Happy graduation! Try this recipe for decorated cupcakes…

It's season for mortar boards, graduation ceremonies and celebration galore! Indulge in these decorated graduation cupcakes, designed and made by blogger and cupcake enthusiast Sophie Barson, in order to make your big day even more special. For best results, eat these with a glass of Prosecco in your hand! For the vanilla cupcakes (makes 12) 110g butter, softened 110g caster sugar 110g plain flour 2 tsp baking powder ¼ tsp salt 1tsp vanilla extract 2 eggs For the vanilla frosting 280g icing sugar 140g butter, softened 1-2 tbsp whole milk For the decoration Sugarpaste CMC Gel colouring Wax Rolling Pin Round Cutters (small and medium) Pizza Cutter Blade Cake Tool Edible Glue Pre-heat the oven to 190C/Gas mark 5 and line a 12-hole muffin tin with cupcake cases. For the vanilla cupcakes 1  Whisk together the butter, sugar, flour, baking powder and salt until smooth. Then add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix until smooth again. 2  Spoon the mixture into the black paper cases and bake for 20 minutes until well risen and springy to touch, then put on a wire rack to cool. For the vanilla frosting 1 Sift the icing sugar and beat together with the butter and milk until smooth. For the decoration 1  Firstly, for the round circles add a small amount of gel colouring and CMC to your sugarpaste (I have used black, pink and white) then roll out onto a surface slightly dusted with icing sugar. Cut out 12 small circles and 4 large circles using the scalloped part of the circular cutters and put to one side. 2  For the book, take some white sugarpaste and mould into a rectangle. To make the cover roll out the coloured sugar paste and use the pizza wheel to cut a larger rectangle and wrap around the white sugar paste. To finish take your blade cake tool and mark a line on the front cover to resemble the spine of the book. TOP TIP – Pizza wheels are great for cutting sugarpaste into whatever shape you need! 3  For the scroll, simply roll out some white sugarpaste thinly, use the pizza wheel to make a rectangle then roll from one side to the other. Then use your coloured fondant to make the ribbon and wrap around the scroll. 4  For the mortarboard, add some CMC to the black sugarpaste and roll out. Cut a square out for the top then roll some into a ball and flatten slightly with your fingers. Leave to one side for the sugarpaste to set then using edible glue, glue the square to your hat. Using some coloured sugarpaste make the tassle and use some edible glue to attach. 5  Finally to finish, spoon your icing into the piping bag and pipe swirls ontop of the cupcakes. Then place 8 of your small circles ontop of your cupcakes and place ontop the books and the scrolls. Lastly for the mortarboard cupcakes place the large circle on first, then the small circle then the mortarboard. Sophie Victoria Cupcakes is based in Hertfordshire and creates cupcakes for all occasions, such as weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, baby showers and much more.