Making a casket cake for 35 people for funeral director’s birthday party.Please any hints or help you can offer on carving cake. The lid of casket is to be domed & one half of lid is to be opened and in up position. Cake must look as close to a real casket as possible. Not sure if going to make open part of lid out of fondant or rice krispy treat. Please any advice will be appreciated. Thank you.

this is a kinda creepy cake huh -- under the banner of 'any advice' -- I would use that bubbly fondant effect for the inside of the casket -- where you cut the same size pieces and pinch it so it looks kinda like a poofy bubble and apply pinched side down -- kwim? so it looks tufted -- no buttons though -- 

I've run through some ideas in my head for the open lid: cake, gum paste, fondant, gingerbread, royal, rice krispie treats  -- because in my mind the inside of the lid is also domed -- I think I would just use foam core glued together covered with fondant -- poofy stuff on the inside -- it's that beveled join on four sides to get the domed shape that's gonna be tricky plus it's gotta hold the weight of itself too and that at a drastic nearly perpendicular angle  -- I love and prefer to make everything edible but I'm practical too -- if it was only open a little but casket lids are usually wide open -- or you could skip the domed inside and just dome the outside -- but still that angle -- 

I vote for foam core for the lid -- and you could have it part way open, no dome on the underside, just flat and carve a little piece of cake for the top -- 

depending on how much they're paying me I would make the bottom half of the casket under the open lid outa foam core too so it can look the part, be open for business (shudder shudder) I mean you can't exactly fill it with cake right -- and you can just make a little fondant curtain to go between the two areas -- between the cake part and the empty casket part -- between the covered casket  part and the open casket part --

I usually go look at pictures when I try to think through a project but nuh ugh, not this time -- hahahaha 

best to you

and if they ain't paying enough money like several hundreds of dollars -- tell 'em, no open lid -- that's what I would do 

Why not make the open lid part from gp? That can be dried on a curved something & would be lightweight.   I did one many years ago but can’t get to my pix:(   It’s on a disc —no way to use as all I have to use for internet is my phone.  & mine wasn’t authentic.  I used the long loaf pan & I think cardboard for the lid.

My first thought was to use styrofoam for the open part of the lid.  It is the only think I know of that is strong enough and light enough to stand securely.  Of course, I would hate, hate, hate trying to carve the styrofoam.  Too bad Kate cannot do it for you, she is the Queen!

foam, duh, k8 of course! great idea

what are you thinking, dweddings?

Thank you all for your help