CRISPY SK8TER CAKE

NO-BAKE • MAKES 1 SKATEBOARD; ABOUT 24 SERVINGS

This skateboard gets its pop from the crispy marshmallow rice cereal treats that run from nose to tail. Underneath, it is reinforced with a coating of chocolate and cookie trucks. Finish the scene with your own sketchy skating course drawn with melted chocolate.

1 recipe Chocolate Rice Cereal Treat (Candy Corner)

3½ recipes Rice Cereal Treats (Candy Corner)

Neon blue, yellow, and black food coloring (McCormick)

Nonstick cooking spray

4 yellow candy-coated chocolates (M&M’s)

2 bags (14 ounces each) plus 1 cup dark cocoa candy melting wafers (Wilton)

17 chocolate-covered graham crackers (Keebler)

7 anisette toasts (Stella D’oro)

1 Press the chocolate rice cereal treat firmly into a 21-by-1½-inch rectangle on parchment paper or waxed paper. Use a measuring cup coated with nonstick cooking spray to flatten the sides and top of the treat.

2 Tint 1 recipe of the plain rice cereal treat neon blue with the food coloring. Press the blue treat around the chocolate rectangle, about 1¼ inches wide on either side of the chocolate treat, tapering it at one end. Use the measuring cup and a ruler coated with nonstick cooking spray to help flatten the top and sides of the treat, pressing firmly.

3 Tint 2 recipes of the rice cereal treats yellow with the food coloring. Press the yellow treat around the other treats, about 1¾ inches wide on either side of the blue treat, tapering it around the tapered blue end and rounding the opposite end. Use the measuring cup to help flatten the treat skateboard, pressing very firmly.

4 For the wheels, tint the remaining ½ recipe of rice cereal treat gray with the black food coloring. Grease your hands and the inside of a ½-cup dry measuring cup with nonstick cooking spray. Divide the gray treat into quarters. Firmly press one quarter of the mixture into the cup and flatten the top. Unmold and repeat to make 3 more wheels. Press a yellow chocolate in the center of each. Allow the skateboard and wheels to rest for at least 2 hours before handling again.

5 Place the skateboard on the back of a large cookie sheet, the side with the best-looking stripes down. Place 1 cup of the candy melts in a ziplock bag. Do not seal the bag. Microwave the remaining candy melts in a bowl, stopping to stir frequently, until smooth, about 1½ minutes. Spread the melted candy in an even layer on the skateboard, making sure to spread the candy right up to the edges.

6 Microwave the candy melts in the ziplock bag for 10 seconds to soften. Massage the candy, return to the microwave, and repeat the process until the candy is smooth, about 1 minute. Press out the excess air and seal the bag. Snip a small (1⁄8-inch) corner from the bag. Pipe a generous dot of the candy about 3½ inches in from each short end of the board and press 2 chocolate graham crackers, side by side and flat side down, into the melted candy at each end. Pipe more candy in 3 spots lengthwise down the center of the board and add 3 more graham crackers, flat side down. Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes.

7 To make the trucks, line a cookie sheet with waxed paper. Using a serrated knife, trim a 1-inch piece from one short end of 4 of the anisette toasts (see technique of the month). Pipe some of the melted candy on each trimmed end of the toasts. Press the 2 ends together to make a long cookie. Repeat to make another long cookie. Transfer to the cookie sheet, flat side down, and refrigerate until set, 5 minutes.

8 For the skateboard supports, place the remaining 10 graham crackers on the cookie sheet, flat side down. Pipe a generous dot of melted candy on top of each graham cracker. Arrange each end of an anisette toast, rounded side up, on the melted candy on one of the graham crackers to give each toast two feet for support. Repeat with the remaining toasts and graham crackers, including the 2 longer toasts, and refrigerate until set, 5 minutes.

9 If the candy becomes too firm to pipe, reheat in the microwave for 5 to 10 seconds, massaging the bag, until smooth. Pipe generous dots of melted candy on top of the cookies attached to the board. Add the 2 long anisette toasts with cookie feet, crosswise and cookie feet up, at each short end of the board and the 3 smaller toasts, lengthwise and cookie feet up, down the center of the board (see technique of the month). Let stand until set, about 20 minutes.