Graduation Cap Cupcakes

photo by:kraft

Cue "Pomp and Circumstance." Orange-flavored cake topped with a chocolate graham mortarboard and a fruit-snack tassel earns you a degree in cuteness.

time

prep:

30 min

total:

1 hr 25 min

servings

total:

24 servings

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What You Need

pkg. (2-layer size) yellow cake mix

env. KOOL-AID Orange Flavor Unsweetened Drink Mix

2/3

cup (1/2 of 7-oz. tub) BAKER'S Dark Semi-Sweet Dipping Chocolate, melted

HONEY MAID Honey Grahams, broken crosswise in half (24 squares)

cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping

chewy fruit snack rolls, any color

jelly beans

Make It

HEAT oven to 350ºF.

PREPARE cake batter as directed on package. Blend in drink mix; spoon into 24 lined muffin cups. Bake 20 to 25 min. or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean; cool completely. Meanwhile, spread 1 tsp. melted chocolate onto each graham square to completely cover top; place on baking sheet. Refrigerate until firm.

REMOVE liners from cupcakes; place cupcakes upside-down on plate. Use wooden spoon handle to poke deep hole in center of each cupcake. Spoon COOL WHIP into resealable plastic bag. Snip one corner from bottom of bag; pipe COOL WHIP into holes and onto tops of cupcakes, reserving small amount of COOL WHIP for later use. Top cupcakes with grahams, chocolate-sides up, to resemble graduation caps.

USE fruit rolls to make tassels for caps. (See Tip.) Add 1 tassel and jelly bean to top of each graham square, securing each with dab of remaining COOL WHIP. Keep refrigerated.

Kraft Kitchens Tips

Variation

For a black-and-white graduation, spread half of grahams with additional COOL WHIP instead of the melted chocolate. Line up different-colored caps in alternating rows.

How to Make Tassels

Cut fruit snack rolls into 24 pieces. Cut 3/4-inch slits at one short end of each piece to resemble fringe. Tightly roll up lengthwise to make tassel.

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cindyh1025

posted:6/19/2005

I made these for pre-school graduation using mini muffin sized brownies, chocolate covered grahams, fruit by the foot dividing the colors to make the tassels and chocolate frosting to hold on the cookie and jelly bean. They were the hit of the party!

Jake09

posted:6/17/2005

This recipe can be whatever you choose to make it. If you want to pull out all the stops you can and follow exactly. I was a bit pinched on time, so I used the prepared chocolate graham crackers, Twizzlers pull and peel for the tassles, and chocolate frosting. To incorporate the school's colors I alternated M&M's. They turned out great and will plan to make for all future party's. Thanks Kraft!

phazzie

posted:6/16/2005

My mother-in-law and I made these for my son's Kindergarten graduation. His school's color was red, so we doctored the recipe quite a bit. We skipped the Kool-Aid & chocolate and substituted icing, licorice (pull & peel and bites) and M&M's for the Cool Whip, fruit rolls and jelly beans. We spread marshmallow fluff on the tops of the grahams and used cake decorating spray to make the caps red. They're a bit of work, but looked great and we got tons of compliments!

sunnyjoyk

posted:6/14/2005

These were fantastic and a big hit with our guests! Sooo attractive......we feel we improved the look and ease by using chocolate cake mix, skipping the filling and covering them with a thin yummy chocolate marshmallow glaze that sealed in their moisture. We used melted chocolate coating wafers to attach everything which worked great, and as everyone else has suggested we used already coated grahams too. On another platter we also made tiny caps from Reeses' mini peanut butter cups upside down, following the same pattern with small chocolate covered grahams and tassles.

sbiscotti

posted:6/13/2005

i made these for a graduation party & they were really a 'hit' w/everyone. people were even taking them home to duplicate. i used a cake mix which made 48 mini cakes & 6 large. the minis were a bit too big, so i used a small round cookie cutter to trim the edges . also, the fruit roll ups are tricky to work with so i refrigerated the roll before cutting with a very sharp paring knife. it really helped. the store bought chocolate covered graham crackers worked well to as did the canned frosting.

whatlizard

posted:6/12/2005

I chose this recipe because it looked cute and I could custimize it for a grad party I was attending. I also skipped the coolwhip and used ready to decorate icing that came with tips. I didn't use rollups , instead I ended up eating them and then buying twizzlers pull and peel. A drawback besides the chocolate melting in with the weather; the wrappers stuck to the cake.

acuvala

posted:6/3/2005

VERY labor intensive. If you make these, make mini muffins, forget the kool aid, and use ready made chocolate graham crackers. When the home made graham crackers get room temp, they are a mess. The cool whip DOES NOT hold anything on, so use frosting that will dry a bit. The fruit rolls also get too soft in this weather. The pictures look great. don't be fooled.

hybubalorus

posted:6/2/2005

Someone made this for our elementary school graduation and the kids loved them. They couldn't get the fruit roll ups to work so they just used yarn for the tassels.

christy2466

posted:6/1/2005

I made these for my son's kindergarten class & everyone loved them. I wrote the child's name on the cookie for that personalized touch. Also, instead of dipping a graham cracker in choc. to save time - buy inexpensive choc covered graham cookies. The tassels are the most time consuming part - but worth it. My friend wants to make these next year for her daughter's class.

Atljawja

posted:6/1/2005

This was a good recipe, but I will simplify the production next time. I recommend using mini-muffin tins and liners instead of full-size cupcakes. Also, substitute one (or two bags) of chocolate chip or your favorite muffin mix to reduce the quantity of mini grad caps. Buy the already-coated chocolate graham crackers to save effort. I used M&M's for the grad cap button and glued everything together with a can of chocolate icing. I opted to leave out the jello all together. The tassels may need to set up in the frig. This approach makes it more manageable. Very cute but original method is very labor intensive.