Graducupcake!

So, Jeff got me a special mold for my birthday last year...the Big Top Cupcake. I had been curious to try it out, but was so nervous because of the strange shape. How would it bake in the oven? How do I know it's done-done? Oh, the torturous thoughts of a baker.
Fast forward to last week. I got a cupcake cake order! A cupcake lover was graduating U of C business school and so, a giant cupcake was ordered.

I had so much fun! I was super nervous baking it (took over an hour!) but it came out just fine. I layered the batter--chocolate and vanilla--so when you cut it open, it would look really funky. Toying around with piping tips, I piped a buttercup yellow tinted buttercream for the cupcake liner. I was going to smooth it out, but the larger round tip worked well to develop the texture I was looking for. I used a large star tip for the top frosting and placed huge star sprinkles around the frosting. Thanks, Party City, for having a graduation cap!! It was perfect for the top :)