I used to make theme birthday cakes for my son when he was young. One year (I can't remember which birthday ... maybe 5th or 6th) he wanted a Pirate themed cake. So I baked 2 full recipes worth of our Devil's Food cake, in a big, half sheet pan. Well, it baked, all but the middle. I had planned on decorating half the top as ocean, for the plastic pirate ship we had and the other half the beach, with the pirates, treasure chest and palm trees. Instead, where the cake had not baked, I made a lagoon, with the ship, and made an island with waterfalls of frosting, trees all along the cliffs of the cake, and the pirates digging into the sides of the cliff to bury the treasure chest. It turned out amazingly. I think it was one of the best birthday cakes I had made!

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