I got this task for a Hat and Scroll Graduation Cake from my child’s teacher.
This is my first time I did cake decoration with plastic icing. I learnt a lot from making this one and since then I am very confident to decorate cakes with plastic icing. Few mistakes happened but it was an amazing experience and good lesson. Now I am learning how to make 3D cake decoration.
My first mistake was, I rolled the fondant icing on the display board which was really painful as it was not neat and tidy. It worked eventually.
Second mistake, I made the tassle too early then it was set and dry. It broke as I lifted it, then I knew that I should put it on the hat and let it dry.
I had so much fun making this cake and my child’s teacher was very pleased. Since then I got so many orders from the school to make all their celebration cakes or cupcakes.
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Hey Iam looking for a graduation cake for my granddaughter and I saw this one Cake #50, I thought it was very cool BUT I need to know that I can put it together.
If anyone has any ideas please pass them on to me, I only have 2 weeks left.
Thanx so much
Sandi
The base is a rectangle, gauge the size accordingly, although I wouldn’t use less than 17 x 11. The Mortar Board base is a round cake proportional to the height of your rectangle;
The stars are fondant cut out with cookie cutters.
The “board” can be done one of 2 ways. 1.) cardboard rectangle covered in colored fondant; 2. chocolate, melted into a square of the appropriate size, refrigerated until hard, trimmed to clean the edges, then covered in colored fondant.
The tassel is also made of fondant in the color of your choice. First create one very long “snake” fold it in half and “roll” together leaving loops at the top and bottom as you see in her picture. If you have trouble making one long one, make two and gently smooth them together. Place a star in the middle of the mortar board. Place the rope on top of the star and position it as shown. For the fringe of the tassel you may need to add butter to make it pliable because you need to run it through a press to make it look like spaghetti. I’ve heard people use a garlic press, but I don’t know how to get it long enough that way. I use an attachment from a machine I have. Attach it while it’s drying and add the small sort of candy or a circular piece of matching fondant at the seam. Add a round piece of fondant in the middle of each loop. Note the positioning of the loops at the bottom near the tassel. NOTE: The fringe is UNDERNEATH the twisted snake rope
The scroll can be a swiss chocolate roll covered with fondant with a ribbon around it; at least that is how I’d probably make it. There are other ways to do it, but that’s the easiest.
The ribbon is not a bow. It’s made in pieces. One rectangle around the scroll, two made into loops and attached, and one square to close it.
If you want or need more cake than that, you can make the base out of cake. I am!
By the way, thank you. I have been looking for something really interesting to make for my son’s HS graduation and really wasn’t interested in a Mortar Board, but after analyzing this one for you, I decided to use it and add to it by making a “bridge” (literally- I’ll use licorice to make to railings) to his next endeavor and another cake out that too concept too.