Spider Cake

5 from 3 votes
3 Comments

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Make this Spider Cake the centerpiece of your next Halloween buffet. This spice cake with a rich cream cheese frosting spider adds a touch of whimsy to any spooky holiday event.

Spider cake on a cake stand.
Featured with this recipe
  1. Ingredients in Spider Cake
  2. Frosting Ingredients
  3. How to Decorate a Spider Cake
  4. Decorating Options
  5. Optional Cake Flavors
  6. Halloween Dinner Ideas
  7. Questions About Spider Cake
  8. More Halloween Recipes
  9. How to Make a Spider Cake
  10. Spider Cake Recipe

This adorable and playful Spider Cake is an easy and delightful dessert to serve at your next Halloween party. Moist bundt spice cake is covered with a rich cream cheese icing, and a giant frosting spider adds a touch of playfulness to this delicious dessert. This is easy to decorate, too! If you want to try your hand at a fun and playful centerpiece for a Halloween party, this is a perfect dessert to try.

Ingredients in Spider Cake

Take a little help from the grocery store with this cake and use a box mix. We dress it up with some extra ingredients to make it the moistest, most delicious spice cake you’ll ever try! Here’s what you need for the cake:

  • Spice cake mix – one box of your favorite brand. This takes care of all your dry ingredients in one box. No need to mess with measuring flour salt, soda, etc.
  • Pumpkin spice instant pudding mix – One 3.4 ounce box. You can always find this flavor in the fall season at most grocery stores, or grab it on Amazon.
  • Sour cream – one cup rich sour cream gives this cake extra moisture and texture. You can also opt for a cup of regular greek yogurt in place of sour cream.
  • Eggs – four large eggs. Most cake mixes call for three, but an extra egg really gives the cake a moister, more tender texture.
  • Water – half a cup
  • Oil – We like using regular canola or vegetable oil
  • Mini chocolate chips – one and a half cups. Whisk them in to the cake batter just before baking.
Spice cake mix, pumpkin spice jello mix, mini chocolate chips, oil, sour cream and eggs to make Pumpkin Bundt Cake.


Frosting Ingredients

Now comes the fun part: the frosting and decorating! This rich cream cheese frosting complements the moist spice cake, and is just so cute too! Here’s what you need for the icing and decorations:

  • Cream cheese – two 8-ounce packages of regular cream cheese, softened to room temperature
  • Butter – one cube, or half a cup, also softened. A good rule of thumb is to take the cream cheese and butter out of the refrigerator about an hour before you’re ready to mix the icing. That way it’s at perfect room temperature but not too melted.
  • Dark cocoa – one third cup. We like to use special dark cocoa for help with color and for a super rich chocolate flavor for that cute spider.
  • Powdered sugar – three to four cups, depending on how thick you like your frosting.
  • Vanilla extract – two teaspoons rich vanilla extract balances out the flavor of the dark cocoa powder.
  • Black food coloring – for your spider body and legs.
  • 2 red hots – for your spider’s spooky eyes.
Mixing bowl with frosting, dark cocoa powder and black gel frosting for Spider Cake.

How to Decorate a Spider Cake

This cake is not only super yummy, it’s really easy to decorate! Even if you feel like a novice, you can feel like a pro making this whimsical spider come to life (figuratively, of course!) over this cake.

  1. First, divide the bowl of white cream cheese frosting in half. Use half to cover the entire cake with frosting and save a little bit for the spider’s fangs.
  2. Next, add the dark cocoa powder and black food coloring to the other half of the frosting and mix until the frosting turns black. If it seems too grey, add a few more drops of black food coloring until you reach your desired color.
  3. To get those cute spider legs, put the black frosting in a gallon Ziplock bag, snip off a corner end and pipe 8 spider legs going from the center to the edges (see photo below).
  4. Time for the spider body! Use the piping bag to fill in the middle to make the spider “body” and a little dollop for the head.
  5. Next, use a smaller Ziplock bag to pipe little fangs on the spider’s head.
  6. Finally, place two red hot candies above the fangs for its spooky eyes.
Four spider legs on frosted bundt cake.

Decorating Options

  • For additional ideas to decorate this cake you could sprinkle black or colored sugar around the white frosting to create a web-like effect.
  • Make mini-bundt cakes and decorate little spiders in the same manner you do on a big bundt cake. These would be darling for school parties or a birthday party.
  • You can omit the white cream cheese frosting and dust the cake with powdered sugar before decorating with the black frosting spider.
  • Add chocolate sprinkles to the top of the spider for added texture.

