A Taste of Home for your graduates

By Taste of Home

Graduation Caps Recipe

Instructions

• 24 miniature peanut butter cups
• 1 tube (6 ounces) decorating frosting in color of your choice
• 24 After Eight thin mints
• 24 milk chocolate M&M's in color of your choice or 24 semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

• Remove paper liners from peanut butter cups; place upside down on waxed paper. Place a small amount of frosting on each peanut butter cup; center a mint on each. Using frosting, make a loop for each cap's tassel. Place an M&M on top of each loop. Yield: 2 dozen.

By Taste of Home

Brownie Graduation Caps Recipe: These tasty treats are a snap to assemble by topping brownie cupcakes with mortarboards made from chocolate-covered graham cookies. A red licorice tassel adds the fast finishing touch.

Ingredients

• 1 package fudge brownie mix (13-inch x 9-inch pan size)
• 48 fudge graham cookies or graham cracker halves
• 1 cup chocolate frosting
• 48 pieces red shoestring licorice
• 48 Skittles bite-size candies

Directions

• Prepare brownie batter according to package directions for cake-like brownies. Fill paper-lined miniature muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350° for 21-24 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely (remove paper liners while cupcakes are still warm).
• Slice 1/8-in. from the top of each cupcake to level. Invert cupcakes; attach a cookie to each with a small amount of frosting. For tassel, place a licorice piece and a candy on top of each cookie, attaching with frosting. Let stand until set. Yield: 4 dozen.

By Taste of Home

Graduation Photo Album Cake Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1-3/4 cups sugar, divided
• 5 eggs, separated
• 2-2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup poppy seeds
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
• 1-1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 
  BUTTERCREAM FROSTING:
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 6 tablespoons shortening
• 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 6 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk
• Paste food coloring in school colors
• 15-x 11-inch board
• Yellow gift wrap for covering board
• Clear cellophane for covering board
• 4-x5-inch photo of graduate (laminated if desired)
• Pastry tips—round #3, star #18, drop flower #107, and leaf #67

Directions

• Directions: Cover board with gift wrap, taping wrap on the back side of board. Cover wrapped board with cellophane in the same way.
• Prepare cake and frosting according to following recipe:
• In a bowl, cream butter and 1-1/2 cups sugar. Add egg yolks and beat well. Combine flour, poppy seeds, lemon peel, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• Add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk.
• In a small bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Beat in remaining sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until stiff peaks form. Fold into batter.
• Pour into a greased and floured 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Bake at 325° for 45-50 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on 10 minutes. Remove from pan to wire rack to cool cake completely. Transfer to covered board.
• Trace book pattern twice onto waxed paper. Cut out. On one long side of cake, position patterns so that the long straight edges sit on the board and the wide ends meat at the center of cake. Secure with toothpicks. With a serrated knife an following patterns, cut off top of cake. Remove cake top and save for another use. Repeat on other long side.
• For frosting, cream butter, shortening and vanilla in a bowl. Beat in confectioners' sugar and milk.
• Place 1 cup frosting in a bowl for border around cake. Tint with food coloring for main school color. Place 1/3 cup frosting in another bowl and tint with second color. Place 1 tablespoon frosting in a bowl and leave white. Set bowls aside. Frost the cake top and sides with the remaining frosting.
• If photo is not laminated, wrap it in plastic wrap. Place photo in center of one page of cake.
• Cut a small hole in a corner of pastry or plastic bag. Insert round tip #3. Fill with main school-color frosting. Referring to photo at top left, pipe "CLASS OF 2000" on page without photo.
• Insert drop flower tip #107. Pipe a rope border around bottom edges of cake. Pipe flowers at corners of photo. Randomly pipe five flowers above and three flowers below writing.
• Fill another bag with reserved white frosting. Cut a small hole in corner; pipe a dot in center of flowers.
• Prepare a third bag; insert star tip #18 and fill with second school-color frosting. Pipe designs above and below photo. Pipe vines on each side of the flower groups.
• Insert leaf tip #67. Pipe leaves randomly near flowers. Remove photo before cutting cake. Yield: 12-15 servings.
  
  Editor's Note: Use of a coupler ring will allow you to easily change tips for different designs. Crafter thoughts—With its photo album theme, the cake can grace lots of other occasions, too. —Fit another snapshot on your dessert by making the writing smaller. Finished size: Cake is about 13 inches x 9 inches.

Pattern for the album cake

By Taste of Home

These Mortarboard Cupcakes are so easy and can be made with your school colors.

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup baking cocoa
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups water
• 2/3 cup canola oil
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 
  FROSTING:
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• Food coloring
• 18 whole graham crackers
• 18 milk chocolate M&M's
• Black shoestring licorice, cut into 36 pieces (3 inches each)

Directions

• In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients. In another bowl, combine the water, oil, vinegar and vanilla; stir into dry ingredients just until combined.
• Fill paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes; remove to wire racks.
• In a large bowl, cream the butter, shortening and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add confectioners' sugar alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Add food coloring if desired.
• Level off the top of cupcakes; frost sides and bottom. Place upside down on a serving platter or covered board. Frost graham crackers; place one on each cupcake. Place an M&M's candy in the center of each cracker with two licorice pieces for a tassel.
• Yield: 1-1/2 dozen.