I've read lots of info about how to make some parts of cakes out of rice krispie treats.  But what I'm really wondering is, do you usually serve the rice krispie treats part of your cake? 

I'm making a treasure chest cake and many people suggest using RKT for the lid.  I know they are technically edible, but if they're not really going to be eaten I would rather just use real cake (feels like a waste to me!)

Usually there are various parts of a cake that may not technically be eaten (roses, gum paste, figurines). That's the art of it. We make cake art, it's functional in that you can eat it but also art. It's your choice but I would be more concerned with providing the number of servings promised to the client while maintaining artistic fidelity. I don't serve the RKT in my cakes but they still serve an artistic purpose and make everyone happy with the end result. Caking gets personal because of the time you spend on it but at the end of the day the cakes are for our customers, let them choose if they want to eat it. If you need more servings use cake, if not use RKT it's ok either way.

That's true, I do see what you mean about it being part of the art rather than part of the food, necessarily.  I've seen shows like Cake Boss, where they make these miraculous cakes and claim "it's all edible!" but I always wonder how much of it people actually eat.  I mean, cardboard is technically 'edible', but that doesn't mean I'd enjoy chewing on the cake board. :)

In this case, I am the client - it's for my step-daughter's birthday cake.  Serving amounts are probably not going to be an issue - whether the lid is cake or not, I'm sure there will be plenty of servings.  I'm just afraid of saying at the party "it's all edible!  Ta-da!" and then when someone asks for a piece of the lid, I say "well that part is only kind of edible.  I'd recommend against it."  Why not just use styrofoam at that point?

Do you just throw away the RKT part of the cake?

I use RKT on my family's cakes all the time.  One of my sisters has celiac so I make the RKT (gluten free kind) and use that on my cakes and she still gets something to eat.  Other times I use RKT it still gets eaten. My  pinata cake?  RKT head.  Someone ate it by taking a giant bite out of it!   I made a jewelry box with a giant matzoh covered in fondant and people ate that. Hmm, what does that say about my family?  That's right.  If I put it on a cake they know it's edible.  So they eat it!  However, when you're cake is more RKT and PVC than cake, that's really not a cake in my opinion.  Sorry Buddy!

So I guess you know what my answer is!

Theresa

I use RKT covered in modeling chocolate a lot on my cakes. I find that the kids are the ones who want a piece of the rkt to go along with their cake. :) So, it all gets eaten, especially at kid events!

Some of my family prefer the RKT to cake.  That keeps everyone happy.

AThe rice crispies are the only part of the cake that my brother will eat!

RKT's are definitely to be eaten.  That's why I use them for sculpted stuff on my cakes.  Kids love them on cakes!