hi all,
I'm making a treasure chest cake for a 3 year old boys' birthday. She needs the cake to feed at least 50. I was planning on making the chest lid from rice krispie treats because of the weight factor.
What size cakes would you use? Would a 2 layer 11x15 be enough cake, assuming she has no clue how to cut it for maximum servings? This is a cake that really needs to impress and could get me a whole lot of business. I don't want her to be unhappy with it.
Any other treasure chest hints?
Thanks, as always, for your help!
Jodie
I used rice krispie treats for my treasure chest cake in my photos. I couldnt find a way to make it sit on my cake in a way that I liked. So I ended up putting it down beside, as though it had been pried off. Just an idea for you, for if you cant make it do what you want!!
I'm not sure about the size questions, but I'm sure someone else will know! 
Ok, I made one the bottom was a 10" Square (cut to size)
and the lid was 3 Half Circles from 2 8" round cakes
I put the half circles on their side and lined them up to make the domed lid and put them on a board of their own
Then I held them up to the Square and cut that so the lid fitted (you could just do an 8" x 10" but I didnt have this sized pan).
I iced them both brown and put dowells at the front of the 8x10 bottom so they poked up about 1" out the top of the cake and put the lid on that (I didnt do this but would reccomend you put something at the back like a thin sheet of plastic to stop the lid slipping of the back or just assemble it when delivered)
I then decorated with yellow/gold strips and a lock and filled the chest with gold chocolate coins
and put a little brown sugar around it to look like sand
I think it would have served about 40 people so you could make it bigger but go by the size of the rounds
I made a treasure chest cake too. It's in my gallery photos. For mine I did 3 - 1/4 sheet cakes for the bottom, and 3 - 1/4 sheet cakes for the lid, then carved it. I put wooden dowels in the bottom. 3 in the back, and 3 in the middle. The lid cakes were set on a piece of cardboard (wrapped in foil), and then I just set that on top of the dowels. Make the middle dowels taller than the back. The taller they are, the more your lid will be open.
For the jewels I went to http://www.thejewelsofdenial.com/catalog.php?category=12 They aren't sparkly clear, but I was very happy with them. They seem to be down for new management, so give it a few days. You can also order a jewels mold and melt down Jolly Ranchers in the microwave to fill the mold.
I don't think you need that much cake, but if you are trying to impress, and might get a lot of business out of it, then make it fantastic. It will be worth the effort.
Good luck.
Oh, for the jewels---I did rock candy, looks like gemstones and comes in tons of colors. Threw in some fondant pearls and gold coins and I was done! It was a really simple cake. It's in my photos if you wanted to see.
I used 8 inch square pan, three two inch layers for base, and the top is one more 2 inch layer, that I didn't smooth or trim. (Pics in my photos) I cut a "V" about a third of the way in on the back side; dowles in the back and then in the front, I made the dowles in the height I wanted it to be open, and two in the middle for a little extra support. Delivery was about a 20 minute drive and a 5-7 minute walk (in a park) but everything stayed nice and sturdy.
HTH
Sorry, there were 45 people at the party and we had one layer + left. If you use Indybi's (hope that's right) chart, my cake fed 64 people slices that are 2x2. HTH
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