32 Celebratory Graduation Cake Recipes (2024)

Credit: Aaron Kirk; Prop Styling: Christina Daley; Food Styling: Sarah Epperson

Make graduation day all the sweeter with the perfect celebratory cake. Here, we’ve gathered our best graduation cake and cupcake ideas to commemorate the occasion. From simple sheet cakes that are perfect for a graduation party crowd to impressive layer cakes that are sure to make your grad feel special, we have the graduation cake recipe for you.

1234 Cake

1-2-3-4 Cake Recipe

Time to oust your box cake mix, and embrace your inner baker with this basic yellow cake formula. This easyrecipe will raise your cake-crafting confidence to new heights the first time you try it. As the name suggests, the numbers represent the measurements of the ingredients in the cake. Just remember what number matches with which ingredient, and you can easily memorize this recipe to whip up anytime you please. The buttery yellow cake is moist and has a perfectly dense crumb. Consider the 1-2-3-4 Cake a blank canvas; have fun adding layers of your buttercream frosting, whipped cream with fruit, or your own favorite frosting. One key to keep in mind when making this cake is that you really do need to have your butter softened and, ideally, your eggs at room temperature. Mixing these ingredients in when cold makes them more difficult to incorporate and can yield a “broken” batter. When baking the cake, be sure to use a light baking pan to help prevent over-browning. If you see that the top of your cake is brown, but the center is still wet, make a foil tent over the cake to keep it from getting darker.

Chocolate Marble Sheet Cake

Chocolate Marble Sheet Cake Recipe

Swirl chocolate and yellow cake batter together in this marble sheetcake recipe and top with a rich mocha frosting.

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Graduation Cake Recipe

Made with a simple buttercream frosting and topped with festive decorations, this cake is a perfect and simple way to celebratethe graduate in your life.

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Classic Birthday Cake Recipe

For a festive occasion, few treats can match the celebratory spirit of a classic birthday cake—and this easy-to-follow formula is the only one you’ll ever need. Our birthday cake recipe yields two dense layers of buttery, vanilla-forward white cake wrapped in classically rich buttercream frosting. For the signature, picture perfect birthday cake look, don’t forget to garnish your frosted cake with rainbow sprinkles. You can also stir a handful of colored sprinkles right into the cake batter to create a funfetti effect.

Naked Lemon Cake with Flower Crown

Lemon Naked Cake with Flower Crown Recipe

Perfect for birthdays, showers, or special get-togethers, this flower-topped layer cake is so pretty you won’t want to cut it! Made with a lemon cake mix and Lemon Buttercream frosting, it’s incredibly simple to make, even though it looks impressive. Top with a ring of edible flowers and prepare for complements.

Tahini-Blueberry Sheet Cake With Strawberry Buttercream image

Tahini-Blueberry Sheet Cake With Strawberry Buttercream Recipe

Perfect for a graduation party or summer cookout, this impressive dessert offers the ease and crowd-friendly factor that we associate with a sheet cake, as well as a delightful twist of creativity and surprising vibrancy with the incorporation of tahini and fresh berries. If you have a jar of the trendy sesame seed paste hanging out in your pantry, trust us—it’s high time to go beyond hummus and welcome it into your dessert life. Tahini lends a delicious toasty quality to the tender cake while fresh blueberries dotted throughout the batter balance this nutty depth with their bright, juicy sweetness. A simple strawberry buttercream ties everything together and makes for a low-effort, eye-catching presentation.

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Chocolate Fudge Sheet Cake With Chocolate-Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

The addition of cinnamon adds a kick of “something special” to this rich chocolate sheet cake, but if you prefer, you can reduce the amount or leave the cinnamon out all together; you will simply have a delightful, classic chocolate cake on your hands. Once topped off with a decadent chocolate-cream cheese frosting, this cake is ready to please at virtually any event you bring it to.

