So I am attempting to make a graduation cake. I'd like to do a book and a graduation cap on top. The party is for 20-30 people. I took it upon myself to tell my family, "I'll make the cake"....now I'm like I don't even know what size pans I should be using to feed everyone. I want to do one cake vanilla the other chocolate with a buttercream frosting and Satin Ice fondant (I heard this is best). If anyone can please advise me on what size pans I should buy or use??

Any other tips would be great too since this is only second cake

THANK YOU ahead of time.

Wow...you bit off quite a bit for your second cake! Here is the Wilton cake chart. The serving sizes are for 2 layers, so I think if you do a 1 layer 7x11 and a 2 layer 6x6 would be sufficient. Are you going to try to make the hat or buy 1? I am sure your family will love it! Good luck

As far as Satin Ice being the best, it's a matter of opinion. I use Fondarific. I've tried others, including Satin Ice and I always go back to Fondarific. It has a touch of chocolate in it, so it's easier to smooth out blemishes and blend seams. It also take impression very well and can be refrigerated. Satin Ice tends to dry our very quickly and crack. Not to mention, I don't think it smells too good. Definitely look up a servings chart for your book. Of course your hat will be approximate servings since it's sculpted. GL and post pics!

that cap looks plastic to me...

Hi, i have pic in my photos of one i did in June for my grandson. I made 3 all different flavors. I used fonderific with a little tylose. I colored all the fondant a month before and stored in freezer bags until the day. I made the cap from 41/2" styrofoam egg. covered it in fondant and made the mortar board from g/p(dries harder) all was just waiting for the big nite of putting it all together. I cut the mortar board 51/2" square, let dry completly. finished that when i put it all together. I used the 9x13 for base cake and then went on to cut the others down some to make different looks. when i torted and filled and iced(litely) i then put back in fridge until the next day. Then i went from there to cover each one in fondant ,etc. used bubble tea straws under each tier and then doweled after first 2 tiers and then doweled again after 3rd tier. then put all the edges , lettering ,etc to finish . then finished the hat with the tassels and year no, etc. i also used melting chocolate under each tier and used melting chocolate to glue the hat. and the diploma. i made the fame from melting chocolate and then pic with icing images. if you made the cap from cake you would use a ball pan to bakd or or bowl of size and then  cover with fondant, etc. There are so many how tos on internet. I used a dvd  and also help from internet. I was very proud , i had not done this before. was anxious to do it for my sweet grandson. hth if you need more help , just p/m me.

I forgot to say, i made some templates to help me cut the cakes. Just sorta made up some figures and cut them out with siff paper(can,t think of the name) You can do this, just read and look ,etc . over the internet. such great help. Some of the students , i teach, surprise me with what cake they do for last class in course !. amazing work they do.

I was hoping to make the hat out of cake and just "mold" the top part out by cutting it with a knife before I put the square part on for the hat. 

So the book would be chocolate and the hat would be vanilla. 

Wow, your going to make that?

have fun --

I heard about Fondirific way too late in the game. I can't seem to find it near me. I need it for tomorrow and most of the bakery supplies places close when I leave work so I'm so out of luck. 

I didn't know they even had pans that were balls. I was going to just try and use round pans and then "shape" it in the cap. I am going to hit Michael's after work.

My plan of action is doing the buttercream tonight. Make the cakes tomorrow night. Then do the fondant work Saturday morning. Am I reaching with my time frame? The party is at 6....at my house. LOL

AThe cake look like all buttercream to me

If you are going to make the cap and you don't have the ball shaped cake pans, you can either make it out of rice krispie treats or you can take some cake scraps mix it with buttercream icing and make like a big cake pop and shape it into the dome shape you need for the hat.  I did the cake pop idea for the dome for a mickey mouse hat cake i made last weekend and it came out great...hope this helps!
 

You really are taking on a lot with very little time. Working with fondant over a ball shape is not going to be easy at all for a beginner. I don't want to discourage you at all...I just want you to have realistic expectations so you don't get frustrated on your second cake and give up. If you are going to make the cap from cake that will give you extra servings, but who doesn't love some late night cake? What are you going to use for the top of the cap and tassel? I would also go with lighter colored gel coloring for the books (unless you buy colored fondant). Deep colors are hard to get (especially black and red)

I saw someone just cut a piece of cardboard and covered it with fondant. The books could be any color. The most important part is the cap now. I did want the cap for the extra servings. What should I use for the letters? Just some of those cookie cutter letters?

Also, I've never made a cake pop. I've seen it but never made them. I'm usually a box cake kind of girl. 

I'm just getting into from scratch. I like a challenge but I'm super nervous. 

Cake pops are super easy, crumble your cake scraps up and add some icing a tablespoon at a time until you get it to the consistency of playdough then roll it into the shape u want and cover it in the fondant! Just watch some tutorials on Youtube if you get stuck("Cupcakes cookies and cardio" and "My Cupcake addiction" have awesome tutorials on cake pops), you can totally do it!!  I use box mix too a lot of bakers do, it's totally fine! My profile picture was only my second cake, I believe in you..you can do it!!!!
 

As soon as I make it I'm going to post up pics. You saw my first cake I ever made? I made MMF and did everything from scratch. I'm hoping this goes as good as the other cake but I'm freaking because I keep reading how hard it is to cover a square cake. Plus I'm over here looking for good recipes for the cakes. LOL. I'm a mess. 

AThe key to doing fondant on a square cake is to do the corners before you smooth the sides.

They just piped the letters on with black icing....Wilton has these little cookie cutter things for fondant...DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY!! Are you buying black fondant for the cap? I would not recommend trying to make it black with dye. I love White Almond Sour Cream cake (WASC) and I use it as a base for 90% of my cakes. It starts with a box mix.

I bought blue fondant. I was going to attempt to make it navy blue. Not sure how that's going to come out but I bought a 5 lb. tub. It's FIU and there colors are navy blue and gold. 

A[IMG]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3070198/width/200/height/400[/IMG]

So That's My Cake So Far

H,mmm...still needs a little work! lol You can do it! Keep posting updates.

So I need to practice wayyy more with fondant. I tried but this is what I got. It's a first time. I'm going to try and make it over the weekend just to make it but at least everything tasted great. 

Practice practice practice! I'm sure it tasted wonderful and your hat came out pretty good for your second cake...

Like she said practice..The hat does look pretty good.. What I've learned and still learning is.. People make stuff so easy... BUT -- if it really was that easy everyone would be doing these cakes..

get yourself a cake dummy and some fondant and practice the roll our and smoothing.. --- (yes, I'm doing the same) and check out YOutube there are some great video's.. so practice and play with it.. YOU soon will master this!