How to create a Nautical Themed Treasure Chest Cake Topper
This is a very simple way to make a treasure chest for your pirate's loot! Make sure to check out our companion pirate topper tutorial to learn how to create the pirate cake topper.
- 1Cut two pieces of cereal treat into a rectangle, one of them should be half as thick as the other. Carve the top of it in a dome shape to form the lid.
Tip!I used rice cereal treats: Make your own! The packaged type never really dries -- and make sure you only use butter or vegetable fat to prevent sticking. Oil or Pam will mean a less stable base medium.
- 2Wrap the bottom of the chest with gum paste. Because the style of our cake is cartoony, the chest can be also.
- 3Trim the top so that the gum paste makes a rim of about 1/4 inch above the surface of the base.
- 4I used the back of a knife to imprint the planks of the chest.
Tip!A toothpick or needle tool work well for it this, too.
- 5Imprint the planks on all four sides!
- 6Follow the same steps for the treasure chest lid
- 7I used the wide end of a large piping tip to mark the sides of the lid.
- 8Secure the base of the chest to a block of styrofoam covered in saran wrap. Use three toothpicks and have at least 3/4” sticking up above the surface.
- 9Cover the inside of the lid, and while it was still soft, skewer the lid to the base. A little glue at the seam and we can move on.
- 10Add the trunk hardware! I cut circles of gum paste using a piping tip and then halved them, gluing one half circle at each corner.
- 11A few modifications and we can make the treasure chest lock with the same method.
- 12All done! Let’s make some doubloons and pieces of eight to fill it up!
- 13Cut small circles from gum paste using a piping tip. I made mine all the same size, but feel free to make a selection. Just make a lot!!
- 14A folded piece of gum paste makes a nice base for the coins and helps everything stick.
- 15Glue the coins to the inside of the chest and let dry.
- 16
Paint some details on the chest! Dissolve petal dust in vodka or use a brown food marker. - 17Paint a wood pattern on the surface of the trunk.
- 18Finally, paint the hardware silver and the booty gold. I used gold and silver luster dust mixed with vodka. We’re ready to put everything together on a cake! I hope you’ve had a chance to view Anne’s videos on icing and fondanting, because we’re going to use those skills next!

Tutorial: How to create a Nautical Themed Treasure Chest Cake Topper
Skill Level: Intermediate

Recommended Supplies
- Assorted Piping Tips
- Crisco
- Exacto knife
- Gum paste tinted with gel colors
- gumpaste
- Luster Dust
- petal dust
- Rice cereal treats
- Small Knife
- Small Paint Brushes
- Styrofoam wrapped in Saran Wrap
- Tylose Glue
- vegetable shortening
- vodka
- wire snips
- Wooden Round Toothpicks
- Your imagination!

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Anna Puchalski
Anna is a classically trained sculptor and illustrator who started her career in cake decorating with Ron Ben Israel in 2000. Since then she has worked for a number of well known cake studios in the New York area doing complex sugar work and design. Her specialties include freehand painting,...
This is great. I’m a geocacher (sort of a modern day treasure hunting game) and we have a meet up for “National Talk Like A Pirate Day” and this will be perfect. Thanks for the Tutorial.
Very cool! Thanks for the comment – hope you are able to use the tutorial for the meet up!
tres tres beaux tutorial, felicitation.
amazing
Thanks!
I like her detailed description of how to do the chest.Thanks