Basic White Cupcakes

Basic White Cupcakes Recipe

Enhance a white cake mix with buttermilk, butter and flavoring extracts for this basic white cupcake. Then add whatever frosting and topping you are in in the mood for. We went for Coconut Buttercream and flaked coconut for these stunning Coconut Cupcakes.

Vanilla Layer Cake with Flower Cuff

Easy Vanilla Cake Recipe

Fresh flowers make this cake simply gorgeous—no decorating skills required! Simply choose edible blooms and petals (such as Carnations, English daisies, freesia, lavender, nasturtium, pansies, peonies, roses, stock, sweet William, tuberous begonias, or violets) For a smooth finish, dip a knife or offset spatula in hot water; then wipe it dry before frosting the cake.

Chocolate-Mayonnaise Cake

Chocolate-Mayonnaise Cake Recipe

If you've never known the glory of a mayonnaise cake, you're in for a treat! The staple ingredient yields an ultra-moist crumb and keeps the sugar from taking over your taste buds.

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Bribery Cake Recipe

This recipe is from Odette Williams' Simple Cake, a compendium of approachable, delicious cakes for celebrating every day. Per Williams, this cake is "A not-too-sweet chocolate cake, topped with silky Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream, sprinkled with a little sea salt crunch: This is the cake you bake to help you or a loved one get across the finish line."

Strawberries-and-Cream Sheet Cake

Strawberries-and-Cream Sheet Cake Recipe

Trust us: This simple and swoon-worthy sheet cake will be a keeper in your recipe box. File it under "Springtime Crowd-pleaser."

Mile-High Coconut Cupcakes

Mile-High Coconut Cupcakes Recipe

With a name like Mile-High, this delectable treat does not imply a lack of generosity. The toasted coconut cupcake will rise to any occasion - perfect for entertaining with its delightful display of crisped coconut embellishment. Whoever says too much is a bad thing clearly has not experienced the Mile-High Coconut Cupcake!

Confetti Flower Cake image

Confetti Flower Cake Recipe

It may be hard to believe that this stunning layer cake could taste as delightful as it looks, but trust us on this one… it’s well worth cutting into. We create an all-natural “fun-fetti” look for this Confetti Flower Cake with edible flower petals flecked throughout the moist and delicate vanilla layers. Covered in a light, fluffy strawberry frosting (and a few more garnishing edible flowers for good measure), this wow-worthy confetti cake is the perfect centerpiece for your next special occasion—be it a birthday party or a wedding shower.

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Banana Pudding Cake Recipe

One of our testers called this "the ultimate banana pudding in cake form." Tender laters of cake, creamy vanilla custard, and bananas come together to create a mouthwatering dessert. Warning: There won'tbe leftovers.

Graduation Cake Decorations

Graduation Cake Recipe

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Tiramisu Cake Recipe

Everything you love about classic Italian tiramisu, layered into an impressive cake.

Lemon Angel Food Cupcakes

Lemon Angel Food Cupcakes Recipe

Top these lemon-scented angel food cupcakes with tiny edible pansy blossoms or rosebuds for decoration. Store extra cupcakes in an airtight container, or send them home with guests as party favors.

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Margarita Cake Recipe

It’s everyone’s favorite refreshing tequila co*cktail… in cake form. Truly, what could be better? With tart lime curd and tequila syrup, this festive show-stopper cake does justice to the flavors of an authentic margarita.

Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes

Yellow Sheet Cake with Chocolate Frosting

Yellow Sheet Cake with Chocolate Frosting Recipe

Here's a moist, buttery dessert that can make any occasion a celebration. It was a favorite with our staffers, receiving top scores for its taste. Fresh edible flowers, such as mums, make an easy, pretty decoration; most people remove the flowers before eating the cake. If you're offering the cake at an informal gathering, serve it right from the pan.

Dark Chocolate Avocado Cake with Chocolate Avocado Frosting image

Dark Chocolate Avocado Cake with Chocolate Avocado Frosting Recipe

This vegan cake (no eggs or butter!) is so delicious that our kids begged for more. The frosting is silky smooth, and the cake is light and loaded with chocolate flavor, and healthy fats.

