How To Make a Halloween Spider Cake

This How To Make a Halloween Spider Cake tutorial will show you how to create a spook-tacular design perfect for Halloween! The heart spiderweb topper is easy to make and the ‘Boo’ text on the front of the cake can be made without the use of special embossing stamps.

Halloween preparations have begun here at Love Cake Create and I’ve been thinking ahead with cake designs. In Australia, Halloween isn’t as big as it is in other parts of the world but the shops now carry a great selection of Halloween props and costumes. Admittedly I’m a bit of a scardey cat when it comes to anything remotely scary, but I still love to get in on the fun especially when it comes to cake!

This Halloween spider cake is more spooky-sweet than spooky-scary – I haven’t seen many spiderwebs in the shape of a love heart, well not on a cake anyway. In Australia we have a huge variety of spiders, if only they looked as cute as this one with a pretty bow and friendly smile! This Halloween confetti cake I made a few years ago also features a sweet and easy design.

The 2D spiderweb heart topper will need a couple of days to dry, so factor that into your timeline when prepping ahead. I used the Bakels Pettinice pre-coloured black fondant with added tylose and it dried in approximately 1 day. Since there is a toothpick/cocktail stick holding it up, please advise anyone eating the cake that the toothpick/cocktail stick is in the topper (especially important for anyone that sells their cakes).

Halloween Spider Cake Tutorial

For this Halloween Spider Cake, you will need:

1 x 5″ round x 5″ high cake (or the size of your choice) in Americolor Electric Purple fondant. Note the fondant will need to be soft on the cake in order to emboss the word ‘Boo’ so cover the cake when you’re ready to emboss.
Edible Confetti in Halloween colours (I made mine using the below colours and the Wilton No. 9 piping tip)
Black fondant
Orange fondant (I used Americolor Orange)
Green fondant (I used Americolor Electric Green)
Purple fondant (I used Americolor Electric Purple)
White fondant
Tylose
Rolling Pin
Edible white petal/lustre dust
Vodka or rose spirit (to make a paint with the petal/lustre dust)
Piping Gel
Edible Sugar Glue
Bow mould (optional, you could make your own bow)
Dresden tool
Baking Paper
Heart Spiderweb Template and Spider Template (click here)
Your choice of font (I downloaded the free Bromello font to my computer)
Fondant extruder with 3mm circle and 1mm circle attachments
Exacto Knife
Toothpick/cocktail stick
Fine Paintbrush
Shortening (eg. Crisco)
Cornflour

Let’s get started!

How to Create A Fondant Heart Spiderweb

Cut out the spiderweb template, including the heart in the middle. Next trace the spiderweb pattern on to a piece of baking paper, along with the inner web – that inner web will be embossed on to the fondant shortly.

Take a ball of black fondant and push it into the tylose powder. Mix in the powder that sticks to the fondant. Repeat that once more. Adding tylose to the fondant will help it dry quickly and firmly.

Roll out the black fondant to approximately 3 – 4mm thickness (it needs to be slightly thicker than the toothpick you will insert in a minute). Place the heart spiderweb template on top of the black fondant and using the exacto knife, cut out the spiderweb and the heart in the middle. Use your fingers to smooth over the cut edges to neaten them up.

Take the toothpick, apply a little sugar glue to one end and insert it in the bottom of the spiderweb. I’m right handed and found it easier to position my left thumb on the front of the spiderweb and my left index finger at the back – you use those fingers to feel the toothpick being inserted with your other hand and guide it through so it doesn’t pierce out of the fondant.

Lay the spiderweb down flat and gently rub over the front to even out any bumps from the toothpick.

Take the baking paper and place it over the top of the heart, ensuring it matches up evenly. Use the Dresden tool to emboss the inner lines of the web on to the heart. You won’t need to press too firmly, just enough to create the web impression.

Next, add some shortening to the white fondant and mix it in well; this will help the fondant come out of the extruder easily. Place the fondant in the extruder and add a 3 – 4mm attachment on the end (about the same thickness as your heart spiderweb). Squeeze out the fondant into a long, even rope.

Brush a light layer of sugar glue around the edges of the heart spiderweb and take the extruded white fondant and adhere it to the outside edge of the web as shown below. Use your finger to gently rub over the white rope to ensure it’s attached properly to the topper (remember this spiderweb will be standing up on the cake so we don’t want to see any gaps between the black and white fondant).

Once you’ve done the outside edge, create another extruded white rope for the heart centre and attach it with sugar glue.

Next we’re going to create the fine inner web and for that we need to change the extruder attachment to one that’s approximately 1mm wide. Originally I left in the same 3mm attachment that we used around the outside but it looked far too thick and clunky. The finer web looks much better.

To adhere the fine web to the topper, add a little sugar glue/water to the embossed lines. Squeeze the white fondant out through the 1mm attachment and working quickly (because the extruded fondant will dry fast), follow the embossed lines on the spiderweb as shown below. Once you’ve done the straight lines, add the inner web over the top of the lines. Make sure the web sticks to the black fondant and then gently use your finger move move the web in the correct position (I tried to make a slight arc with each of mine).

That’s all we need to do with the topper now. When you’re happy with it, pop it on a piece of baking paper and allow it to dry for a couple of days. Once the front had dried, I flipped it over so the back dried too.

After the spiderweb has completely dried, it will be able to stand up on the cake like this – pretty cool huh?! I love the fact this spiderweb is in the shape of a love heart and being able to see through the middle adds a fun touch. Personally I would wait until all the elements are finished on the cake before you attach the topper, it’s still relatively fragile and you don’t want any last minute breakages. When you’re ready to secure it to the cake, add a dab of sugar glue, piping gel or royal icing at the base.