Optional Cake Flavors

Not a fan of spice cake? No problem. You can use absolutely any cake mix for this Spider Cake recipe. Try chocolate, red velvet, vanilla, etc. Just about any cake flavor will work great. Try any of these delicious bundt cake recipes:

Halloween Dinner Ideas

Turn your Spider Cake into a dessert for an entire Halloween themed spooky supper! Get creative by serving spaghetti with eyeballs (olives and cheese) mummy garlic cheese bread, or soup in a pumpkin. See our 25+Halloween Dinner Ideas for some spooky and scrumptious recipes.

Top view of a frosted spider on a bundt Cake.

Questions About Spider Cake

Why does a bundt cake have a hole in the middle?

A bundt cake recipe is usually more dense and moist than other dripper cakes, so the hole in the middle of the pan actually makes the cake bake more evenly than it does in a traditional cake pan.

Can I make a spider cake without using fondant or melted chocolate?

Yes! That’s why I love this recipe. You can make a perfect spider with thick, black cream cheese frosting. It tastes much better than fondant and less messy than using chocolate.

How can I keep the spider cake fresh?

After serving, make sure to cover cake with plastic wrap and store it in an airtight container. Store at room temperature for up to three days. You can freeze slices of cake for later, too. They’ll keep in the freezer for up to three weeks.

READ NEXT: 100+ Snack Ideas for Kids

More Halloween Recipes

When it comes to whimsical, creative Halloween treats, the possibilities are endless! And these are all simple enough for anyone to make. Try some of our favorites.

How to Make a Spider Cake

Spider Cake on a Cake stand with fang smile and Red Hot eyes.

Spider Cake

5 from 3 votes
Make this Spider Cake the centerpiece of your next Halloween buffet. This spice cake with a rich cream cheese frosting spider adds a touch of whimsy to any spooky holiday event.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Course cake, Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 16

Video

Equipment

  • Bundt Cake Pan
  • Electric Mixer
  • Mixing Bowls

Ingredients

Cake

  • 1 spice cake mix
  • 3.4 ounces pumpkin spice instant pudding mix
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 cup oil canola or vegetable
  • 1 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips

Frosting and decorations

  • 16 ounces cream cheese softened
  • 1/2 cup butter softened
  • cup dark cocoa
  • 3-4 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • black food coloring
  • 2 red hots

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, eggs, water and oil. Mix until combined.
    Mixing bowl with Pumpkin Bundt Cake batter.
  • Stir in mini chocolate chips and pour into a well-greased bundt pan.
    Bundt pan filled with Pumpkin Bundt Cake batter.
  • Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
    Side view of cooling Spider Cake in bundt pan.
  • Let cool for 20 minutes. Remove from pan, cover with plastic wrap and let refrigerate for 1-2 hours, or overnight.
    Pumpkin Bundt Cake on a cake plate with no frosting.

For the Frosting

  • In a large bowl, mix cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add vanilla.
    Mixing bowl with butter and cream cheese for Spider Cake Frosting.
  • Gradually add in powdered sugar while stirring. If it looks too thin (stiff peaks do not form), add more powdered sugar. If it looks too thick add 2 tablespoons of milk.
    Mixing bowl with frosting for Spider Cake.
  • Divide the frosting in half. Use half of the frosting to lightly frost the whole cake. Save about a tablespoon of white frosting for the fangs.
    Frosting the bundt cake for Spider Cake.
  • To the other half, add ⅓ cup dark cocoa powder and black food coloring and mix until the frosting turns black.
    Mixing bowl with frosting, dark cocoa powder and black gel frosting for Spider Cake.
  • Then, put the black frosting and in a gallon Ziplock bag, snip off the end and pipe 8 spider “legs” going from the center to the edges.
    Four spider legs on frosted bundt cake.
  • Fill in the middle to make the spider “body” and a little dollop for the head.
    Spider body on a bundt cake.
  • Use the extra of the white frosting to pipe little fangs.
    Hand holding a toothpick for fangs on a Spider Cake.
  • Finally, place 2 Red Hots above the fangs for the eyes.
    Spider Cake with Red Hot eyes.

Notes

Additional Cake Flavors

We have the following bundt cake recipes you can use in place of the Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake recipe:

Nutrition Information

Calories: 565kcalCarbohydrates: 68gProtein: 6gFat: 30gSaturated Fat: 15gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 101mgSodium: 498mgPotassium: 100mgFiber: 1gSugar: 53gVitamin A: 1007IUVitamin C: 0.2mgCalcium: 144mgIron: 1mg

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About the author

Echo Blickenstaff

Echo lives in Spanish Fork, Utah with her husband, Todd, who works in advertising. She has four kids: two girls and two boys. She deploys her accounting degree as the blog’s resident problem solver. In her time outside the kitchen, Echo loves to get away from the phones and busy schedules and spend quality time with the family. Anywhere’s great – but getting out into nature in the mountains or on the beach – is the best kind of getaway.

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5 from 3 votes

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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I have a son who is obsessed with spiders so I made this cake for his birthday and he absolutely loved it! Boys!!!