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 with a WOW factor.
Halloween Spider Web Cake
This cake is made from warming spices and fits great with the inclement weather generally associated with Halloween. Each bite warms your inner you and 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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How do you draw the spiderweb on the cake?
Although it looks very complicated, take your colored gel tube and warm it up (so it's easier to draw the lines).
Draw a point in the middle and then make a cross over the cake's top. 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 will keep your ready-made lines intact).
Add some M&Ms in the not drawn web part and draw a line toward them. Then, on each side, draw spider legs. You can also add spiders to the sides of the cake for extra decoration.
Top Tips
- Mix the batter until it's well mixed, but don't overbeat it. This cake even allows lumps. If you 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 spring form with baking paper. That way, you can loosen the cake easily from the spring form. It may seem difficult to cut a round baking paper, but in this Youtube video, I show you the easy way.
Did you make this recipe? Tag #byandreajanssen via Instagram. I 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
Ingredients
Gingerbread Cake
- 2 cups apple butter
- ⅔ cup honey
- ½ cup dark brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons speculaas spice mix or pumpkin spices
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1¼ cup buttermilk
Italian meringue butter Frosting
- 3 egg whites size L
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2¼ sticks butter unsalted, room temperature
Garnish
- colored sugar pencil or gel tube (ready to use)
- M & M's
Ingredients you need per step are listed below the step in Italic
Instructions
Gingerbread Cake
- Line the spring form with parchment paper.
- Preheat the oven to
350 °F or 320 °F. - Heat the apple butter, honey, and sugar in a pan and stir until dissolved. Reduce heat and allow cooling slightly.2 cups apple butter, ⅔ cup honey, ½ cup dark brown sugar
- Mix both flours, baking powder, and speculaas spices in a bowl.3 tablespoons speculaas spice mix, 2 cups whole wheat flour, 1¼ cup all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder
- Add the buttermilk while stirring, and then the apple syrup mixture. Stir until you've got a smooth batter.1¼ cup buttermilk
- Pour the batter into the spring form and bake for 60 minutes in the oven until it's done.
- Let the cake stand for 5 minutes at room temperature. Remove the spring form.
- Put the cake on a rack and let it cool to room temperature.
Italian Meringue Butter Frosting
- Heat water in a pan until it boils (about 1 inch, 2 cm). Turn the heat low.
- Mix, in a clean bowl, the egg whites and vanilla extract with the sugar.3 egg whites, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ cup sugar
- Place the dish on top of the pan with boiling water and heat, while stirring, the egg whites up to 160 °F.
- Remove the bowl from the heat and mix the egg whites further until they have cooled to room temperature.(turn off the heat on the stove, you don't need the pan with boiling water anymore).
- 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.2¼ sticks butter
Decorate
- 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, and smoothen it (with the back of a spoon, spatula, or knife).
- Then brush the edges with the remaining frosting.
- Grab the colored sugar pencil and draw a web at the top.colored sugar pencil
- Put an M & M (with an M sign down) in the middle and draw the legs and the thread to the web.M & M's
- Draw some spiders on the top and also onto the sides of the cake.
Notes
- Because Halloween is a fall holiday, I chose 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.
- Make a chocolate version if you're a chocolate addict (and I can rely on that). 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 red piping, you can use a buttercream frosting recipe as your base. Mix this with two tablespoons of red food coloring. TIP: if you've got enough time, prepare this recipe two days ahead. The color will get more depth over time.
- In advance: You can prepare the cake in the morning. Keep it in the refrigerator until used.
- Refrigerator: Store this cake up to 2 days in the refrigerator, loosely covered with plastic foil.
- Freezer: 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.
Mary says
This is awesome Andrea! I love the way you decorated the top. Those two red spiders are freaking me out. So clever.
Andréa says
Thank you, Mary, the spiders are my favorite part of the cake too!