Spiderweb Cake Food

MARSHMALLOW WEB GHOST CAKE

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease four 8-inch round cake pans and two 5-inch round cake pans with flour-based baking spray
• Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Beat the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. With the mixer running, gradually add the granulated sugar and beat until the mixture turns pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the milk. Begin and end with the flour mixture. Stir in the vanilla. Beat until just combined. Do not over-mix.
• Beat the egg whites in a clean mixer bowl on medium speed until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter in 3 additions.
• Place 2 cups of cake batter in 4 separate bowls. Tint the first bowl with the green food color, the second bowl with 1 tablespoon of the purple food color and the third bowl with the orange food color. Combine the cocoa and water in a small bowl, stirring well to create a paste, then add it to the fourth bowl of batter. Fold in the black food color and stir together well until the batter is dark and no streaks of white batter remain. Pour one color of batter into each of the prepared 8-inch pans.
• Tint the leftover batter with the remaining 1 tablespoon purple food color and place 1 cup of batter in each of the prepared 5-inch pans.
• Bake until the cakes spring back when pressed in the center, about 25 minutes for the 5-inch cake layers and 30 to 35 minutes for the 8-inch cake layers. Run a knife around the edges of the cakes and the pans and turn them out on wire racks to cool.
• For the frosting: In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, mix together the confectioners' sugar and butter. Begin on low speed until crumbly, then increase to high and beat for 3 minutes until smooth and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and beat again for another minute. If you find the buttercream is too stiff, you may add milk or heavy cream 1 tablespoon at a time until the mixture is spreading consistency. Place about 2 cups of buttercream in a piping bag fitted with a plain 1/2-inch piping tip; set aside for later use. Tint the remaining frosting with the black gel food color.
• Level the tops of the cakes with a serrated knife or a cake leveler. Cover each cake layer with a small amount of black frosting. Begin with the black chocolate cake layer on the bottom, followed by the purple, then the green and ending with the orange on top. Cover the entire cake with black frosting using an offset spatula. Cover a purple 5-inch cake layer with frosting and stack the second on top. Cover with frosting using an offset spatula. Refrigerate both cakes until the frosting is firm, about 30 minutes.
• Stack the 5-inch cake tier on top of the 8-inch cake.
• For the marshmallow web: Melt the marshmallows in the microwave for about 30 seconds or until they puff and lose their shape. Stir well until deflated. Let the marshmallow cool slightly. Dip fingers (or gloved hands for easy cleanup) into the marshmallow mixture and stretch until thin and web-like. Wrap the marshmallow around the cake. Repeat the process until the marshmallow web effect covers both tiers of the cake. Let stand until firm, about 10 minutes.
• For the assembly: Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. Use the reserved bag of frosting to pipe a 2- to 3-inch mound of frosting. This will be a ghost body. Top with a second 1-inch mound of frosting for the ghost head. Repeat the piping process, varying the sizes of ghosts for visual interest, until you have about 20 ghosts. Add 2 black sugar pearls to each ghost face using a pair of kitchen-dedicated tweezers. Use a single black confetti sprinkle to create mouths on some of the ghosts. Transfer the pan to the freezer and chill until firm, about 1 hour.
• Use an offset spatula to transfer the ghosts to the edges of the cake.
• Bring the cake to room temperature before serving. Use kitchen-dedicated scissors to snip the firm marshmallow webbing before cutting into slices.

NO-BAKE SPIDERWEB CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Make the crust: Coat a 10-inch springform pan with cooking spray. Mix wafers, sugar, butter, and salt in a medium bowl. Pat mixture into pan, pressing firmly into bottom and all the way up sides. Cover, and refrigerate until ready to fill.
• Make the ganache: Place chocolate in a food processor. Bring cream to a simmer in a small saucepan, then pour over chocolate. When chocolate begins to melt, process until smooth. Reserve 2 tablespoons ganache for decorating, and spread the remainder evenly on bottom and all the way up sides of crust. Cover, and refrigerate until ready to fill.
• Make the filling: Beat cream cheese with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low, and slowly add sugar and salt. Raise speed to medium-high, and beat until very fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in lemon juice.
• Whisk cream until medium-stiff peaks form. Whisk 1/4 of the whipped cream into cream cheese mixture, then fold in remaining whipped cream. Pour filling into crust, and spread evenly. Gently tap bottom of pan on counter to release air bubbles.
• Transfer reserved ganache to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch round tip. Starting in the center of the cheesecake, pipe a spiral, spacing lines about 1/2 inch apart. Pull the tip of a paring knife in a gently curved line from the center of the spiral to outer edge. Wipe knife clean, and repeat every inch or so to form a web.
• Cover, and freeze for at least 1 hour or overnight. Unmold cheesecake, garnish with candy spiders if desired, and serve immediately.

