Spider Cake Recipes

Steps:

• Using a sharp serrated knife, slice the dome shaped cake horizontally into two pieces. Set the larger piece, flat bottom down, on your cake plate, and frost the middle of the cake with about a half inch of icing.
• Top with the second piece, flat side down.
• Frost the sides and then the top, making sure the entire cake is covered in a thick layer of frosting.
• Push the blackberry candies through the sour apple rings from the green side out the white side, in a spiderly eye fashion.
• Press the eyes into the frosting. Wasn't that easy? He's starting to look like a cute, albeit dorky, spider! He also looks kind of like a legless octopus. (Ooh, I think someday I'll make an octopus cake.)
• Unroll the red licorice and cut off about four inches or so. This is the mouth. Apply to cake!
• Press the candy corns into the frosting underneath the red licorice, point down. These are the spider fangs, or whatever those things are on spiders. I sort of like to think of them as buck teeth, too.
• Fold the licorice pieces in the middle so they're just a little bent. Stick four into the cake on either side. Legs!
• We added a couple licorice antennas over the eyes, too, just to add to the dorky effect.
• Sprinkle with chocolate sprinkles - I just kept them on the top, mostly, as I was liking the idea of a hairy-backed spider.
• Refrigerate until about an hour before you're ready to serve.

Steps:

• For the cake pops: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine the cake crumbs and frosting in a large bowl. Work the frosting into the crumbs with your hands until it forms a thick paste and can be easily rolled into balls.
• Roll into 12 balls and place on the prepared baking sheet using a 1-ounce ice-cream scoop. Freeze until almost solid, 20 to 30 minutes.
• For the decoration: Melt the black chocolate discs in the top of a double boiler or in the microwave. Put the sanding sugar into a bowl. Remove the cake pop balls from the freezer and insert a lollipop stick or straw into each. Dip a cake ball into the black chocolate and swirl to coat completely, allowing any excess to drip off. Sprinkle generously with sanding sugar. Stand the cake pop, stick up, on the prepared baking sheet. Dip the ends of 8 licorice lengths into the black chocolate and attach to the cake pop to form the spider's legs. Repeat with the remaining cake balls.
• Use a toothpick to dab a tiny bit of black chocolate to adhere the candy eyes. Let set completely at room temperature or in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the confectioners' sugar, butter, milk, vanilla if using, and salt, and whip on low speed until incorporated. Turn the speed up to high and whip until the buttercream is smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice. If it's too wet, add a bit more confectioners' sugar. If it's too stiff, add a bit more butter.
• Use immediately or store in an airtight container at room temperature for 24 hours or in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Rewhip cold buttercream before using it.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Spray 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray; if desired, line bottom of pan with parchment paper to prevent sticking.
• Make and bake cake as directed on box for 13x9-inch pan. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pan to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
• Frost sides and top of cake with frosting. Melt almond bark as directed on package; use spoon to drizzle almond bark over cake to make spider web, moving spoon quickly across cake as you drizzle.
• Separate tops and bottoms of chocolate sandwich cookies. Place the 5 cookie halves without creme filling on cake to make spider bodies. Separate licorice wheels into ropes. Cut 8 small pieces of licorice for each spider to make legs; place 8 legs around each cookie.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat the chocolate cake mix, water and eggs on low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on medium for 2 minutes. Pour into the two halves of a greased and floured sports ball baking pan. Bake at 350° for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean., Meanwhile, in another bowl, beat the white cake mix, water and eggs on low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on medium for 2 minutes. Pour into two greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. , Cool all cakes for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely., For frosting, using a heavy-duty stand mixer, combine the shortening, 1/4 cup water and vanilla. Combine confectioners' sugar and meringue powder; beat into shortening mixture., For base cake: Tint 2-1/4 cups frosting purple. Using a serrated knife, level tops of white cakes if necessary. Place one cake layer on a serving plate; spread with 1 cup frosting. Top with remaining cake layer. Spread remaining tinted frosting over top and sides of cake., Combine 3 cups frosting, cocoa and remaining water until smooth; tint black. Combine 1/4 cup black frosting and corn syrup. Using round tip #2 and black frosting with corn syrup, pipe webs and spiders around sides of cake. , With 3/4 cup white frosting and shell tip #18, pipe border along bottom edge of cake. Insert dowels into center of cake. Cut cardboard circle to measure 3-1/4 in.; place over cake. , For spider cake: Using a serrated knife, level the rounded side of one chocolate cake; attach to cake circle with a small amount of black frosting. Spread top with 1/3 cup black frosting; top with remaining chocolate cake. , Using grass tip #233 and black frosting, pipe hair over cake. With white frosting and round tip # 12, pipe eyes and teeth. Pipe pupils with round tip #2 and black frosting., For legs, insert a toothpick into the ends of each licorice rope. Insert one end into side of spider; insert other end into top of purple cake. Garnish with candy corn.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4 and line a muffin tin with 12 cases, preferably brown ones. Put the butter, sugar and flour in a mixing bowl. Break the eggs into a smaller bowl, taking care not to get any shell into it, then tip on top of the butter mixture.
• Add the baking powder and vanilla to the larger bowl, then beat with an electric hand whisk until smooth and creamy. Stir in the chocolate drops or chocolate. Spoon the cake mixture evenly into the cases and bake for 20-25 mins until golden - a cocktail stick pushed into the middle of one of the cakes should come out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
• To decorate the cakes, unravel the liquorice wheels and cut into lengths with scissors to make dangly legs. Stick 8 into the top of each cake, making small cuts with the tip of a sharp knife so they push in really securely.
• Spoon the chocolate spread on top and spread lightly within the liquorice legs to make a round spider's body. Now cut the Allsorts to make eyes and the red bootlaces to make mouths, then stick them onto the cakes and dot on the icing to make eyeballs. Will keep for up to 2 days in a cool place.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Combine the milk and vinegar in a bowl and set aside to sour. In another bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Whisk the eggs into the soured milk; stir into the dry ingredients and set batter aside.
• Melt butter in a 12-inch cast-iron skillet and pour in the batter. Pour the cream into the center and slide the skillet into the oven. Bake until golden brown on top, about 45 minutes. Slice into wedges and serve warm. (It's perfect on its own, but be prepared that people are going to want to put something on the spider cake -- butter and honey, jam, or just butter.).
• NOTE: You can use 2 cups of buttermilk instead of souring regular milk. And, if spider cake inspires you to buy a cast-iron skillet, you'll need to season it when it first comes out of the box (unless you buy a preseasoned one.).