DEVIL'S FOOD CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE SPIDERWEB

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Devil's Food Cake with Chocolate Spiderweb image

Provided by Kemp Minifie

Categories     Cake     Coffee     Milk/Cream     Mixer     Chocolate     Egg     Dessert     Bake     Kid-Friendly     Halloween     Party     Butter     Gourmet     Vegetarian     Pescatarian     Peanut Free     Tree Nut Free     Soy Free     Kosher     Small Plates

Yield Makes 8 to 10 servings

Number Of Ingredients 20

For chocolate web and spider:
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
For devil's food cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup boiling-hot water
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs, warmed in very warm water 10 minutes
For coffee meringue frosting:
3 large egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
6 tablespoons water
1 1/2 tablespoons instant espresso powder (optional; see cooks' note, below)
Equipment: 3 (9- by 2-inch) round cake pans; a pastry bag with writing tip (slightly less than 1/8 inch); a handheld electric mixer

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.

Princess Diana
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I've never made a spiderweb cake before. This recipe looks easy enough to follow.


khac hyak
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This cake is on my to-bake list. I can't wait to try it!


Adasia Chamberlin
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I'm going to try making this cake this weekend. It looks so good!


Eid Muhammad
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I'm not a fan of chocolate cake, but this one was actually pretty good.


Niraj Tandukar
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I'm allergic to chocolate so I couldn't try this cake, but it looked delicious.


Prince Danish
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This cake is way too difficult to make. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.


Jessika Evans
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I followed the recipe exactly but the cake didn't turn out right. I'm not sure what went wrong.


Sudiann
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The cake was a little dry, but the frosting was delicious.


RH Shawon Rafi
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This cake is a little too sweet for my taste, but it was still good.


MD Shakib
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I made this cake for a bake sale and it sold out in minutes. Everyone loved it!


Danyal Shsh
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This cake is so rich and chocolatey. It's the perfect dessert for a chocolate lover.


Jeanree' Pinder
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I'm not much of a baker, but this cake was easy to make and it turned out great. I'll definitely be making it again.


Justina Barnabas Shammah
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I made this cake for my Halloween party and it was a huge hit! Everyone loved the spiderweb decoration.


Hashem Hamed
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This cake is a little time-consuming to make, but it's definitely worth the effort. It's the perfect cake for a special occasion.


Focus Paul
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The spiderweb was a little difficult to make, but it was worth it. It really made the cake look special.


Tameem XOXO
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I followed the recipe exactly and the cake turned out perfectly. It was so moist and chocolatey.


Ashair Shahab
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This cake is so easy to make and it's always a crowd-pleaser. I love the way the spiderweb looks on top.


SAMIRAH ALAREED
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I made this cake for my son's birthday and he loved it! The spiderweb was a little tricky to make, but it was worth it.


Aakash Xettri
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This cake was a hit at my Halloween party! The chocolate spiderweb was a fun and easy way to decorate it, and the cake itself was moist and chocolatey.