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25 creative graduation cake ideas for your grad p 2026 05 27 200315 683x1024 1

Graduation Cake

Celebrate graduation with a delicious cake that can be customized to match your grad's school colors or interests, making it festive and fun.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings: 12 slices
Course: Cake, Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 350
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Cake Ingredients
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1.5 cups sugar
  • 0.5 cups unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup milk
  • 3.5 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 0.5 teaspoon salt
  • 3 large eggs
  • Food coloring (optional, for decoration)
  • Fondant or icing (for decorating)

Method
 

Preparation
  1. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour two round cake pans.
  2. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
  3. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Then stir in the vanilla extract.
  4. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add this mixture to the wet ingredients, alternating with milk. Stir until just combined.
  5. If you want to add food coloring, do so at this point to reach your desired color.
  6. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared cake pans and smooth the tops with a spatula.
Baking
  1. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  2. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Decoration
  1. Once cool, you can frost the cake with your favorite icing or decorate with fondant. Add school colors, diplomas, or caps to make it fun!

Notes

Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature before you start. This helps the batter mix more smoothly. Avoid overmixing for a moist cake. You can make a layered cake with different flavors by substituting half of the flour with cocoa powder for a chocolate graduation cake.