A Pirate's Treasure birthday cake

This cake was a special request for a friend's son. He had a pirate themed birthday and requested a treasure chest for his special cake. This one was a bit complicated, but turned out even better than I thought it would.

Tips:

* I cut a trough about 3" x 8" in the bottom of the treasure chest and lined it with saran wrap to keep the 'treasure' clean.

* I used straws on the back side of the lid into the base as a sort of hinge. The lid is on foil covered cardboard, which you can see a bit in some of the pictures (I'd do that differently next time)

* Straws also held up the front of the lid. I made them the same height sticking out of the cake as some jewel colored kalidescope party favors I found at a local party supply store.

* The rocks are actually candy coated chocolate pebbles. This was probably my favorite touch on this cake.

* The gold coins are plastic, but you could get foil wrapped chocolate for an edible touch.