Ahoy Cake!

Challenge: Treasure chest cake for a girl's 11th birthday, scavenger hunt theme.
Recipe: Nigella Lawson's all-in-one chocolate cake
Note: I doubled the recipe and baked two 9"x11" sheets. Cut each sheet in half for four 5.5"x9" layers. The bottom part of the chest is three layers, and the lid is the remaining layer. The lid is propped open with candy (chocolate gold coins, Hershey's nuggets, and candy coated mini kisses for a splash of color). Crushed graham crackers for the "sand." After letting the frosting dry, wood grain detail was added with the sharp end of a skewer. Kuddos to SK for adding the gold foil details: a keyhole and brackets on the corners. It was extremely hot on delivery day... I hope the cake made it ok to its final destination.