’s actually really easy and a lot of fun! No one will ever forget that you made this cake!
If you’d like to recreate this cake you’ll need the following items:
- Wilton 9×13 Cake Pan
- Silk Ice Buttercream Mix
- FONDX Red Fondant
- FONDX White Fondant
- Edible Gold Paint
- Wilton Letter and Number Fondant Cutter Set
- Wilton Cake Decorating Brushes
- Graduation Hat & Diploma Cake Topper
Easy Decorating Directions:
- Bake the cake layers as directed and let them cool completely
- Make your buttercream icing, or use the mix suggested above. Place a cake round on the plate, and spread 1/4 cup icing over the top, place another cake round on top of the icing then cover the top of that one with icing as well. Repeat until your cake is as tall as you need it to be.
- Cover the outside of the cake with a thin layer of icing and smooth it out.
- Roll out the red fondant to 1/8″ thickness, and drape over your cake. Smooth it according to the directions in the Wilton tutorial video shown below. Cut off the excess.
- Using the extra fondant, cut three 1/2″ wide strips of red and apply them around the bottom of the cake.
- Roll out the white fondant to 1/8″ thickness, and cut out a long 32″ rectangles to apply around 3 sides of the cake. Carefully apply and smooth, then cut off the excess.
- Roll out the white fondant to 1/8″ thickness, then stamp out the name of the book using the fondant cutters. Paint them with the edible gold paint, and let them dry. Apply them to the sides of the cake using a dab of buttercream on the back of the letters.
- Arrange the graduation hat and diploma toppers on top of the cake.
Helpful Cake Decorating Tip
Wilton has an excellent YouTube tutorial on how to cover a cake with fondant. I highly suggest watching this before making any cake with fondant icing.
A Two-tiered Graduation Cake
This two-tiered graduation cake would be perfect for celebrating with a large group of friends and family.
This cake would be amazing as a blue velvet cake. I love this recipe from Betty Crocker.
To recreate this cake you’ll need the following items:
- Wilton 6-Inch Cake Pan Set
- Wilton 8-Inch Cake Pan Set
- Silk Ice Buttercream Mix
- Silver Sprinkles
- Graduation Hat & Diploma Cake Topper
Easy Decorating Directions:
- Bake the cake rounds as directed and let them cool completely
- Make your buttercream icing, or use the mix suggested above. Mix in 2 drops of the food coloring named “Turquoise” and mix thoroughly. Place a cake round on the plate, and spread 1/4 cup icing over the top, place another cake round on top of the icing then cover the top of that one with icing as well. Repeat until your cake is as tall as you need it to be.
- Cover the outside of the cake with the icing and smooth it out.
- Pour some sprinkles into your palm, and gently press them into the side of the cake at the top. Apply them all around the top of the two tiers, and then press some individual sprinkles randomly. Arrange a ring of sprinkles around the bottom of both tiers.
- Arrange the graduation cap and diploma toppers on the cake.
This Graduation Drip Cake
Graduating is a stressful time for many people, but this cake will cheer them up and remind them that they are finally free to pursue what they love!
I suggest using these items to recreate this cake:
- Wilton 6-Inch Cake Pan Set
- Silk Ice Buttercream Mix
- Wilton Deluxe Cake Decorating Kit
- Graduation Hat & Diploma Cake Topper
- Gold Sprinkles
- Cake Craft Cake Drip in White
Easy Decorating Directions:
- Bake the cake rounds as directed and let them cool completely
- Make your buttercream icing, or use the mix suggested above. Mix in 2 drops of the food coloring named “Turquoise” and mix thoroughly. Place a cake round on the plate, and spread 1/4 cup icing over the top, place another cake round on top of the icing then cover the top of that one with icing as well. Repeat until your cake is as tall as you need it to be.
- Cover the outside of the cake with the icing and smooth it out.
- Apply the cake drip over the top of the cake and allow it to drip over the sides.
- Fill a piping bag with the remainder of the buttercream, and using a star piping tip, pipe small flowers shapes onto the side and top of the cake.
- Arrange the gold sprinkles and the graduation hat and diploma cake toppers on the cake.