Spooky Spiderweb Cake

This fun Spooky Spiderweb Cake is the perfect Halloween cake. It's made with black cocoa, colored marshmallow fluff, and the spider is made with the chocolate and cake trimmings from the chocolate cake.

Spooky Spiderweb Cake - the perfect chocolate Halloween cake with black chocolate frosting and toxic green fluff sludge. It should be at all the parties!


 

With Halloween being around the corner, I'm ready to start throwing some creepy things at you like this spooky spiderweb cake. It's a chocolate cake that I used black cocoa powder in, vanilla electric green icing in the center, and black chocolate frosting on the outside. The cake is incredibly moist and very addicting! The green web that runs down the outside of the cake is colored marshmallow fluff. Clever, huh?

If you're not into food coloring, this probably isn't the cake for you. I'm sure you probably realized that by the photo above, I hope. But it's Halloween and it really adds to the effect so we're going with it! If you have never used black cocoa powder(aff. link), it really makes a cake or frosting super dark and it would be perfect to use without adding a ton of food color which is mostly what I did for the black. I got my black cocoa powder from the little Amish store near my hometown, but I linked to where to get it above for you.

Spooky Spiderweb Cake - the perfect chocolate Halloween cake with black chocolate frosting and toxic green fluff sludge. It should be at all the parties!
Spooky Spiderweb Cake - the perfect chocolate Halloween cake with black chocolate frosting and toxic green fluff sludge. It should be at all the parties!

If you love Halloween recipes as much as me, you have to check out this Poison Apple Cake Pops and Goosebumps White Vampire Bite Cake.

spooky-spiderweb-cake-5
Spooky Spiderweb Cake - the perfect chocolate Halloween cake with black chocolate frosting and toxic green fluff sludge. It should be at all the parties!

In breaking news, my son started pre-k today. It's bittersweet. He was anxious to see me leave after I dropped him off and mad to see me come to pick him up. It really makes it hard on a mama who's spent the last four years staying home with him. Lucian - Mr. Independent. No one told me that having a four-year-old is like having a mouthy, back-talking teenager but without comprehension. It's brutal, man. Just brutal.

Spooky Spiderweb Cake - the perfect chocolate Halloween cake with black chocolate frosting and toxic green fluff sludge. It should be at all the parties!

Recipe FAQs

What food coloring did you use for the neon green ooze?

I used this electric green gel food coloring. Unlike regular liquid food coloring, gel food coloring gives an intense color without thinning out the frosting, cake, marshmallow creme ooze, etc.

How do you store this halloween cake?

I would recommend storing it in an airtight cake container at room temperature.

What can I buy marshmallow fluff?

It's also called marshmallow creme. You can buy it on amazon, it's usually near the marshmallows at the grocery store, or you can make the marshmallow fluff.

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A cake with a spooky spiderweb design on a plate.

Spooky Spiderweb Cake

Get ready for Halloween with this fun and spooky spiderweb cake. Electric green ooze and a ginormous spider sitting on top, this is a party cake!
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 3 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 4 hours 30 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 12 servings
Calories 1060 kcal

Ingredients
  

Cake

  • ¾ cup vegetable oil
  • 3 cups granulated sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla
  • 1 cup strong coffee
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup black cocoa powder
  • 2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • black gel paste color

Electric Green Frosting

  • 1 cup butter room temperature
  • 2 ¾ cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoon milk
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla
  • electric green gel paste color

Black Chocolate Frosting

  • 1 cup butter room temperature
  • 1 cup black cocoa powder
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • black gel paste color
  • 7 tablespoon milk

Green Spiderweb

Spider

  • ¼ cup black candy melts
  • Red sprinkles

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray four 8 ½ inch round pans with non-stick cooking spray and add 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder to each pan. Move the cocoa powder around to cover the pans and tap out the excess into the next pan or into the garbage. Feel free to use regular cocoa powder for this.
  • In a mixing bowl, add in the vegetable oil and sugar. Mix until incorporated.
  • Add in the vanilla and one egg at a time until incorporated. Once incorporated, add the next egg.
  • In a large measuring cup or bowl, add in the cold buttermilk and strong coffee. The cold buttermilk will cool down the coffee if it's hot. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, add in the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix to combine.
  • Alternately add the dry and wet mixtures into the vegetable oil and sugar mixture starting and ending with flour. I broke mine into flour 4 times and buttermilk 3 times. Scrape down the sides and bottom and mix for additional 30 seconds. If you want the cake darker, add the gel paste color in with the last addition of flour.
  • Pour 3 of the 4 pans ¾ full of batter. In the last pan, add enough batter to cover the bottom of the pan.
  • Place the 3 pans that are ¾ full in the oven and let them bake for 35 - 40 minutes or until done. To check, place a toothpick in the center of the cake. If it comes out with batter on it, bake it longer and check it again. If it comes out clean or with moist crumbs, it's done.
  • Place the 4th pan in the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until done. Check it the same way as the first 3 pans.
  • Let the cakes cool completely.

