Treasure Map Cake

Making a treasure map cake is actually rather easy. Since I am not super savvy when it comes to cake decorating, I have no doubt you could do a lot better than I did. So look at my treasure map pirate cake as an idea and a starting point...not the end and be all of cake decorating...because weeeeellll it is not!

I always use materials that are easily found at Wal-mart or any regular grocery store. You can always get more elaborate from there.

I would love - as would this site's visitors - to see your creations. You can post your pictures and reviews here.

Treasure map pirate cake ~ Comments and reviews.

Ingredients to Make a Treasure Map Cake

Frosting - either homemade or store bought.

I used lemon flavored for the light yellow color which I thought would be nice if it showed through in places.

Graham cracker crumbs

12 cupcakes of your choice - homemade or store bought

Chocolate coins - optional

Red licorice - cut up in small pieces

Gum drops

Buy quality gum drops otherwise they will stick to your fingers and you will not be able to shape them as you wish. Found that one out the hard way.

M&Ms or Skittles

Pretzel sticks - small

Hershey's chocolate nuggets to form a treasure chest

Either sugar beads or colored sugar sprinkles

The sugar beads can be found at specialty store - a trip I did not want to make - so I used colored sugar sprinkles.

Making a Treasure Map Pirate Cake

Place them in a cookie sheet, serving tray or cake board. I was cheap, I used a cookie sheet.

Frost each cupcake and dip 11 of them in the graham cracker crumbs. Then, put each frosted cupcake in its proper place on the cookie sheet. Reserve the last cupcake without crumbs.

Now take a red gum drop and flatten it. Cut a cross into it. Now if you are savvy and artsy - unlike me - you can place the cross on the last cupcake and then with some frosting write N, S, W, E to form a compass. I cheated and used a marker - my bad - and made sure the kids did not eat that gum drop. Lame I know but better than making a mess and being frustrated to no end.

Place an M&M or Skittle on the first cupcake to mark the starting point.

With the red licorice, make a winding path around the cupcake map.

Take a colored gum drop - I picked purple - and flatten it. Form it into a shovel. Stick it into a cupcake and make the handle with a pretzel stick.

Take a green gum drop and flatten it. Form it into some sort of leafy pattern. Stick a pretzel stick into a cupcake and place the green-now-leafy-looking gumdrop on top to form a palm tree.

Take two chocolate nuggets. Put a generous amount of frosting on top of one. Place the other on top and sprinkle colored sugar crystals - or sugar beads - on top. Place this chocolate treasure chest close to the end of your treasure map.

Mark the X spot with red M&Ms - or Skittles. Sprinkle the rest of the graham cracker crumbs all over the cookie sheet to make it look like sand. If you have some, you can place some chocolate coins into the sand. You're done!