Purple and Gold Graduation Cake Recipe

Instead of spending money on a sugary premade cake, why not make a dessert into a fun project that your graduate will love? Here's a recipe that really says "Congratulations on your graduation" ..."Congraduation!"

Cake Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup natural granulated sugar or 2/3 cup Splenda (if you don't mind the taste)

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons ground flaxseeds (optional)

1 cup vanilla fat free yogurt

2 tablespoons safflower oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup low-fat milk

1/2 cup chocolate chips

What to do...

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray 9×9-inch square pan with Pam.

2. Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir.

3. Pour in the yogurt, oil, vanilla, and enough milk to make a smooth and slightly stiff batter. Stir until completely mixed, then stir in the chocolate chips.

4. Pour into pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Insert a knife or toothpick to see if it's done. Once finished, cool for 15 minutes.

While this is in the oven..

Icing Ingredients:Red, yellow and blue food dye, Two 8 oz Fat-Free Sour Cream or Cool Whip, 2 box Sugar-Free Vanilla Jello Pudding      Note: The icing can be adjusted to just about any shade- I chose purple and gold because they're broski's (Christian's) school colors.

What to Do...

1. Separate these ingredients into two groups for the different colors, each with one 8 oz sour cream with 1 box pudding.

2. In each bowl, blend the sour cream with pudding until smooth.

3. Since I'm sure we all know how red and blue make purple, add dye drops to create the color/shade of your liking.

4. Refrigerate.

Cap Ingredients:1 bag Reese's Miniature Peanut Butter Cups,1 bag Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Squares, 1 Hershey's Pull n' Peel Twizzler   
Note: You're probably going to have to buy a bag of Twizzlers, but if you just managed to acquire only one, I'd like to hear how you managed it.

What to Do...

1. Melt two squares of chocolate. Unwrap Reese's Pieces.

2. Peel Twizzler, cut strands into 1 1/2-inch pieces.

3. Dip toothpick into melted chocolate and distribute onto the bottom of your Reese's piece. Do the same for the top of your chocolate piece (the part with the brand imprint). Stick them onto one another, making the grad cap.

3. Place a chocolate dab on the top of your new chocolate cap. collect two or three Twizzler pieces and place them in the melted chocolate for the tassel.

How did you make the cake two different colors?

Before icing, cover one side of the cake with foil and coat the opposite side with icing. Then remove the foil and coat the bald side with the other color.

How did you write on the cake?

Place some icing in a small ziplock bag. Cut a very very very tiny hole in the ziplick bag corner and squeeze the icing through to make cool designs and letters.

And there you have it, a tastey and healthy-fied chocolate graduation cake! 

Enjoy!

Love,

PS. Email me your recipes to sayssio@yahoo.com!