When I originally shared this cake a few weeks ago on my Instagram page, I never knew I’d hear the words “spider” and “beautiful” in the same sentence together so much! But it’s true, and I have to agree – spider has taken on a whole new “glam” when it comes to this spooky Halloween cake!

The idea came to me when I knew light pink and black were really trendy this year for Halloween colors – the soft pink would be a perfect background to the intense dark black spiders that would cover this cake. Also, what’s a spider without a spiderweb or two? I added a chocolate spiderweb on top, and hid a few silver dragees underneath for more depth.

I know there’s a few different components to this cake, so let’s dive in a chat about how to master each and every one of them!

SPIDERS, THREE WAYS

For this cake, I wanted to create three different kinds of spiders on the side for more definition. They all compliment each other really well, and look so wicked cool together! There’s three different versions: one made out of fondant, one made out of sprinkles, and one painted right onto the cake. Each would be really awesome on their own on the side of a cake, but together, they are unstoppable!

FONDANT SPIDER:

  • All you need is black fondant and a knife.
  • For each large spider body, roll the black fondant into one ball the size of a large marble, and one the size of a smaller one. Use a little water on your finger and stick them together. Roll out tiny fangs and attach them to the head.
  • For the legs, roll out the fondant into very small logs, and cut 8 small pieces. I did different lengths to make them a tad more realistic looking. Attach the legs underneath the body using a little bit of water on your finger. Use your knife to make small indents in the legs to add texture. Let dry fully before adding to the side of your cake. It should only take 30 minutes, tops.

SPRINKLE SPIDER:

  • All you need is: two sizes of sprinkles (sixlet size and a sphere sprinkle a bit smaller), black gel coloring, a clear extract, and small paint brush.
  • For the sprinkle spider, while the buttercream is still wet, press on the large sprinkle (sixlet) for the body and then the smaller sprinkle right next to it for the head.
  • Freeze the cake. Mix a little black gel coloring with a bit of the clear extract (vanilla, lemon, almond, coconut, vodka, etc), and brush 8 legs coming out of each spider’s abdomen. You can also just dip the paint brush directly into the gel coloring, if you’d like. Or use Edible Art paint likewise.

Painted spider:

  • All you need is black gel coloring and a paintbrush! You can paint directly from the gel coloring, or mix it with a little clear extract. Or, once again, use Edible Art paint.
  • On a frozen cake, paint a larger circle next to a smaller one (head and body), then paint on eight legs coming out from the abdomen.
  • If you feel like the buttercream is getting soft, place it back into the freezer for 5 minutes to harden again. Then you can resume your painting!

chocolate spiderwebs

I originally had spiderwebs all over this cake in my mind, but at the end, kept it simple with one single spiderweb on top of the cake with silver dragee sprinkles underneath. The chocolate spiderweb is a really fun technique, and pretty easy! I tried it a couple different ways, and this way was the one that seemed to work the best for me.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Here’s how to do it:

  1. Melt the chocolate in a glass bowl for 1 minute in the microwave. Stir until there are no lumps and it’s completely smooth.
  2. Carefully add to a piping bag fitted with a small piping tip.
  3. Pipe the shape of a spiderweb, starting with the exterior, inside lines, then inside frame, with the melted chocolate. It’s a little tricky the first time, but then you get the hang of it.
  4. Let dry for 5 minutes, then they’re ready to use! Carefully foldup the parchment paper and lift the spiderweb shape off the surface.

That’s really it for the spiderweb cake! I added the Wilton 1M border on top with my black buttercream.

For the cake, I used my dark chocolate cake, but added a little black gel coloring to make it even more dark. For the buttercream, I used my coconut buttercream and added a touch of soft pink gel to get that beautiful blush hue.

I hope you have as much fun making this spooky spider Halloween cake as I did! I know Halloween is such a fun time to take a little step out of our usual cake comfort zone, and adding lots of spiders to a cake definitely fits in that category!

As always, if you create one of my cakes, I’d love to see it and join in on the fun! Tag me on Instagram @bakingwithblondie or #bakingwithblondie.

xo,

Mandy