Graduation 2011 cake

by Robert Ewing
(Midland, Tx, USA.)

Back in April some friends asked me if i could make them a unique 1 of a kind cake for they're daughters graduation, something special for the occasion.


were hosting a party that would include family and friends from both sides, a DJ, and cookout. They wanted the cake to be the center piece of the celebration. The daughter had a design she had sketched and wanted this specific design.


After consulting with the family and reviewing the design of the cake, the number of people to serve(size) and the attention to all the details, In the past i had made a lot of beautiful special occasion cakes for weddings, quinceaneras, anniversaries and such, so i was confident that this girl was going to have a nice cake.

The cake is a round 3 tier design, offset with the stair-step look. It will be iced with vanilla buttercream & buttercream fondant. The bottom layer i choose the 14"x3" and a vanilla sponge recipe with a purple tint(Wiltons gel icing colors). I crumb coated the 1st layer then refrigerated.

The 2nd layer i selected the 12"x3" round and also used vanilla sponge with a purple & gold swirl effect, crumb coated the refrigerated.

The 3rd and final layer i used a 8"x3" round, again using vanilla sponge with a purple tint, crumb coated and off to the fridge.

I then, acquiring the assistance of my wife Mari & daughter Malori, sculpted the Bulldog heads,the caps & scrolls and the stack of books from fondant. the stripes,borders and circles are also cut from fondant.

The layers were then stacked( used wooden dow rods for support below each layer) and the final details were applied to complete the cake...All the guest were certainly thrilled and the Family was very pleased that they had a very NICE CAKE for they're daughters special occasion:)