Tiered Grad Cake - thumbnail image

Tiered Graduation Cake

Purple Graduation Cake

...because I can almost guarantee tiered cakes are easier than you think! 

My first tiered graduation cake was for a co-worker graduating with her Doctorate. Per request, I made a coffee cocktail cake flavored with chocolate liqueur and bourbon. Not long afterward, I got another request from another coworker – for her daughter’s high-school graduation. Obviously anything cocktail-inspired was off the table for a high school graduation cake, but there are SO many other great flavors to choose from!

I've outlined the basic recipe I use in the recipe card (the 'Jump to Recipe' button will take you there).

I've also made Lemon, Vanilla Almond, and Oreo tiered cakes, and I'll include the modifications for those flavors!
See this post for a scaled version of my favorite chocolate cake recipe - 
Or see this Coffee Cocktail Cake page for the cake recipe I made for my coworker! 

FAQs

"What if I've never made a tiered cake before??"
  • First time for everything - I can almost guarantee it's easier than you think!
    Give the video a quick watch; it's less than a minute long (you can hit the 'Jump to Video' button above).
    For a more in-depth overview I like this video - 'How to make a Tiered Cake' by Chelsweets - to see the whole process! I like using plastic straws instead of wooden dowels personally, but that's up to you. Any questions please send me an email

"What if I've never added a drip to a cake before?"
  • Don't stress! It's easier than you probably think it is! 🙂 
  • My biggest tips - make sure you measure your chocolate and heavy cream accurately. Too much/little of either may affect your drip consistency. 
  • Make sure you try a test drip first! Don't pour the ganache over your whole cake until you're confident in the consistency of your ganache. 
  • I loved this YouTube tutorial by Sugar&Sparrow when I was new to cake drips! 
“How do I store this cake?”
  • Before serving, I prefer storing cakes in cake boxes – they help keep the cake from drying out without any plastic wrap touching the sides of the cake and potentially messing up the decorations! I place cakes in the fridge if storing overnight but allow them to come to room temperature before serving.

  • On a cover any remaining cake well after serving to keep it from drying out - it will keep at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the fridge for 3-5 days. 

"Do I have to make the cake / frosting from scratch?"
  • I'll start with the obvious part of the answer first - I'd recommend it. 😉 Nothing beats homemade cake layers and frosting for taste! 
  • That said - you sure don't have to if you don't want to! (Or if you don't have the time!) As a mom of 2 small kids as I update this post I know sometimes you need to save some time and / or mess. And you can still make a great cake from cake mixes - more info below. 
  • Substitute 3 of your favorite vanilla cake mixes plus the ingredients the mixes calls for; keep the baking pans the same! The cake layers will just be a little less rich. Substituting butter for oil, buttermilk for water, and adding an extra egg will help! 

  • Store bought frosting is usually a little thinner than my recipe; add a 1/4 cup of extra powdered sugar at a time until you reach a consistency that spreads and stays in place on the cake well. 

(Disclosure: As an Amazon associate I may earn from qualifying purchases, and my posts often contain affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you!) 

Don't forget to pin this recipe for later!

Purple Graduation Cake

Tiered Graduation Cake

Sarah H
Want to make a show-stopper cake for a special occasion? A tiered Graduation Cake is easier than you think to make and decorate!
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 37 minutes
Decorating time 1 hour
Total Time 2 hours 7 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 24 servings
Calories 782 kcal

Equipment

Ingredients
  

Vanilla Cake layers (see 'notes' for flavor modifications)

  • 4 ⅞ cups all-purpose flour
  • 4 ½ cups granulated sugar
  • 3 ¾ teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 ½ teaspoons salt
  • 1 ½ cups unsalted butter (3 sticks room temperature)
  • 9 eggs
  • 2 ¼ cups buttermilk (room temperature)
  • 1 Tablespoon clear vanilla extract
  • 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil

Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting

  • 12 ounces cream cheese (1 1/2 packages, softened)
  • 1 1/2 cups butter (three sticks, softened)
  • 9 cups powdered sugar
  • 2-4 Tablespoons whipping/heavy cream (if needed)
  • 1 ½ Tablespoons vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon salt (if using unsalted butter)
  • Gel food coloring (s) of your choice (optional)

Cake drip & Decorations

  • 4 ounces Black candy melts
  • 4 ounces White candy melts (for gold drip; optional)
  • 5 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream (divided) (my favorite brand is very thick; you may need a bit less depending on the thickness of your whipping cream)
  • Gold lustre dust or edible paint (for gold drip; optional)
  • small new or food-safe paintbrush (for gold drip; optional)
  • Graduation cake topper (these are available online or you can do what I did and pull the hat off a graduation headband and use a tassel from the dollar tree!)

Instructions
 

Vanilla Cake layers

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare three 8-inch cake pans and two six-inch cake pans with baker's floured cooking spray, or grease and line with parchment rounds.
  • Mix together all dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt) in a stand mixer with a paddle until fully combined. Mix chunks of room-temperature butter slowly into the dry mix, on a low speed. Continue to mix until no large chunks of butter remain, and the mixture becomes crumbly.
  • Pour in eggs and mix on low until just incorporated. Mix in the buttermilk, in two installments, on a low speed. Add in vanilla extract and oil, and mix at a low speed until fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, then beat on medium speed for about 30 seconds.
  • Divide batter evenly between the prepared cake pans (I find a kitchen scale helpful for this part – I ended up with about 690g in my large pans and about 450 in my smaller ones). This guarantees your layers will bake to be the same height.
  • Bake for 34-37 minutes, (or until a toothpick comes out clean). Allow cake layers to cool for 10-15 minutes on a wire cooling rack before removing from pans . Cool completely before frosting. Set in the fridge or freezer to accelerate the cooling process if desired.
  • Once the layers have fully cooled, they can be leveled and any caramelized bits can be trimmed from the sides / top of the cake using a serrated knife if desired. Be sure the layers are completely cooled or chilled before trimming. If you try to trim the layers while they’re still warm, they will crumble apart. (While you’re waiting…make your frosting!)

Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting

  • Beat together softened cream cheese and butter; slowly add in powdered sugar alternating with flavor extract and whipping cream until frosting reaches a spreadable / pipeable consistency. Add salt if needed and any food coloring if desired and beat until well combined.

Assembly

  • Place a smear of frosting on your large cake circle (to keep the cake from sliding while you decorate it) and center your large first cake layer in the center of the circle.
  • Spread the layer with frosting, and center the next layer on top. Repeat the process with your remaining 8” cake layers.
  • Next, repeat the same process with your smaller cardboard circle and cake layers. Of note – if your circles aren’t pre-center-punched, be sure to grab a dowel or straw and make your own hole in the exact center of the circle! This will allow you to center the tier on the base tier later on.
  • Now you're ready to crumb-coat . If you're unfamiliar with crumb-coating, it's just what it sounds like – spreading a thin layer of frosting over the entire outside of the cake to keep crumbs out of your final layer.
  • Once your crumb coat has set on your top tier (this takes about 5-10 minutes in the fridge), add your final layer of frosting and smooth. (If you plan to decorate the base tier with rosettes, it doesn't need another frosting layer). I like to use an offset spatula and bench scraper for this part. I struggled a bit at first getting the sides smooth on my smaller one, but trimming my smaller cake layers slightly smaller than my cake circle and using the cardboard as a guide worked well!
  • To add ombre rosettes to the base cake tier, split your remaining frosting into 3 parts, and color each part a progressively darker shade of purple. Transfer one at a time into a large piping bag (I used the star tip from this set) and pipe rosettes around the outside of your base tier.
  • Place both tiers into the freezer for about 20 minutes to set the frosting and get the cake cold enough to set the white chocolate ganache decoration.
  • (This is a great time to make your ganache for the drip, but I’ll include instructions for stacking your tiers first. Ganache recipe is below!)

Okaaaay. The stacking process!

  • I watched a few tutorials before I started, but ‘How to Make a Tiered Cake’ by Chelsweets was my favorite. To place cake dowels (to ensure the top tier doesn't crush the lower one, as well as keep it centered), it helps to have a ruler handy!
  • Push dowels/straws down into the base tier just over one inch from the cake edge, placing them evenly at quarter intervals around the cake. Place your last, tallest straw or dowel into the exact center of the cake, making sure to keep it vertical and centered as you press down.
  • Now you’re ready – center the hole in the bottom of your top tier cake circle over the tallest dowel and let the top tier gently down onto the base tier. The dowel will poke into the center of the top tier to hold it in place.
  • Pat yourself on the back; you did it! I found that my cardboard cake circle showed more than I was happy with, so I piped some extra frosting onto the base of the top tier to hide it.

Candy Melt Drip

  • Place black and white candy melts in separate microwave-safe bowls. Add 2 1/2 Tablespoons of whipping cream to each, and microwave on 50% power in 30-second intervals until smooth, stirring in between.
  • Allow candy melt mixtures to cool to a moderate temperature – they should feel slightly warm and still be fairly liquid. Transfer to squeeze bottles or small piping bags (or you can use spoons).
  • Alternating black and white every few drips, slowly drizzle ganache around the upper edge of your cake, pausing every inch or so to let more fall in a drip down the side of the cake.
  • Pour a couple tablespoons of either color over the top of the cake and smooth with an offset spatula or spoon. Return cake to the fridge or freezer to set the drips.
  • Once the drips have set, pour some lustre dust & water or some gold paint into a small glass or container (I used a shot glass). Use your paintbrush and cover the white drips with gold.
  • Place your cake topper on top – and step back and admire your amaaazing cake! Enjoy!

Video

Notes

Flavor Modifications
Lemon cake - replace vanilla extract with lemon extract (lemon juice is likely to react with baking powder). Add ¼ cup fine lemon zest, and a few drops of yellow food coloring if desired for a deeper yellow color. Replace vanilla with lemon extract in the frosting as well.
Oreo cake - add 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder and 1 cup of chopped Oreo pieces to the cake batter. Add 1 cup of chopped Oreo pieces to the frosting - stir in at the very end after frosting is well-beaten. (The more you stir after adding the Oreos the darker brown the frosting will be.) 
Vanilla Almond - reduce vanilla extract to 2 teaspoons and add 2 teaspoons almond extract to cake batter, along with 1/2 cup of chopped slivered almonds. Replace vanilla extract with almond extract in the frosting. 
Decorating options  
I've included instructions in the card for a base tier frosted with rosettes and a top tier decorated with black and gold drips. I opted for those instructions as that's been my most popular cake design. That said though - decorations are up to you!
I've decorated the base tier with more drips, with themed fondant cut-outs, and even just left it plain. Candy melts also come in a huge variety of colors, or gel colors can be added to white candy melts for more customized colors. Dealer's choice - or graduate's choice! :) 
Please note nutrition information is an estimate and may not be exactly accurate. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1sliceCalories: 782kcalCarbohydrates: 101gProtein: 9gFat: 38g
Keyword College Graduation cake, Graduation Cake, High School Graduation Cake, Tiered Graduation Cake
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