To create the custom text on the front of the cake

The font I used for this cake is called Bromello. If you type ‘Bromello font’ into Google, you can install the font on to your computer for free. You can add a different font or word to the front of your cake; this is a part of the design where you can get creative with your Halloween cake so feel free to change it up if you like.

So for this cake design trace the word ‘Boo’ on to baking paper (front of the paper only, the pencil won’t touch the cake). I added a little loopy bit at the end of the word so the spider could dangle underneath it. Hold up the baking paper to the cake and use the Dresden tool to score over the word – the same method we used to score the lines on the spiderweb above. Since the fondant is still soft on the cake, take care not to add too much pressure when you’re holding the baking paper in place. You can fix any bumps with your smoothers in a few minutes.

When you’ve gone over the whole word, remove the baking paper from the cake and the word ‘Boo’ will be embossed in the fondant. I found it was quite light, so went over the outline again with the Dresden tool (without the baking paper this time) which made it clearer and neater.

Next we’re going to do something which I’m not good at yet – painting on a cake!! But this is one of those times when you need to give yourself a pep talk because you can totally do this. It’s only three little letters (that’s why I chose such a short word!) and when you’re done, it will all be worth it.

Add some of the edible white petal/lustre dust into a small bowl (I used a new paint palette) and add in a little of the vodka/rose spirit to make a paint. You’re looking for a nice painting consistency – if it’s too thick then add more liquid, too thin then add more powder.

Dip your fine paintbrush in the paint and slowly start to fill in the text. Slow and steady wins the race here, just small brushstrokes at a time. The aim is to stay within the lines of the text and create an even coverage.

Hands up if you hold your breath when working on intricate cake designs! I pretty much held my breath the whole time I was painting on the font, so don’t forget to breathe!!

The first coat of paint was a little patchy in some areas, so after the first had dried, I applied another coat.

I popped the cake aside for an hour or two before moving on to the fondant spider but you can keep going if you wish.

How To Make A Fondant Spider 

Since I spook easily, I wanted a sweet and friendly looking spider; you can go a little creepier if you like!

Take some black fondant with added tylose and create a flat circle – I used the spider on the PDF as a template for the size. It’s about 1 inch wide. The template also came in handy for the length and position of all eight legs.

For the legs, roll a thin sausage and taper it to a point at one end. Bend them in position as shown on the template. Let the legs dry on the template for about 15 mins – at this point I haven’t stuck the legs to the body; I wanted the legs flush up against the cake so each of the legs were applied individually rather than sticking the spider to the cake already assembled (see the below pictures for reference).

Before sticking the spider to the cake, work out where you’d like it to sit. I’ve got mine hanging down at the end of the loopy bit. To attach the spider body to the cake, brush on a small amount of piping gel/sugar glue on the back of the black circle. Hold it on the cake until it’s secure.

Next, brush a small amount of piping gel/sugar glue on the back of each leg and hold them in position until they’re secure.

For the bow, take a small ball of orange fondant and press it into the tylose powder. Mix in the powder that sticks to it. Use a paintbrush to dust the bow mould with cornflour and then press in the ball of orange fondant, ensuring all parts of the mould are filled. Remove the fondant from the mould and you should have a perfect bow – if there are any stray straggly bits of fondant around the edges, tidy them up with the exacto knife or Dresden tool. Pop a little piping gel/ sugar glue on the back of the bow and attach it to the top of the spider.

For the eyes, roll two small balls of green fondant (I used the same size eyes as on the spider template) and attach them to the spider with piping gel/sugar glue. Roll two tiny black balls for the pupils and attach them also.

Now the cake is starting to come together!

To make and apply the edible confetti to the cake

If you have edible confetti in Halloween colours, great! You can skip this next step. I made my own confetti using a Wilton Number 9 piping tip. Roll out the fondant to approx. 2mm thickness and use the piping tip as a cutter to cut out lots of confetti. This cake has green, orange, purple and black confetti. Lay the confetti out on a baking tray lined with baking paper and allow it to dry for a couple of hours.

To stick the confetti to the cake, apply a thin layer of piping gel around the base of the cake. I like using piping gel here as opposed to just sugar glue because the piping gel is thicker/stickier and secures the confetti better. Take a small handful of confetti and gently push it against the piping gel. Continue around the cake until you’re back at the beginning. If there are any bits of cake peeking through the confetti or any areas you missed, just take individual bits of confetti, dab some piping gel on the back and attach it to the cake.

Now we’re on the home stretch!! Really the only thing left to do is pop a smile and some cheeks on the spider.

Take a tiny amount of white fondant and roll it into a sausage. Taper the ends so they come to a point. Bend it into a smile shape and apply it to the spider face with a dab of piping gel/sugar glue.

For the cheeks, take two tiny balls of purple fondant, flatten then with your finger and secure them under the eyes with piping gel/sugar glue.

Take your heart spiderweb topper which should be completely dry and apply a small amount of sugar glue/piping gel or royal icing at the base where it meets the cake. Insert the topper into the cake (gently!). It’s best not to put your fingers or any pressure on the fine, inner part of the web as you’re inserting it into the cake otherwise the web may snap (ask me how I know that!). If that does happen, just use some sugar glue to stick it back on.

So we’ve made the spiderweb topper, embossed the font on the front of the cake, created our sweet spider and attached the edible confetti. Friends, we are done!!

You can now stand back and admire your boo-licious Halloween Spider cake! I hope you love creating this cake as much as I enjoyed designing and making it! It’s a fun and modern design which will still be popular in years to come.

If you do create this cake, I’d love to see! Feel free to tag me on Instagram @love.cake.create or share it on my Facebook page so I can check it out.

My favourite cake to use under fondant is this dark chocolate mud cake – if you’re after a great recipe that can be baked ahead and stands up well under fondant, check out this cake.

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