This cake used my ultimate chocolate cake recipe but it gets topped with a chocolate fudge buttercream. Adding a really nice quality fudge to your chocolate buttercream with a touch more salt just takes the flavor all the way to a hundred and makes for a great pairing with the super-moist cake. If you don’t have time for make this recipe, just whip the buttercream up and spread it on ANYTHING! You’ll thank me.
PRO TIPS FOR MAKING A spider web sheet cake
- Measure your flour correctly! Adding too much flour to the recipe is the most common mistake. The best, and easiest way to measure flour is by using a scale. If you don’t have one then fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off.
- The batter is very liquidy so don’t panic! The cake will end up AMAZINGLY MOIST.
- You can use room temperature or even cold coffee in the batter if you’d prefer.
- Not a coffee fan? Sub in water or milk instead.
- If you find cake decorating to be a bit intimidating then check out my How to Decorate a Cake post, it has lots of helpful tips and a full how to video.
Frequently Asked Questions
WHAT KIND OF COCOA POWDER SHOULD YOU USE?
I love using a high-quality Dutch processed cocoa powder. Dutch processed cocoa powder is darker, less acidic and fudgier in baked goods. You’ll usually get less rise out of it though. My go to company is Valrhona but there are lots of great brands out there, including Guittard, Callebaut, Ghirardelli and lots of organic and fair trade options too!
Can I Make This Cake Without Coffee?
Yes! Coffee really just brings out the chocolate flavor in this cake but you can use water instead and the cake turns out just fine although in my opinion it’s less flavorful.
What kind of fudge should I use for the buttercream?
I used a fudge that used natural ingredients and almost no preservatives. You can DEFINITELY just sub in 1/3-1/2 cup of melted and cooled chocolate for a great creamy buttercream.
What’s the best way to melt white chocolate?
Use a VERY LOW heat to melt white chocolate and remove the chocolate from heat before it’s completely melted. Place the bowl of chopped chocolate on a pot of gently simmering water, making sure the water does not touch the bowl.
How to make a Spider Web Cake
1. Sift the Flour, cocoa powder, salt, sugar and baking soda into a large bowl then whisk together. Sifting is important for chocolate recipes as the cocoa powder has a tendency to clump up.
2. Add the sour cream, buttermilk, eggs, and veggie oil into a large bowl and whisk together. Pour the hot coffee in while you whisk and set aside. The coffee doesn’t have to be hot but because the eggs have been mixed in with all the other wet ingredients you won’t end up with a bowl of scrambled eggs!
3. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk together. Scrape the bowl down and give it a really good stir.
4. The batter will be VERY thin but don’t worry, it will bake into the MOST MOIST fudgey cake ever. Transfer batter to a parchment-lined 9×13 sheet pan and bake at 350F for about 50 minutes or until the centers is set.
5. Beat butter in a stand mixer. Add cocoa powder and mix on low. Scrape the bowl down and mix once more. Beat in the salt and powdered sugar then scrape the bowl down add the fudge in and mix until combined.
6. Apply the buttercream to the cooled cake and smooth using an offset spatula. I like to apply the buttercream using an ice cream scoop.
7. Pipe the white chocolate in a spiral.
8. Use a skewer to create a web effect by dragging it from the center to the edge.
9. Make the spider legs by piping melted chocolate onto parchment paper in “V” shapes.
10. Place the peanut and regular M&Ms in the center of the web and then press the legs in.
If you’ve tried this cake then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Spider Web Cake
Video
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cup strong hot coffee Use a Moka pot so it's basically espresso
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
For the Frosting:
- 1 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 pound confectioners sugar sifted
- ⅓ cup fudge nice quality
- 1/3 cup white chocolate melted
For the Spider:
- 1 Brown peanut M&M
- 1 Brown M&M
- 2 tbsp semi sweet chocolate melted
Instructions
For the Cake:
- Preheat to 350 degrees.
- Add parchment paper to a sheet cake pan, butter and flour the paper and sides.
- Sift together the dry ingredients (including the sugar) into the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk to combine.
- Add the wet ingredients into a large bowl and whisk together.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredient bowl.
- Whisk to combine then mix on level 2 for two minutes.
- Pour batter into cake pan. Bake for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Allow time to cool. Invert onto wire racks to cool fully.
For the Frosting:
- Beat butter in a stand mixer. Add cocoa powder on a lower level.
- Combine confectioners sugar, then salt.
- Add fudge in slowly.
- Mix until incorporated.
For the Assembly:
- Add buttercream to the top of the cake with an ice cream scooper. Spread over with an offset spatula.
- Drizzle a white chocolate spiral.
- Drag a point tool or toothpick through both layers, starting from the middle of the spiral. This will create a web look.
For the Spider:
- Melt semi sweet chocolate. Transfer to a piping bag.
- Pipe ‘L’ shaped legs onto parchment paper with the black gel bag. Transfer to the freezer for 5 - 10 minutes to set.
- Add a brown peanut m&m for the body and a brown m&m for the head of the spider.
- Stick legs around the m&m body.
Notes
- Measure your flour correctly! Adding too much flour to the recipe is the most common mistake. The best, and easiest way to measure flour is by using a scale. If you don't have one then fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off.
- The batter is very liquidy so don’t panic! The cake will end up AMAZINGLY MOIST.
- You can use room temperature or even cold coffee in the batter if you’d prefer.
- Not a coffee fan? Sub in water or milk instead.
- If you find cake decorating to be a bit intimidating then check out my How to Decorate a Cake post, it has lots of helpful tips and a full how to video.