This easy Halloween spider web cake is how you transform a delicious gingerbread cake into a spectacular Halloween spider cake. It's like the moistest cake you have combined with a creamy buttery frosting. It's a party dessert that's easy to prepare that has a WOW factor.
This cake is made from warming spices and fits great with the inclement weather that is normally associated with Halloween. With each bite, it warms your inner you and it tastes great with a cup of hot chocolate or tea. The cake is finished with frosting and then spiders are divided on top so it naturally fits the Halloween theme.
Making this cake is easy
Now it may seem very difficult, but it is not that bad. The spider's webs are M & M's and the legs and the web are made of frosting. Because of the many colors, the cake looks exuberant. And everything is edible.
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Why do you want to prepare this delicious Halloween spiderweb cake?
- It's got a moist gingerbread flavor and is very easy to make. Even lumps are not a problem.
- The frosting is ready in less than 15 minutes.
- Drawing the edible spiderweb is done with ready-made store-bought frosting. Easy going.
- You add whole wheat flour for extra fiber and a nutty flavor.
- A delicious cake for a Halloween birthday party or at your Halloween cocktail party.
- All ingredients are easy to buy.
🥘 Ingredients
A full list of ingredients can be found at the end of this blog.
- Apple butter, honey, and brown sugar: you want a sweet cake, of course. You could use white sugar, but all these sweeteners have got an extra rich flavor, which is great for a winter cake.
- Gingerbread spices: Warm spices, the flavor of the holidays.
- Whole wheat flour and flour: the whole wheat flour gives a nutty flavor to the cake. The all-purpose flour makes the air lighter.
- Baking powder: necessary for the rising of the cake.
- Buttermilk: buttermilk makes the batter fluid and, because it's a bit acid, it makes the baking powder starting to give air.
- Egg whites, butter, and sugar: by whisking the egg whites with the sugar we prepare an Italian meringue. Italian meringue is prepared by heating the egg whites (contrary to normal meringue).
- Coloring frosting edible: You can buy this ready-made in a tube. If you warm this in a glass of water, you can draw the spider cob and legs of the spider more easily.
- M&M's: is used as the body of the spider. Put it upside down (so the M faces the cake) so it looks even better.
🔪 Preparation
You can find a recipe that you can easily print at the bottom of this blog.
Step 1 - Prepare the cake
Preheat the oven to 350 °C (180 °C). Make the gingerbread cake. Line a baking form with baking paper. Warm the apple butter, honey, and sugar in a saucepan and stir until dissolved. Turn off the heat and let it cool for 10 minutes.
Mix in a large bowl both flours, baking powder, and gingerbread spices. Pour the buttermilk and apple butter mixture and whisk until it's mixed. Lumps are not a problem!
Step 2 - Bake
Pour the batter into the springform and bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven. Take the cake out of the oven and let it stand for 5 minutes. Remove the baking form and let it cool down further on a rack.
Step 3 - Make Italian meringue frosting
Make the butter frosting. Add the sugar with the egg whites in a heatproof bowl. Put a pan on the heat and hang the bowl above the water (don't touch it).
Let the egg whites slowly rise to 160 °F (70 °C) while whisking. Take the bowl off the heat and keep whisking until the egg whites are cooled down to room temperature.
Add the butter cube by cube to the bowl, and whisk until it's incorporated.
Step 4 - Decorate
Put the cooled cake upside down in front of you. Smear meringue on the top and sides. With the edible frosting draw a web and put some M&M's on top.
Make small spiders of the M&M's.
How do you draw the spiderweb on the cake?
Although it looks very complicated. Take your colored gel tube and warm it up a bit (so it's easier to draw the lines).
Draw a point in the middle and then make a cross all over the top of the cake. Draw a full diagonal line and one halfway (to the point in the middle). Between the lines draw bows. Start in the middle and work outwards (then you won't mess up your ready-made lines).
Add some M&M's in the not drawn web part and draw a line towards them. On each side draw spider legs. You can also add spiders to the sides of the cake for extra decoration.
Recipe substitutions and variations
- Because Halloween is a fall holiday, I choose a gingerbread cake as the base. But of course, you can make a vanilla cake. Use twice the ingredients as stated in this recipe for an easy cake.
- Even scarier, add some black food coloring to the batter.
- If you're a chocolate addict (and I can rely on that) make a chocolate version. Use chocolate mocha beans as spider bodies and take melted pure chocolate to draw the cobweb and the spider legs. Add some melted white chocolate to the meringue.
- If you want to make your own red piping, you can use this buttercream frosting recipe as your base. Mix this with 2 tablespoons of red food coloring. TIP if you've got enough time, prepare this recipe two days ahead. The colour will get more depth in time.
