Pirate Ship Cake

Source: Family Fun website (http://jas.familyfun.go.com/recipefinder/display?id=50180). I made this cake for my daughter's 5th birthday party and it turned out awesome!! As you can see in the picture - I also made a 13x9 cake for under the pirate ship cake as the ocean with gummy fish, octupus and blue icing. You will need plastic pirate figures for this cake.

• Ready In: 20 mins
• Serves: 8-10
• Yields: 8-10 pieces

Ingredients

• 2  round  cake, premade (9 or 10 inch)
• 3 -4  cups  chocolate icing

• Decorations

•  chocolate  rolled wafer cookie (such as Pepperidge Farm Pirouette Cookies)
•  milk  chocolate wafer cookie (sticks, Waffeletten cookies)
• 3  pieces  of colored  paper
• 3  wooden skewers (10 inch each)
•  malted milk balls
•  Rolo chocolates
•  root beer, barrels

Directions

1. Cut the cakes in half (like a half moon shape) and layer them, rounded sides all facing the same direction, adding a thin coat of chocolate icing between the layers.
2. Trim the bottom curves of the cakes slightly to help them sit flat, then turn the cakes upright.
3. Wrap the cakes in plastic and chill in the freezer to make them firmer.
4. Tip: Two drinking straws stuck through the four layers of cake will help keep them together.
5. Cover with the chocolate icing, then create planking lines along the hull with a butter knife. Chill at least one hour to firm the icing.
6. Use dabs of icing to anchor larger wafer stick gunwales along the edge of the deck.
7. Press the smaller wafer rolls into both sides of the ship for cannons.
8. Cut sails from the paper, then slip them onto the skewers and set the masts in place.
9. Add malted milk ball cannonballs, plenty of Rolo gold booty, and root beer barrels, then station a few pirates to keep watch.
10. For safety, place the candles in the cookie cannons on the sides of the ship, far from the paper sails.
11. Also, make sure that the surface on which the cake rests is impervious to wax, as the burning candles will drip.