1- Heat oven to 350°. Line 24 mini muffin cups, 1 3/4 x 1 inch, with mini paper baking cups. Make cake mix as directed on package, using water, oil and eggs. Fill cups 2/3 full (about 1 rounded tablespoon each). Refrigerate remaining batter.
2- Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cupcake comes out clean. Remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes. Repeat with remaining batter. (Leave paper baking cups on cupcakes so mortarboards are quicker and easier to make and more portable for serving.)
3- To make tassels, cut sixty 2 1/2-inch lengths from fruit snack rolls. Cut each length into several strips up to 1/2 inch from one end. Roll uncut end between fingertips to make fringes on ends of tassels. Or cut several pieces of shoestring licorice into 2 1/2-inch lengths.
4- Frost bottoms of cookies. Place 1 candy on center of bottom of each cookie. Turn cupcakes upside down so bottom side is up. For each mortarboard, place small dollop of frosting on bottom of cupcake top with cookie. Press uncut end of fruit snack or 3 or 4 pieces of licorice into frosted cookie next to candy. Store loosely covered.
High Altitude (3500 to 6500 feet): Heat oven to 375°. Make cake mix following high-altitude directions on package for cupcakes. Fill cups 1/2 full. Bake 17 to 20 minutes. About 90 mini-cupcakes.
1 Cupcake: Calories 145 (Calories from Fat 65) Fat 7g (Saturated 3g) Cholesterol 15mg Sodium 110mg Carbohydrate 19g (Dietary Fiber 0g) Protein 1g. % Daily Value: Vitamin A 0% Vitamin C 0% Calcium 0% Iron 2%.
Betty's Tip: Share these cupcakes with family and friends of your graduate, using paper baking cups that match school or class colors. You can even tint the frosting with food color to match the baking cups.
From "Betty Crocker's Ultimate Cake Mix Cookbook." Text Copyright 2004 General Mills, Inc. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
This Mini Cupcake Mortarboards recipe is from the Betty Crocker Ultimate Cake Mix Cookbook Cookbook. Download this Cookbook today.
"I must say this is the best recipe software I have ever owned."
-Rob
"Your DVO cookbook software saves me time and money!"
-Mary Ann
"Call it nutrition software, meal planning software, cooking software, recipe manager, or whatever you want. It is the software I use to stay healthy!"
-David
"Your software is the best recipe organizer and menu planner out there!"
-Toni
"Thank you so very much for creating such a wonderful cooking recipe program. I think this is the best recipe program there is!"
-Sarah
"I saw lots of recipe software for PC computers but I was having a hard time finding really good mac recipe software. I'm so glad I discovered Cook'n! It's so nice to have all my recipes in a computer recipe organizer. Cook'n has saved me so much time with meal planning and the recipe nutrition calculator is amazing!!!
-Jill
My favorite is the Cook'n Recipe App.
-Tom