SPIDERWEB CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325°F. Lightly oil three 8-in. cake pans and line bottoms with parchment; grease parchment.
• Into large bowl, sift together flour and cocoa powder. Whisk in sugars, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• Add eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla and whisk until nearly all combined. Gradually add coffee, whisking until smooth.
• Divide among prepared pans and bake until wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, 28 to 32 min. Transfer pans to wire rack for 10 min., before inverting onto racks to cool completely. Once cool, chill cakes, lightly wrapped, at least 30 min. or up to 1 day before decorating.
• Make frosting: In large bowl of electric stand mixer, beat butter, sugar and salt on low speed until fully combined. Increase speed to medium and beat until fluffy, about 3 min. Gradually add cream to reach spreadable consistency and beat until fluffy, about 3 min.
• To assemble, place 1 cake, flat side up, on cake board or serving platter. Spread 3/4 cup frosting on top of cake to edges. Place second cake layer on top, rounded side down, and repeat. Add final layer, rounded side up or down. Coat entire cake in thin layer of frosting and chill at least 10 min. or until frosting is no longer tacky.
• Transfer 1/2 cup remaining frosting to small bowl and tint black. Transfer to piping bag fitted with small round tip and set aside.
• To remaining frosting, fold in crushed cookies; avoid over-mixing so frosting does not turn gray. Spread thick layer of frosting over cake and use an offset spatula to smooth evenly around cake. Save any remaining frosting to help stick spiders and webs to cake.
• To make spiders and webs, draw or print a spiderweb template and stick to your work surface. Place waxed paper on top and tape down corners. Place two-thirds of chocolate in bowl and microwave in 30-sec. increments on 50% power, stirring in between, until melted and smooth. Add remaining chocolate, stirring until melted.
• Make piping bag: Starting with large sheet of parchment paper, fold one corner over until edges line up to make a triangle. Cut off and discard excess. With folded side toward you, take bottom right corner up to meet top point of triangle, curling paper inward to line up. Holding points together with one hand, use other hand to wrap final point around to meet points. Fold points into piping bag.
• Fill bag no more than halfway with melted chocolate and fold down open end to seal. Cut small point off bottom of piping tip and trace webs onto waxed paper. Let set completely before transferring to cake.
• To make spiders, use black Sixlets candies and pipe legs with black frosting. Let set completely before transferring to cake.

DEVIL'S FOOD CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE SPIDERWEB

Steps:

• Make cake:
• Preheat oven to 350°F with racks in upper and lower thirds. Butter cake pans, then line bottoms with rounds of parchment paper. Dust pans with flour, knocking out excess.
• Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.
• Whisk together boiling-hot water and cocoa in another bowl until smooth, then whisk in milk and vanilla.
• Beat butter and sugars with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. At low speed, mix in flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with cocoa mixture, beginning and ending with flour, and mixing until just combined.
• Divide batter among pans, smoothing tops. Bake, switching position of pans halfway through, until a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean and cakes begin to pull away from sides of pans, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Cool cakes in pans on racks 20 minutes, then turn out onto racks to cool completely.
• Make decorations while cake layers cool:
• Trace a 9-inch circle on a sheet of parchment paper, then draw a spiderweb inside circle. Next to web, draw a 2-to 3-inch spider. Turn drawings over onto a baking sheet.
• Melt chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring. Cool slightly, then transfer to pastry bag. Pipe chocolate onto web, beginning with spokes, and onto spider on parchment, then freeze until firm, about 1 hour.
• Make frosting:
• Put frosting ingredients in a heatproof large bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Beat with handheld mixer at low speed until mixture is warm and sugar has dissolved. Continue to beat at high speed until thick and fluffy, 7 to 10 minutes. Remove bowl from heat and beat frosting until cooled slightly, 5 to 10 minutes more.
• Assemble cake:
• Place a cake layer on a serving plate. Spread top with some of frosting. Top with another cake layer and spread with some of frosting, then top with final cake layer. Frost top and sides of cake with remaining frosting.
• Cut off portion of parchment with spider and reserve. Invert web on parchment onto cake and carefully peel off paper. Peel off parchment from spider and put spider on web. Let cake stand at room temperature until chocolate decorations have softened.

SPIDER'S WEB CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease three 20cm round cake tins and line the bases with baking parchment. To make the cake, put the cocoa in a bowl, add 280ml boiling water and whisk until dissolved. Pour in the stout, mix, then set aside to cool.
• In a stand mixer or a large bowl using an electric hand whisk, beat together the butter, both sugars and vanilla extract until light and fluffy (about 5 mins). Add the eggs little by little, mixing until fully incorporated before adding more. Once all the egg has been added, spoon in the melted chocolate and mix to combine.
• In another bowl, mix the flour, bicarb and 1/2 tsp salt. Add this mixture to the butter mixture in three stages, alternating with the stout mixture (which will be very runny). Pour the batter equally between the prepared tins and bake for 25-30 mins until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tins for 10 mins, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
• To make the buttercream, put the egg whites and sugar in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of gently simmering water. Stir with a whisk until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is warm to the touch. Remove the bowl from the heat and beat with an electric hand whisk on high speed until the mixture has tripled in volume and has cooled down. Slowly add the butter 1 tbsp at a time while continuing to whisk. Once all the butter has been added, the mixture should look glossy and thick - if it doesn't, keep whisking until it does, or if the bowl still feels warm, chill for 10 mins before whisking again. Once ready, mix in the melted white chocolate.
• To assemble the cake, put one of the cake layers on a cake stand and top with a layer of buttercream. Repeat with the other two layers. Spread the remaining buttercream all over the cake, using a spatula or palette knife to smooth the sides. Chill for 1 hr or until the buttercream is firm (see tip, below).
• To decorate, melt the marshmallows in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring from time to time. Remove from the heat and put to one side for a few mins until the mixture is cool enough to handle. Use your fingers to grab a small amount of the marshmallow and stretch it out to form long strands (dipping your fingers in vegetable or sunflower oil will help!) Drape the strands over the cake in a random pattern, so it's thoroughly covered. Create a spider using the sugar paste (roll two balls, one bigger than the other, for the body, and thin strands for the legs) and place on top of the cake. Will keep for up to three days in an airtight container.