- Mix the batter until it's well mixed but don't overbeat it. This cake even allows lumps. If you should mix too long, there will be too much air in the cake and you will get a whole in the middle when baked.
- Line the springform with baking paper. That way you can loosen the cake easily from the springform. It may seem difficult to cut a round baking paper, but in this Youtube video I show you the easy way:
- Check if your cake is done by pricking a satay skewer in the middle of the cake. When it comes out dry and clean your cake is done. Otherwise, bake for another 3 minutes and check again.
- Let the cake stand at room temperature for 5 minutes, before releasing the springform. Because the cake cools a bit it will shrink a little bit. Therefore you can release it easier from the form.
Preparing in advance
You can prepare the cake in the morning. Keep it in the refrigerator until use.
Store your cake
- Store this cake up to 2 days in the refrigerator.
- You can freeze the gingerbread cake without frosting in the freezer for up to 3 months. Once you've added the frosting this cake can't be frozen.
🥘 Other delicious recipes
Did you make this recipe? Tag #byandreajanssen via Instagram. I really enjoy seeing what your creation looks like. Video recipes can be found on my YouTube channel. And don't forget to save the recipes on Pinterest so you can easily find them next time!
📖 Recipe
Easy Halloween Spider Web Cake
Pas met de knoppen het aantal personen aan.
Equipment
- Spring form 8 inch / 20 cm diameter
- sugar thermometer
Ingredients
Gingerbread Cake
- 400 grams apple butter
- 250 grams honey
- 100 grams brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons gingerbread spices
- 500 grams wholemeal flour
- 200 grams flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 300 mL buttermilk
Italian meringue butter Frosting
- 3 egg whites size L
- 250 grams butter unsalted, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 50 grams sugar
Garnish
- icing tube or gel tube (ready to use)
- M & M's
Instructions
Preparation
- Separate the eggs. Discard the yolks and keep the egg whites.
- Clean a hot proof bowl with dishwashing detergent and hot water. Also, clean the whisk and the hooks of the mixer.
- Take the butter out of the refrigerator and put it at room temperature.
- Put a pan of water on the stove, which you can top with the heatproof bowl. Make sure that the bowl doesn't touch the water. This is used for warming the meringue and is called au bain-marie.
- Line the springform with parchment paper.
- Preheat the oven to 320 degrees Fahrenheit / 160 degrees Celsius.
gingerbread cake
- Heat in a pan the apple butter, honey, and sugar and stir until dissolved. Reduce heat and allow to cool off slightly.
- Mix in a second bowl the flour, baking powder, and gingerbread spices.
- Add the buttermilk, while stirring, and then the syrup mixture.
- Stir until you've got a smooth batter.
- Pour the batter into the springform and bake for 60 minutes in the oven until it's done (check with the satay skewer, see tips).
- Let the cake stand for 5 minutes at room temperature. Remove the springform.
- Put the cake on a rack and let it cool down to room temperature.
Italian meringue butter Frosting
- Heat the water in the pan you already put on the stove (look at the preparations)
- Mix in a bowl the egg whites and vanilla extract with the sugar.
- Place the dish in a pan of hot water (at low heat) and heat, while stirring, the egg whites up to 160 degrees Fahrenheit / 70 degrees Celsius.
- Remove from the heat and mix the egg whites until they have cooled to room temperature.
- Then add, while continuing to mix, the butter a cube at a time. Mix it through the meringue and continue to mix until you have a smooth mixture.
How to prepare the easy Halloween spider web cake
- Put the cake upside down in front of you (so you have a flat and smooth top).
- Spread half of the frosting on the top smoothen it (with the back of a spoon, spatula, or knife).
- Then brush the edges with the remaining frosting.
- Grab the color frosting and draw a web at the top.
- Put an M & M (with M sign down) in the middle and draw the legs and the thread to the web.
- Add some spiders on the top and also onto the sides of the cake.
Notes
- Mix the batter until it's well mixed but don't overbeat it. This cake even allows lumps. If you should mix too long, there will be too much air in the cake and you will get a whole in the middle when baked.
- Line the springform with baking paper. That way you can loosen the cake easily from the springform. It may seem difficult to cut round baking paper, but in this Youtube video I show you the easy way.
- Check if your cake is done by pricking a satay skewer in the middle of the cake. When it comes out dry and clean your cake is done. Otherwise, bake for another 3 minutes and check again.
- Let the cake stand at room temperature for 5 minutes, before releasing the springform. Because the cake cools a bit it will shrink a little bit. Therefore you can release it easier from the form.
- You can make your own frosting and place it in a piping bag, where you cut off a small tip to make the drawings. But the frosting is also for sale in styluses that can be warmed and got exactly the right tip for writing or drawing.
Video
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