Ingredients
- For the sponge:
- 120g unsweetened cocoa powder
- 130ml hot water
- 6 medium eggs
- 100ml milk
- 340g self-raising flour
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 200g butter
- 500g caster sugar
- 2 tsp orange zest
- 2 tsp mixed spice
- For the buttercream:
- 450g butter, room temperature
- 450g icing sugar
- 50ml milk
- Dash vanilla essence
- 1 tsp orange zest
- ½ tsp mixed spice
- Orange food colouring (optional)
- For the garnish:
- 150g marshmallows
- 50g black fondant icing
- Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan).
- Grease and flour two deep eight-inch ( 20cm) round cake tins, set aside.
- Into your mixer, add all the cake ingredients except the hot water and mix for a few minutes until you have a smooth batter.
- Scrape down the sides and add the hot water and mix through.
- Divide this batter between the two tins and place in the centre of the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes.
- Remove and allow to cool in the tins for five minutes before carefully turning out on to a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the buttercream, mix all the ingredients together until it’s soft and spreadable.
- Cut each cooled sponge in half, leaving you with 4 thin sponges.
- Place the base sponge on your cake stand and add on some buttercream, place another sponge on top and continue this process until all four sponges are assembled.
- Cover the outside of the assembled cake with the remaining buttercream and place in the fridge to firm up for 45 minutes.
- To make the spiderweb design, place the marshmallows in a bowl and heat in the microwave for a few seconds to melt. Stir well.
- Once melted, allow to cool slightly then dip two desserts spoons into the sticky marshmallow mixture to create long strands. Drag these over the chilled cake creating a spiderweb design. Alternatively, put on a pair of gloves and you can use your fingers to pick up the marshmallow.
- For the fondant spider, divide the fondant into a large ball, a small ball and roll out eight thin legs and assemble to make a spider on the cake.
