What is choc. mortar board? Some of you have beautiful grad. caps and you refer to mortar board to make them. Help? Need to make some for this weekend. I am fairly comfortable using fondant and was going to cover cardboard for the top of the cap and then use a styrofoam ball covered with fondant for the base. Any suggestions?

The 'mortar board' is the flat part of the cap. It can be made from chocolate, or candy clay. Your plan for covering cardboard would probably work fine.

Thanks for your help, JoAnnB!!!!! After reading other posts about boards I think I may use foam core. If I did do chocolate how is that done?

One other thing, will the candy clay "sag" if the cake is outside, about 75 degree mildly humid, but in the shade cooler.

I would be very afraid to do chocolate for outside...you don't want a saggy cap! What about making a square of pastillage in advance and drying it out to be the mortar board? It's pretty dense once it's dry. Gumpaste would also work but it would take a lot of gumpaste and at least a week to dry thoroughly enough to be rigid. Good luck!

I second the call for a pastillage mortar board. It dries much quicker than fondant or gumpaste. I'd even make the tassel out of pastillage as well.