Green Frosting

  • In a mixing bowl, add in the butter, powdered sugar, milk and vanilla. Mix on low until almost combined. This will help prevent powdered sugar from flying all over.
  • Once everything is nearly combined, add in the electric green gel paste color and turn the mixer on high and mix about 2 minutes.
  • Set aside.

Black Chocolate Frosting

  • In a mixing bowl, add in the butter and cocoa powder and mix until combined.
  • Add in the powdered sugar and milk and mix until incorporated.
  • If you want it darker, add in the black gel paste color. Mix on high for about 2 minutes until light and fluffy. If it's too thick, add another tablespoon of milk.

Green Fluff

  • Prepare the fluff after the cake is frosted.
  • In a sandwich bag, add in the fluff and green gel paste color.
  • Heat in the microwave for 30 seconds and squish the bag around to color the fluff. The bag will be pretty warm so be careful.

Assemble

  • In a piping bag with a coupler, add about ¾ cup of black frosting.
  • Place a layer of cake on the cake plate. If it needs cut to be flat, do so and set the scrapes aside with the very slim layer of cake we baked.
  • Pipe a ring of black frosting on the edge of the cake.
  • Fill the center of the cake with the green frosting.
  • Add another layer of cake. Trim as needed and place scrapes with the last ones. Repeat filling the cake.
  • Add the top layer of cake. Run a spatula around the outside around the black frosting to seal in the green frosting. Chill at this time if you have room in the fridge for about 30 minutes. It will help stabilize the cake.
  • Add a big dollop of black chocolate frosting to the top of the cake. Work it over the edges. Try to move the frosting back and forth and not to pull the spatula straight away from the cake. That will help prevent crumbs from coming to the surface.
  • Once the cake is covered, smooth out the frosting with the spatula.
  • Add a swirl to the top of the cake by placing your spatula into the center and spinning a turntable and moving your spatula towards the outside of the cake. It's a nice little additon to the cake.
  • Draw a spiderweb on the top of the cake similar to mine or better! Run the remaining fluff along the edge of the cake and let it drip over the edge.
  • Add about ¼ cup of black frosting to the cake scraps and mix to form cake balls. Scoop out the cake balls and place on parchment paper.
  • Place in the fridge for 25 - 30 minutes.
  • Roll the cake into balls. If you do this before it's been chilled, they will be incredibly messy.
  • Heat the black melting chocolates for 30 seconds and stir. Repeat microwaving and stirring two more times.
  • Place in a sandwich bag and cut out a corner. Pipe V's that would fit the shape of your cake balls. Try to keep the size of the legs the same. Let dry. It will take 15 - 30 minutes depending on the temperature of your kitchen or just place them in the fridge. Be sure to make extra legs, they break easy!
  • Stick the red eyes into the cake ball. Place the cake ball on the cake and add the legs.

Notes

To store leftover cake, place in an air tight container and store at room temperature for up to 3 days. You can also store in the refrigerator as well.

Nutrition

Calories: 1060kcalCarbohydrates: 157gProtein: 9gFat: 49gSaturated Fat: 24gPolyunsaturated Fat: 9gMonounsaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 126mgSodium: 669mgPotassium: 385mgFiber: 6gSugar: 123gVitamin A: 1056IUCalcium: 99mgIron: 4mg

(Nutrition facts are an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietitian for special diet advice.)

Spooky Spiderweb Cake - the perfect chocolate Halloween cake with black chocolate frosting and toxic green fluff sludge. It should be at all the parties!

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9 Comments

  1. How do I make the fluff? What are the ingredients, amounts & technique for the Green Fluff and did you drizzle the web onto the cake Or did you drizzle it onto the countertop on wax paper & then after it dried place it on the cake? Love love love your recipe & idea but today I will use the green fluff & a green ooze icing in & on a teenage mutant ninja turtle (limeade) cake. But will be making your cake for Halloween for sure, our family Loves chocolate cake.

    1. Hi Debra- I have a recipe for homemade fluff on my site- you can find it with a quick search or just use store bought fluff! Green dye and fluff are all you need! I drizzled the web right onto the cake. Hope you get to make a perfect Halloween cake with this recipe too!

  2. Wow, your cake is amazing. I bet the kids loved this. So perfect for Halloween.
    Thanks for sharing at Wake Up Wednesday,
    Bev

  3. I found your Spooky Spiderweb Cake on Freedom Fridays and I am so glad that I did. I love it! It looks so Halloween awesome, but also positively delicious! I look forward to attempting this myself! Thank you for sharing! 🙂

  4. Oh my gosh I love this cake so much! The way you decorated it is perfect, with the little spiderweb and everything... i feel like I should make a cake like this come Halloween 😀

  5. What a FUN cake, Miranda! The color of the web and filling is the perfect creepy touch! And no one at my house would ever say no to a chocolate cake!!!

    P.S. My kids were always holding onto my legs and crying when I dropped them off at preschool! Hope the next few days will go better!

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