Butter Pecan Layer Cake with Browned Butter Frosting

Butter Pecan Layer Cake with Browned Butter Frosting Recipe

Nutty Browned Butter Frosting meets tender pecan cake in this showstopping three-layer dessert. When browning the butter for the frosting, pour the butter into a bowl as soon as it turns golden brown, or it will continue to cook and get too dark.

White Linen Cupcakes

White Linen Cupcakes Recipe

White Linen Cupcakes are a light combination of Mascarpone Frosting and white chocolate curls over a tender cupcake. Perfect for a tea, party, or shower, they're delicate and delicious. Serve them with an ice-cold glass of milk.

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes Recipe

Cookies and Cream cupcakes are irresistable! The creamy vanilla frosting is jam-packed with crushed cookies. A tall glass of milk is all you need to complete this luscious treat.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake Recipe

This chocolate peanut butter cake is like eating a giant Reese's peanut butter cup, perfect for lovers of this classic flavor combination!

Strawberry Cake with Strawberry Buttercream Frosting image

Strawberry Cake with Strawberry Buttercream Frosting Recipe

This vibrant pink layer cake is pure strawberry-on-strawberry goodness, with fresh strawberries going into the cake batter and frosting. One thing to note about the buttercream frosting—it is absolutely bursting with berry flavor, but is easily over-mixed. If you find you've broken your emulsion when whipping this frosting up, no worries. You can simplymix in a little more powdered sugar to restore it. That said, we love how purely strawberry-forward the flavor of this frosting is, so we'd advise being very light-handed when adding extra powdered sugar, as itwill dilute the berry flavor. In our opinion, it's better to have a slightly broken frosting that tastes like strawberries than a perfectly pristine frosting that tastes like sugar.

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Unicorn Cake Recipe

This colorful unicorn-inspired layer cake is the pinnacle of cuteness—perfect for a birthday party or for anyone who’s just super into the current unicorn craze. While this cake is fantastically wow-worthy, and does take some time and loving dedication to construct, you don’t need to be a pastry chef to pull it off. In fact, creating this mythical masterpiece really is totally achievable for a home baker—just follow the instructions and don’t be afraid to have a little fun with it! You’ll be amazed what you can achieve with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting, some colorful candy, and a little bit of fondant.

Naked Lemon Cake with Flower Crown

Lemon Naked Cake with Flower Crown Recipe

Perfect for birthdays, showers, or special get-togethers, this flower-topped layer cake is so pretty you won’t want to cut it! Made with a lemon cake mix and Lemon Buttercream frosting, it’s incredibly simple to make, even though it looks impressive. Top with a ring of edible flowers and prepare for complements.

Aperol Spritz Cake image

Aperol Spritz Cake Recipe

The delicate blance of sweet, bitter and citrus that makes the co*cktail so refreshing also makes for an unusual citrus cake.

Cookies-and-Cream Stuffed Pound Cake image

Cookies-and-Cream Stuffed Pound Cake Recipe

What’s better than pound cake? A stuffed pound cake, that’s what. A rich, cookies-and-cream filling takes a prepared pound cake to the next level. For this recipe, check the supermarket bakery for a pound cake on the larger side; alternatively, if you go with a smaller loaf cake (like a Sara Lee brand pound cake), go ahead and grab two—you’ll have enough filling to go around. For a different spin, swap the Oreo cookies for chopped peanut butter cups or sliced fresh strawberries.

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Mudslide Cake Recipe

You know how some co*cktails are so good they're basically dessert? This mudslide cake takes that even further, making the classic dessert co*cktail into an actual dessert. The inclusion of bothIrish and coffee liqueurs give the cake depth of flavor, and the chocolate glaze and cherries give a nod to the traditional mudslide garnishes. Eat it with a dollop of whipped cream or ice cream. No straw required.